KLTY
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| City of license | Arlington, Texas |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex |
| Branding | 94.9 KLTY |
| Slogan | "Safe for the Whole Family" |
| Frequency | 94.9 MHz |
| First air date | 1957 as KCLE FM |
| Format | Contemporary Christian (Jan. - Nov.) Christmas (Nov. - Dec.) |
| ERP | 99,000 watts |
| HAAT | 508 meters |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 2809 |
| Transmitter coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
| Former callsigns | KCLE (1957–1969) KFAD (1969–1972) |
| Owner | Salem Media Group (Inspiration Media of Texas, LLC) |
| Sister stations | KEXB, KSKY, KWRD-FM, KTNO, K273BJ |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | http://www.klty.com |
KLTY (94.9 FM) is owned by the Salem Media Group with studios located in Irving, Texas, near Dallas and a transmitter in Cedar Hill.[1] The format is similar to the "Fish" branded stations Salem owns elsewhere and its slogan is: "Safe for the Whole Family". It is considered the number one Adult Contemporary Christian Music station in the country with the largest number of listeners.[1][2][3][4]
Contents
History
KLTY began playing a mix of Adult Contemporary Christian music (CCM). KLTY lasted only from early August 1985[5] to late September 1986 when station owner Scott K. Ginsburg changed the call letters to KHYI and changed the format to Top 40 as "Y-95". The transmitter site was not at Cedar Hill the primary antenna farm for Dallas radio, but instead transmitted from Lillian, Texas with over 30,000 watts of effective radiated power.
Marcos A. Rodriguez was a fan of the original KLTY and saw potential in the format - especially if a radio station could play it 24 hours a day. He purchased the music library from Ginsburg and began planning the conversion of 94.1 to all CCM. However, he was unable to make a deal for the KLTY call letters (because they were held by an FM station in Liberty, Missouri.
Before it became 94.1 KOJO, the frequency was used by then-sister station KESS. Elfstrand now leads The Morning Ride team at WMBI Chicago.[6]
KOJO was notable for its commitment to being a "full service" radio station, including a solid news commitment. Morning and afternoon drive newscasts were anchored by former KVIL news director Bob Morrison and Calvin Whitman, and later, Dave Tucker. Morrison moved up to a national network news management position as News and Sports Director of the USA Radio Network, based in Dallas, for 8 1/2 years (until USA was sold and moved to Memphis).
In the spring of 1989, with a free Michael W. Smith concert, Rodriguez created the first Celebrate Freedom-style event and relaunched the KLTY call letters.[7] Marcos A. Rodriguez went on to produce Celebrate Freedom festivals at Southfork Ranch and build the event into one of the biggest Christian Music festivals in America.[7] Rodriguez sold KLTY [8] to Sunburst Media L.P. in 1999 for $63.3 million and retired. After the sale of KVIL it was the highest price ever paid for a Dallas FM.[9]
KLTY was on 100.7 MHz from January 2000 to December 2000, and was owned by Sunburst until it was sold to Salem. Salem swapped the Christian talk format that had been on 94.9 for nearly two and a half years known as "The Word", and placed the popular KLTY on a 94.9 signal while "The Word" went to 100.7. This placed the KLTY callsign back on its original frequency.[10]
The Vice President and General Manager of 94.9 FM KLTY is John L. Peroyea, who joined the team in July 1999, and continues to serve Salem Communications in this and other roles. KLTY now transmits with 100,000 watts ERP from Cedar Hill, Texas.
While KLTY plays a Contemporary Christian music playlist, it has been classified as Adult Contemporary (AC) according to Mediabase.[11] KLTY could serve as the de facto "AC" station for DFW as CBS Radio-owned 103.7 KVIL in May 2013 retooled its playlist to focus on 1990s to current product (with an Adult Top 40 lean) before Mediabase moved the station to "Hot AC" full-time a year later. Although KLAK (97.5) in Tom Bean, Texas is the sole "AC" station that serves areas north and east of the metroplex.
History of 94.9 FM
The 94.9 frequency has a rich history, long predating the current format and ownership. KCLE was established in 1949 in Cleburne, Texas, by owners Jim Gordon and George Marti at 94.3 FM and 1120 AM. Marti was later the inventor of microwave transmitters (known as "Marti Units.") Employees included notables such as Russ Bloxom (later news anchor at WBAP/KXAS-TV,) Don Harris (personality at WBAP-AM) and Mike Ambrose (later with KLIF-AM, and a San Diego TV weatherman for 28 years.) The station moved to 94.9 in 1957.
In 1969, Gordon and Marti ended their partnership; Marti took the AM station and Gordon, the FM. Gordon flipped the FM to KFAD, with an underground/progressive rock format. Notables included Jon Dillon (now at KZPS), writer Phillip Cook, Dave Thomas, Stuart McRae and Joe Nick Patoski (later the senior editor of Texas Monthly magazine.
On January 1, 1972, Dick Osburn took ownership of the station, and reimaged it as KAMC ("K-Mac") while continuing the underground music format. By 1974, the format flipped to "Progressive Country" when former KFAD talent Stuart McRae convinced Dick Osburn and Program Director Ken Bateman to mix country and rock with a show called "The Country Sunday". It worked so well that the station dropped the underground rock and became the first 24-hour Progressive Country station in America. Stuart McRae had been the first jock when KSCS went Country the year before. KAMC was the only station in Dallas - Ft. Worth to play Outlaw Country artists like Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings. A notable employee of KAMC was Bill Merrill, who did play-by-play for the Texas Rangers.
On June 19, 1976, with the station now licensed to Arlington, it was sold to Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and became KWJS (the Word of Jimmy Swaggart) and to new KJIM calls in 1984. (The KJIM calls were resurrected from KJIM-870 AM, who used them from 1957-1984.)
After the first incarnation of KLTY (1985-86) and then KHYI (1986-91), 94.9 was home to KODZ "Oldies 94.9", starting in October of 1991. After one year, it flipped to KSNN "Sunny 95" (1992-96), then to KEWS - "The First All-News FM Station in America, Made in Texas" on February 27, 1996.[12] Religious talker KWRD was established at 94.9 on January 11, 1997 after a trade with KEWS-FM. As a result of the trade, KDFX-1190 AM became KWRD-FM, while KEWS-FM became KOOO-1190 AM.
On-air staff
Notable weekday hosts include Family-Friendly Morning Show Host Frank Reed, Morning Co-Host and News Anchor Starlene Stringer. Mid-days host Bonnie Curry, Tony Lopez on afternoons, Nightlight with Andrea on evenings and traffic reporter Gail Lightfoot.
Notable weekend on-air staff include "New Music Cafe" host John Hudson, Sunday morning praise host Ron Taylor, Laurie Lynn, Dave Harrison, and Marc Anderson.
Behind the scenes
The promotions team includes Chocolate Thunder, T-Spoon, Discount, Sanches, Ben J and Big D!
Awards and recognition
For years KLTY has been one of the leading radio stations in America.[9] The National Association of Broadcasters has awarded KLTY a Marconi Award for being a "Top Major Market Station Of the Year" in 2005, 2007, 2009 and again in 2012.[13]
In 2004 KLTY earned the GMA Awards for Major Market Station of the Year and the Music Station of the Year award from National Religious Broadcasters.[2]
KLTY has the highest number of listeners for a radio station in the Adult CCM format.[2] According to figures produced from the Arbitron survey released in 2013, KLTY now boasts more than a million listeners.[14]
References
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- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Maverick Dallas Outlet Achieves Benchmark
- ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-03-01.pdf
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
