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KYKY

KYKY
Broadcast areaGreater St. Louis
Frequency98.1 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingY98
Programming
LanguageEnglish
FormatHot adult contemporary
SubchannelsHD2: Sports gambling
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
April 2, 1960
(65 years ago) (1960-04-02)
Former call signs
  • KSTL-FM (1960–1967)
  • KRCH (1967–1972)
  • KSLQ (1972–1982)
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID20358
ClassC1
ERP90,000 watts
HAAT309 meters (1,014 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
38°34′24″N 90°19′30″W / 38.5734°N 90.3251°W / 38.5734; -90.3251
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live (via Audacy)
Websitewww.audacy.com/y98

KYKY (98.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in St. Louis, Missouri, serving the Greater St. Louis region of Missouri and Illinois. KYKY airs a hot adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. KYKY operates from offices and studios located on Olive Street in Downtown St. Louis.[3] Its transmitter is on a TV/FM radio tower off Mackenzie Road in Shrewsbury.[4]

KYKY broadcasts three HD Radio signals, with the first airing its main hot adult contemporary format. Its HD2 signal carries a sports gambling format.

History

[edit]

On April 2, 1960, KSTL-FM first signed on as the FM counterpart to daytime-only KSTL (690 AM), owned by Radio St. Louis, Inc.[5]

In 1972, the station was purchased by Bartell Media Corporation, the owner of legendary AM Top 40 stations KCBQ in San Diego and WOKY in Milwaukee, and was enjoying high ratings with WDRQ in Detroit as more people were tuning to FM stations for contemporary hits in the 1970s. Bartell turned KRCH into Top 40 outlet KSLQ.[6] Around 1981, KSLQ adjusted its format to adult contemporary. In October 1982, the call letters were changed to the current KYKY, and rebranded as "KY98", which would later change to "Y98". In 1985, KYKY was purchased by EZ Communications, and evolved the format to hot AC.[7]

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.[8][9] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and consummated on November 17.[10][11]

Beginning in 2023, KYKY aired a replay of Kansas City sister station KZPT's morning show (Ponch & Nikki) in afternoon drive.[12] The next year, KZPT would begin airing KYKY's morning show (Brett Mega) on delay in the afternoons.[13] In March 2025, Ponch & Nikki departed both stations as part of Audacy corporate layoffs.[1]

Beginning in 2025 KYKY moved Julie Tristan to the full midday show and Jake Baumgartner to the evening drive position.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Entercom Completes Merger with CBS Radio | Business Wire" (Press release). November 17, 2017.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KYKY". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "Y98.com/contact". Archived from the original on June 5, 2017. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
  4. ^ "KYKY-FM Radio Station Coverage Map". radio-locator.com.
  5. ^ "Broadcasting Yearbook 1961-62 page B-98" (PDF).
  6. ^ "Broadcasting Yearbook 1976 page C-116" (PDF).
  7. ^ Archive 1990s American Radio History [dead link]
  8. ^ "CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom - RadioInsight". February 2, 2017.
  9. ^ "KMOX parent to merge radio business with Entercom". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. St. Louis. February 2, 2017.
  10. ^ "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Entercom. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  11. ^ Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  12. ^ "Audacy Makes On-Air Changes At KEZK & KYKY St. Louis". RadioInsight. July 10, 2023. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
  13. ^ "Bret Mega Show Comes To Afternoons At 99.7 The Point". RadioInsight. February 21, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2025.
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