KQMV

KQMV (92.5 MHz, "Movin' 92.5") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Bellevue, Washington, and serving the Seattle-Tacoma-Puget Sound radio market. The Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. outlet airs a Top 40 (CHR) radio format.

KQMV
CityBellevue, Washington
Broadcast areaSeattle-Tacoma-Puget Sound
Frequency92.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingMovin' 92.5
SloganSeattle’s #1 Hit Music Station
Programming
FormatTop 40 (CHR)
HD-3: Saigon Radio (Vietnamese)
Ownership
OwnerHubbard Broadcasting
(Seattle FCC License Sub, LLC)
KNUC, KRWM, KIXI, KKNW
History
First air date
November 20, 1961 (as KZAM)
Former call signs
KZAM (1961–1966)
KFKF-FM (1966–1972)
KBES-FM (1972–1974)
KZAM (1974–1975)
KZAM-FM (1975–1983)
KLSY (1983–2006)
Call sign meaning
KQ MoVin' (branding)
Technical information
Facility ID4630
ClassC
ERP56,800 watts
60,000 with beam tilt
HAAT698 meters (2290 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
WebsiteMovin925.com

KQMV has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 56,800 watts (60,000 with beam tilt).[1] The transmitter is located in Issaquah on Tiger Mountain.[2] The studios and offices are located at Newport Corporate Center in Bellevue.

KQMV is the flagship station of the syndicated "Brooke & Jeffrey" morning show, hosted by Brooke Fox, Jeffrey Dubow and Jose Bolanos.[3] The show is distributed by Premiere Networks.

History

Urban KZAM and MOR KFKF-FM

KZAM began broadcasting on November 20, 1961.[4] The Seattle-licensed station had an urban contemporary format, the first FM station in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest to target the African American community. It was owned by Monte Strohl's Foremost Broadcasting.

In January 1964, KZAM was placed into receivership; the month prior, it left the air.[5] It was acquired by Bellevue Broadcasters, a limited partnership led by Kemper Freeman.[6] Bellevue, which owned KFKF 1540 AM in that city, relocated the station facilities and license from Seattle to Bellevue in January 1966, and later that year, KZAM became KFKF-FM. The two stations simulcasted a middle of the road (MOR) format.

In August 1972, Freeman sold the stations to a partnership headed by Stewart Ballinger, with the station changing its call sign to KBES (reflecting the new licensee, Bellevue/Eastside Radio),[6] but retaining the MOR format.

Progressive KZAM-FM and AC KLSY

92.5 flipped to progressive rock and became KZAM on December 16, 1974 (changing to KZAM-FM shortly thereafter), with the full format launching April 1, 1975.[7] In May 1978, Sandusky Newspapers bought the stations (1540 AM would be sold in January 1992 to different owners due to Sandusky's acquisition of AM 880 KIXI from Sunbelt Communications). KZAM was also noteworthy for the number of women on its airstaff and its stronger-than-usual performance with women in the market.[8] The decision to put women on the air was part of a deliberate effort to build a new audience counter-programming against then-dominant "high-testosterone" rock music stations.[8] However, particularly after the Sandusky sale, the staff that had started the station began to leave.[7]

KZAM flipped on July 18, 1983 to adult contemporary as "Classy" KLSY.[9] The station saw its ratings increase, but it was challenged several times by other AC stations in the mid-1980s, and became the sister station of similarly formatted KRWM in 1996.[10] From 1988 to December 2003, mornings on KLSY were hosted by Bruce Murdock, Tim Hunter and Alice Porter. On February 1, 2002, at 9 a.m., the station altered its format to Adult Top 40 as "Mix 92.5" but retained the KLSY calls.[11][12][13] In December 2003, the longtime morning team of Murdock, Hunter and Porter left the station; Mitch Elliot and Lisa Foster, who hosted afternoons, were moved to mornings.[14]

MOViN 92.5

On May 1, 2006, at 11 a.m., after playing "Closing Time" by Semisonic, KLSY began stunting with songs that had a "goodbye" or "farewell" theme, as well as playing slogans from various radio stations around the country (i.e. "The Best Songs of the 70s, 80s, 90s, and Today"). At noon, the station flipped to rhythmic AC as "MOViN 92.5", giving Seattle its first adult-targeted rhythmic station in four years since the demise of KBTB (now KJR-FM) in 2002. (This format also aired on KBKS from 1996–1997.) The first song as "MOViN" was The C+C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)".[15][16][17][18]

KQMV was the first station to use the "MOViN" branding, from the consultant firm Alan Burns & Associates.[19][20] KLSY changed call letters to KQMV on May 8, 2006, to match the new branding. Unlike KBKS' AC-leaning direction and KBTB's Rhythmic oldies approach, KQMV featured a mix of rhythmic pop/dance currents, old-school hip hop and R&B, and disco and classic dance hits in a Top 40-like presentation, targeting females 25-44, and positioning itself to compete with rhythmic Top 40 KUBE and Mainstream Top 40 KBKS. Over the years, KQMV slowly dropped most disco tracks and began emphasizing more currents and old-school Hip Hop, R&B, and Dance tracks from artists like Prince, Destiny's Child, and Janet Jackson.

Beginning in September 2009, the station began tightening its playlist by dropping most old-school tracks, and shifted towards an adult-oriented rhythmic CHR format, though not moving all the way to Rhythmic AC, as it had been. The amount of currents was heavily increased, though the station did retain some old-school titles. As of November 18, 2010, KQMV completed its shift towards a conventional rhythmic contemporary direction, with emphasis on current rhythmic pop/R&B hits. As a result of this shift, KQMV was added to the Mediabase Rhythmic panel.

Shift to contemporary hit radio

As of November 2010, Mediabase added KQMV to the CHR panel and would rival KBKS and KUBE. On the BDS overall Top 40/CHR panel, KQMV did not contribute its playlist to BDS' monitored chart until 2012 (it also contributes to the Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart) because of the station's rhythmic-heavy playlist. It initially avoided playing any Mainstream Pop/Rock crossovers to avoid overlapping with modern AC sister KLCK-FM.

Within three years, KQMV became the highest-rated CHR station in the market, and one of the top radio stations overall. KQMV's success with the format would cause changes at KBKS and KUBE in January 2016: KUBE would move its Rhythmic format to co-owned 104.9 FM, with KUBE's former frequency of 93.3 FM relaunching as Mainstream Top 40 "Power 93.3", while KBKS switched to a Hot AC format and retained the "Kiss FM" branding; however, in May 2018, the KUBE call letters and Rhythmic format returned to 93.3, while KBKS dropped Hot AC and returned to Top 40/CHR.[21][22][23]

Sale to Hubbard

In July 2013, Sandusky announced it would sell its radio holdings in Seattle and Phoenix to Hubbard Broadcasting, based in St. Paul, Minnesota. The sale was completed that November.[24] Hubbard's Seattle cluster now includes KQMV as well as KNUC, KRWM, KIXI and KKNW.

HD radio
  • KQMV-HD1 carries the analog format ("MOViN 92.5") from the standard 92.5 FM frequency.
  • 92.5-HD2 currently does not exist
  • 92.5-HD3 carries Vietnamese programming known as "Saigon Radio."[25]

References
  1. FCC.gov/KQMV
  2. Radio-Locator.com/KQMV
  3. RadioInk.com "50 Affiliates & Counting for Brooke & Jeffrey as Jubal Fresh Exits Show" April 10, 2020. Retrieved 6/13/2020
  4. "KZAM (FM) (Nov. 20, 1961)" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1963. p. B-198. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  5. Loken, Marty (December 29, 1963). "Radio in 1963-A Year of Promise Flux and Failure". The Seattle Times. p. TV 19.
  6. FCC History Cards for KZAM
  7. Somerstein, Lee (April 1, 2005). "Recalling the heady days of progressive station KZAM". Seattle Times. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  8. Paynter, Susan (March 22, 2005). "KZAM mavericks plan a rockin' reunion". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  9. "KZAM Plans Format Shift To A/C" (PDF). Radio & Records. June 17, 1983. p. 1.
  10. "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. July 19, 1996. p. 8. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  11. "Recent News Archives - 2002". Northwest Broadcasters. Archived from the original on 2013-07-31.
  12. "A cool TV spot from the old Mix 92.5 KLSY". YouTube.
  13. "Another cool TV spot from the old Mix 92.5 KLSY". YouTube.
  14. Virgin, Bill (February 18, 2004). "Radio Beat: The Murdock-Hunter-Porter split-up is on listeners' minds". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  15. "Adams PD As KLSY/Seattle Gets 'Movin'" (PDF). Radio & Records. May 5, 2006. pp. 3, 11. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  16. "KLSY Becomes Movin 92.5". May 2006.
  17. "MOViN 92.5 Commercial". YouTube.
  18. Chansanchai, Athima (December 7, 2006). "92.5's new format is winning lots of fans with its listener 'comfort zone'". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
  19. Ross, Sean (May 2, 2006). "First Listen: KQMV Seattle (Alan Burns' Movin' Format)". Edison Research. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  20. Dunkin, Greg (October 2006). "Coleman Music Monitor Analysis: An Early Peek at Rhythmic AC" (PDF). Coleman Insights.
  21. Venta, Lance (2018-05-03). "KUBE 93.3 Returns In Seattle". RadioInsight. Retrieved 2019-03-04.
  22. "IHeart Shuffles Four Seattle/Tacoma Stations". 2016-01-19.
  23. "MOViN 92.5 -- Seattle's Only Station For All The Hits!". YouTube.
  24. Venta, Lance (July 16, 2013). "Hubbard Acquires Sandusky Broadcasting". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  25. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-07-22. Retrieved 2015-05-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) HD Radio Guide for Seattle-Tacoma

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