WDAF-FM
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

WDAF-FM (106.5
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
) is a
commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to Willi ...
, and serving the
Kansas City metropolitan area The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...
. Owned by
Audacy, Inc. Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
, the station airs a
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
, branded as "106-5 The Wolf." Studios and offices are located on Squibb Road in
Mission, Kansas Mission is a city in Johnson County, Kansas, United States, and part of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,954. History An Indian mission was established in 1829 at the town's site, hence ...
. WDAF-FM has an
effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would hav ...
(ERP) of 100,000
watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s. The
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is located on Wallace Avenue in east Kansas City, Missouri, near
Interstate 435 Interstate 435 (I-435) is an Interstate Highway beltway that encircles much of the Kansas City metropolitan area within the states of Kansas and Missouri in the United States. Route description I-435, a loop route of I-35, is long and in ...
. WDAF-FM broadcasts in the
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
format; its HD2 subchannel carries co-owned
sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
station KCSP.


History


Early years

106.5 FM
signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
the air on May 8, 1978, as KFIX-FM, the FM counterpart to KFIX (1140 AM, now
KCXL KCXL (1140 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Liberty, Missouri, and features a conservative talk format. Owned by Alpine Broadcasting, this station serves the Kansas City metropolitan area with studios and transmitter both located i ...
), and was owned by Investments, Inc. KFIX-FM aired an
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems ...
format, with news updates from the
NBC Radio Network The NBC, National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the Blue Network, NBC Blue Network it was ...
. Prior to the official sign-on, test transmissions carried the
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
KSAB (standing for "Strauss-Abernathy Broadcasting"). SW Radio Enterprises took over in 1979, flipping the format on November 19, changing call letters to KSAS, branded as "SAS ". KSAS was a
progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...
station, in contrast to the more mainstream
album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orient ...
format of top rock station KYYS (now
KCKC KCKC (102.1 FM) is an adult contemporary radio station based in Kansas City, Missouri that operates with an ERP of 100 kW. The station is licensed to and operated by Steel City Media. The station's studios are located at Westport Center in ...
). Golden East Broadcasting bought the station in March 1982. In March 1983, the station decided to take KYYS head-on, flipping to album rock, and changing the call letters to KKCI. The station used the name "106 KCI," a reference to the
Kansas City International Airport Kansas City International Airport (originally Mid-Continent International Airport) is a public airport in Kansas City, Missouri located northwest of Downtown Kansas City in Platte County, Missouri., effective December 30, 2021. The airport o ...
. Longtime Kansas City DJ Randy Miller made his first market appearance at KKCI. Transcolumbia bought the station in 1985. On January 10, 1986, after failing to compete against KYYS, KKCI went off the air. Three weeks later, the station signed back on and flipped to a
soft adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet sto ...
format, branded as "K-Lite," and changing the call letters to KLTY. KLTY tried to compete in a crowded AC field. In November 1987, Olympia Broadcasting bought the station.


KXXR

On July 29, 1988, at 2 p.m., after stunting for three days with a loop of "
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...
" by
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
, KLTY flipped back to album rock, changing call letters to KXXR. Scout Broadcasting, subsidiary of Olympia, owned the station around the time of the flip. The first song under the new rock format (and also the song that ultimately ended the format nearly two years later) was " Roll With It" by
Steve Winwood Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
. The format, dubbed "Today's Rock and Roll", was a combination of rock-friendly CHR hits,
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
and
modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...
. However, like the first time with the format, the second attempt as a rock station could not compete with KYYS. At 4 p.m. on June 15, 1990, KXXR flipped to a
Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...
format, branded as "X-106." The first song on "X" was "
Me So Horny "Me So Horny" is a song by the rap group 2 Live Crew on their album '' As Nasty As They Wanna Be''. The explicit nature of the lyrics of this song and the album led to the initially successful prosecution of the group on obscenity charges and t ...
" by
2 Live Crew 2 Live Crew is an American hip hop music, hip hop group from Miami, Florida, which had its greatest commercial success from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The group's most well-known line up was composed of Luther Campbell, Luke Campbell, Fr ...
. Capitol Broadcasting bought the station on March 15, 1991, for $2.6 million. By June 1991, the station moved towards a more mainstream Top 40 direction and rebranded to using their call letters once again. Due to low ratings, the station was about to change formats to country, but Capitol decided to change course:
Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
-formatted KCFM (107.3 FM), owned by Meyer Communications, offered to swap frequencies. On February 16, 1992, at Midnight, after playing "
2 Legit 2 Quit "2 Legit 2 Quit" is a song by Hammer featuring Saja (a.k.a. Sonia Moore), released on September 5, 1991 as the first single from his fourth studio album, ''Too Legit to Quit'' (1991). Music video The music video was directed by Rupert Wainwrigh ...
" by
MC Hammer Stanley Kirk Burrell (born March 30, 1962), better known by his stage name MC Hammer (or simply Hammer), is an American rapper, dancer, record producer and entrepreneur. He is known for hit songs such as "U Can't Touch This", "2 Legit 2 Quit" ...
, the frequency swap between the two stations took place, with KXXR moving to 107.3 FM, and KCFM’s country format moving to 106.5.


First country era

After the frequency swap, 106.5 FM
stunted Stunted growth is a reduced growth rate in human development. It is a primary manifestation of malnutrition (or more precisely undernutrition) and recurrent infections, such as diarrhea and helminthiasis, in early childhood and even before birth, ...
with all-
Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...
music for 16 days, then changed its call sign to KKCJ (instituted on March 9) and moniker to "CJ-106". ("CJ" stood for "Country Junction".) Capitol continued to own the station, while Sconnix, which owned country music rival
KFKF KFKF-FM (94.1 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Kansas City, Kansas. It is owned by Steel City Media and airs a country music radio format. The studios and offices are on Pennsylvania Avenu ...
, entered into a
local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...
(LMA) to run KKCJ as well. KKCJ was meant to be a younger-audience complement to KFKF, which targeted a more middle-aged audience. At first, KKCJ aired programming from the
Satellite Music Network Satellite Music Network was the first satellite delivered network to provide complete live 24-hour-a-day music programming to local stations, under several different formats. History Affiliate stations, mostly in small and medium markets, co ...
's " Country Coast to Coast" format, based in
Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
; on March 29, 1993, KKCJ began airing local programming. However, the station could not compete against WDAF and
KBEQ KBEQ-FM (104.3 MHz "Q-104") is a commercial radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, serving the Kansas City radio market. It is owned by Steel City Media and airs a country radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Mill St ...
(which flipped from Top 40 in February 1993). In addition, Sconnix’s LMA with KKCJ would end as
EZ Communications EZ Communications, Inc. was a corporation with its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. In the 1970s, the small company was one of the pioneers of the easy listening on the FM broadcasting radio spectrum with 2 stations in Manassas and Richmond. W ...
purchased both KFKF and KBEQ, with a stipulation that KKCJ would change formats to avoid competition.


Smooth jazz

On March 10, 1995, at Midnight, after
Heritage Media Heritage Media Corporation (NYSE: HTG) was a media company which owned television and radio stations across the United States, as well as in-store and direct marketing companies. It was based in Dallas, Texas, from 1987 to 1997. History Heritage ...
bought KKCJ, the station began stunting with simulcasts of KFKF and KBEQ, then a loop of liners redirecting listeners to both stations, before transitioning to all-
polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...
and
Hootie & The Blowfish Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band w ...
music on March 20. The station also interspersed
modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...
music during the stunting. On March 30, at 10 a.m., the station flipped to a
smooth jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...
format, branded as "106.5 The City." The first song on "The City" was "
Smooth Operator "Smooth Operator" is a song by English band Sade from their debut studio album, ''Diamond Life'' (1984). It was released as the album's third single in the United Kingdom as a 7-inch single with "Spirit" as its B-side, and as a 12-inch maxi ...
" by
Sade Sade may refer to: People * Marquis de Sade (1740–1814), French aristocrat, writer, and libertine * Sade (singer) (born 1959, Helen Folasade Adu), British Nigerian musician and lead singer of the eponymous band * Sade Baderinwa (born 1969), WAB ...
. On April 21, the station changed call letters to KCIY, to better fit the "City" moniker.
Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (SBG) is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb of Cockeysville, Maryland, t ...
bought the station in 1997, with
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
taking over in 2000. KCIY became the top soft music station in the market around this time. However, it came at the expense of co-owned
KUDL KUDL (106.5 FM) is a radio station in Sacramento, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) format branded as ''106.5 The End''. Its studios are located in Foothill Farms (with a Sacramento address) and its transmitter is ...
, which aired a mainstream
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
format.


Second country era

In the summer of 2003, Entercom announced it would start a
sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
format on 610 AM. This came after the signing of rival
WHB WHB (810 AM) is a commercial radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. The station is owned by Union Broadcasting and it airs an all-sports radio format. For most of the 1950s through the 1970s, while it was broadcasting at 710 AM, ...
sports hosts
Jason Whitlock Jason Lee Whitlock (born April 27, 1967) is an American sports journalist, columnist, and podcaster. He hosts a program for the media company Blaze Media, where he hosts the show ''Fearless with Jason Whitlock''. Whitlock is a former columnist ...
,
Bill Maas William Thomas Maas (born March 2, 1962) is a former American football defensive tackle who played for the Kansas City Chiefs (1984–1992), and the Green Bay Packers (1993). Maas was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1986 and 1987. In 1984 Maas was ...
, and
Tim Grunhard Timothy Gerard Grunhard (born May 17, 1968) is an American football coach and former center. A second-round draft choice in the 1990 NFL Draft for the Kansas City Chiefs, Grunhard went on to play 169 games with Kansas City, the fourth most ever b ...
. To make room for the new sports station, longtime WDAF "61 Country" would be moved to an FM frequency. After a lengthy decision over which radio station to put the AM's country format (which involved sister station
KRBZ KRBZ (96.5 FM, “Alt 96-5”) is an alternative rock station, licensed to Kansas City, Missouri and serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., with studios located in Mission, Kansas and a transmitter site ...
almost being killed off for it, only to have an executive order issued by Entercom corporate management in response to overwhelming listener turnout halting that), it was announced that KCIY would flip back to country. At Noon on August 10, 2003, after a 6-hour farewell show (and playing " Neither One of Us" by
Gladys Knight & the Pips Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s. Starting out as simpl ...
), WDAF began simulcasting on both 610 AM and 106.5 FM, for a one-month period until the sports talk format on 610 AM finally debuted on September 10. The new "Country 106.5 WDAF" initially featured the same longtime personalities of "61 Country" and a mostly gold-based country playlist. The WDAF call letters were officially moved over to 106.5 FM on August 22. (There had been a previous WDAF-FM in Kansas City from 1961 to 1974, at 102.1 MHz, now
KCKC KCKC (102.1 FM) is an adult contemporary radio station based in Kansas City, Missouri that operates with an ERP of 100 kW. The station is licensed to and operated by Steel City Media. The station's studios are located at Westport Center in ...
.) On January 10, 2007, WDAF-FM rebranded as "106.5 the Wolf." WDAF-FM continues in Kansas City's three-way country radio station battle, along with
KFKF KFKF-FM (94.1 Hertz, MHz) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Kansas City, Kansas. It is owned by Steel City Media and airs a country music radio format. The studios and offices are on Pennsylvania Avenu ...
and
KBEQ KBEQ-FM (104.3 MHz "Q-104") is a commercial radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, serving the Kansas City radio market. It is owned by Steel City Media and airs a country radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Mill St ...
, both owned by Steel City Media. With the change to "The Wolf," the station shifted to a modern country format, which targeted younger listeners. Most of the longtime "61 Country" DJs were gone by that point. On December 5, 2019, it was announced that WDAF-FM would become the flagship radio station of the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...
with the start of the 2020 season, directly off their win in
Super Bowl LIV Super Bowl LIV was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2019 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Kansas City Chiefs defeated the National Football Conferenc ...
, after the expiration of a 30-year deal with
Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...
's
KCFX KCFX (101.1 FM, "101 The Fox") is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to the suburb of Harrisonville, Missouri, it serves the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. The station is currently owned by Cumulus Media. The statio ...
(101.1). Sister station KCSP carries wrap-around coaches and players programming and also simulcasts select games. The Audacy app carries coverage of the game on desktops/laptops only.


See also

*
WDAF (AM) KCSP (610 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Kansas City, Missouri. The Audacy, Inc.-owned station broadcasts a sports radio format. The studios and offices are located on Squibb Road in Mission, Kansas. KCSP is one of the o ...
*
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...


References


External links

* *
"Missouri Goes in for Wireless"
by A. B. Macdonald, ''The Country Gentleman'', May 27, 1922, pages 12, 16. {{Entercom Country radio stations in the United States µ Radio stations established in 1978 1978 establishments in Missouri Audacy, Inc. radio stations