KITS
KITS is a commercial radio radio station in San Francisco, California, owned by Audacy, Inc. The station broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "Live 105". Its studios and offices are co-located with formerly co-owned KPIX-TV on Battery Street in the North Waterfront district of San Francisco.
KITS' transmitter is located on Radio Road, at San Bruno Mountain in Daly City. It has an effective radiated power of 15,000 watts, from a tower at 366 meters in height above average terrain. KITS broadcasts in the HD Radio format.
History
Early years
The station's original call sign was KBCO, beginning on December 28, 1959, when it signed on the air. It was owned by Bay Area Broadcasters, with Saul R. Levine as president.In January 1964, Apollo Broadcasting acquired the station. On June 1, 1964, the call letters were changed to KBRG and became K-Bridge. KBRG carried a stereo classics format, Apollo operated a similar format on KLEF in Houston. In 1969, the station changed hands again, this time acquired by Entertainment Communications, Inc. KBRG carried a multi-ethnic programming format, with music and talk shows in German, Chinese, Italian, Filipino, Arabic, Armenian and Spanish. KBRG was later converted into a fulltime Spanish-language station. At the time, the Spanish-speaking community in San Francisco was growing, but only several AM stations were broadcasting in Spanish. KBRG would switch to Regional Mexican music and later Caballero Spanish Radio, the market's only full-power Spanish-language FM station at that time. In 1983, KBRG moved to 104.9
Hot hits
In February 1983, Entertainment Communications decided to go in a more mass-appeal direction. The station adopted radio consultant Mike Joseph's Hot Hits Top 40 music format, with the call letters switching to KITS. Seven air personalities were recruited during a nationwide search, coming from stations such as XETRA in San Diego-Tijuana, KBEQ-FM in Kansas City, WXGT in Columbus, Ohio, and WCAU-FM in Philadelphia. The transplanted disc jockeys underwent a "broadcasting bootcamp" for two weeks prior to launching the new Hot Hits format. Radio personality Doug Ritter was the first DJ on the air when the new format premiered at 9 a.m. on February 27, 1983.The station was referred to as "Hot Hits KITS". The format featured a short playlist of only current hit songs, with heavy repetition, frequent jingles and fast-talking air personalities.
Modern rock
1986–1997
Over time, KITS dropped the "Hot Hits" approach. It remained a mainstream CHR station and began a gradual musical shift, incorporating more modern rock songs into the Top 40 playlist. In October 1986, lead by General Manager Ed Krampf KITS dropped the pop and rhythmic artists from the playlist overnight and became a pure modern rock station. The station's new moniker became "Live 105" under GM Ed Krampf, program director Richard Sands and music director Steve Masters.The music that KITS played ranged from mainstream alternative rock, imports, dance music, and even classic songs from pioneering artists such as Lou Reed, David Bowie and T.Rex. "Live 105" became a national influence on the format and the sole source of radio exposure for such artists in the San Francisco Bay Area.
File:Neil-finn-steve-masters.jpg|thumb|Live 105 DJ Steve Masters with Neil Finn of Crowded House at the station's offices in April 1987
The DJ lineup remained relatively stable from 1986 through 1997, and included Masters, Big Rick Stuart, Alex Bennett and Lori Thompson doing a comedy/talk show in the morning. Bennett was let go from the station in 1989 and replaced by Perry Stone, as Live 105 attempted a "more music" approach in the morning. However, the morning ratings dropped, and Bennett, who briefly went to WIOD in Miami, was brought back.
Hamilton left in 1994 to accept the program director job at modern rock station KNRK in Portland, Oregon, and Steve Masters departed soon after to take a promotion job at MCA's new alternative label, WAY COOL. Roland West then moved from night to middays and took over the music director position, eventually becoming the assistant program director. Aaron Axelsen, then assistant music director, become the music director and host of specialty programs Soundcheck and Subsonic. The station also ran Hibernia Beach LIVE, a gay-themed radio call-in show, from 1989 to 1999.
The modern rock format changed nationwide by the 1990s, moving away from the dance-leaning, synthesizer-based European sound to a harder, guitar-driven direction with artists such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. After numerous years of success, ratings for KITS began to dip during the late 1990s, as Infinity Broadcasting's KOME in nearby San Jose switched to a harder modern rock format, coupled with carrying the syndicated Howard Stern Show in the mornings. KOME had great success in the ratings and managed to even beat KITS, which was still playing some euro-based music.
1997–2005
On March 11, 1997, owner Entercom sold the station to Infinity Broadcasting. This meant that KITS and KOME were now both co-owned. After KITS came under Infinity ownership, a big shakeup occurred on June 1, 1998.Stern's morning show, KOME's management and programming staff, and a few on-air personalities were brought up from KOME to take over "Live 105". KOME was eventually sold to Jacor, which moved Classic rock-formatted KUFX to the 98.5 FM frequency and the KOME call letters were "parked" on an AM station in Fort Worth, Texas. Program director Richard Sands, assistant program director/midday host Roland West, and the relatively new morning team of Johnny Steele and Lori Thompson were all dismissed. KOME's program director, Jay Taylor, assumed programming duties at the new "Live 105", and Ally Storm and No-Name moved into middays and nights, respectively. The syndicated call-in advice show "Loveline" was also brought to the station as its late-night program. Big Rick Stuart continued in afternoons until being let go in 2000, severing the last remaining thread to the original incarnation of "Live 105", though Steve Masters returned briefly to host a midday specialty show.
By the end of 2001, KITS saw a drastic reduction in listeners due to an unpopular music assortment that was being played, which included some hip hop and heavy metal titles. Toward the middle of 2002, the station hired Sean Demery as Program Director in hopes of bringing back listeners. Demery was charged with refocusing on core alternative rock artists, adding more popular hits, and establishing new artists, while playing a mix of critically acclaimed music from The Cure, The Pixies, Depeche Mode and The Clash, and current artists such as Franz Ferdinand, Bloc Party, and The Killers.
The station regained its reputation as a leader in new music and respect in the industry, winning numerous awards for creativity and playing new bands before they caught on nationally. Muse, The Bravery, Silversun Pickups, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs were among the popular bands that enjoyed huge success after early support from "Live 105".
2005–2010
ended his syndicated morning show in December 2005, and departed for Sirius Satellite Radio. In response, CBS Radio flipped nearly all its alternative-formatted radio stations to an all-talk format known as "Free FM". KITS was allowed to keep its music format and thus decided to go in a music-oriented direction for its subsequent morning show, The Woody Show. It was hosted by Jeff "Woody" Fife, Tony Mott, and Renee Ravey, with producer Greg Gory and assistant producer Jason "White Menace" McMurry. Woody, Tony, and Ravey had previously worked afternoons on Chicago alternative rock station WKQX.The show made its debut on January 3, 2006. The show started gaining popularity, retaining many of the original listeners from Howard Stern. In November 2006, the station hired a new program director, Dave Numme, who was already programming KUFO in Portland, another station owned by the CBS Radio. In 2008, Black Planet, the station's underground goth show, returned for a two-hour Halloween special.
Originally thought to be an April Fools' Day joke, The Woody Show was taken off the air on April 1, 2009. It was later confirmed that several members of the program were fired by CBS Radio management. On April 20, 2009, KITS announced that No Name would lead the station's new morning show, to be known as The No Name Show, originally with Greg Gory and Katie as side kicks. The DJ known as No Name had formerly been the morning show co-host on KLLC and a former night jock on KITS in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Greg Gory was fired from KITS on July 16, 2009, with Matty Staudt taking over producer duties. Staudt and No Name had worked together at KLLC for numerous years. However, the morning show was unable to gain traction in the ratings, and Staudt was let go after one year. In October 2009, Dave Numme was released from his position as program director and the programming reins given to CBS Radio San Francisco's vice president of programming Michael Martin.
2010-2015
On March 30, 2010, the Oakland Raiders football team announced a multi-year agreement for KITS and its sister station, KFRC, to broadcast play-by-play coverage of the team's pre-season, regular season, and post-season games. KITS and KFRC would serve as the team's flagship stations.In December 2010, the DJ line-up was overhauled by management. The most notable of the changes was airing the syndicated Kevin and Bean show, originating from co-owned Alternative station KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, as the new morning drive time program beginning January 3, 2011. As a result, the No Name Show was broken up as sidekick/traffic reporter Katie was released from the station and No Name was moved from mornings to afternoons, displacing long-time afternoon host Jared Aman. Midday host Kat was also released from the station as part of the changes.
Kevin and Bean lasted nine months. On September 3, 2011, the Kevin and Bean show was dropped in favor of a music-intensive morning show. The duo was subsequently dropped from its syndicator, Westwood One, due to the loss of outlets carrying the show. The show continued on KROQ-FM for Los Angeles listeners until 2018.
Shortly after the dropping of Kevin and Bean in 2011, "Menace", formerly of The Woody Show, took over morning show hosting duties. In August 2012, the show was renamed "Megan and Menace in the Morning". By December, Megan moved back to her previous midday shift, and in April 2013, Steve Masters returned to the station to host the morning show. In December 2013, Masters left the station for a third time.
A new morning show, "Kevin Klein Live", debuted on September 2, 2014. Host Kevin Klein previously worked at Playboy Radio. He is not related to the actor or the hockey player. Klein is also a frequent gambler, which has resulted in many bets made live on the show. One loss resulted in Klein having to pose for an erotic photo-shoot with cats and kale, two things he hates. Co-host Ally Johnson is a Bay Area native with a background in comedy. The show has received press coverage for some of its stunts, including a flash mob parade for competitive eating champion Matt Stonie. Klein also led a campaign to rid San Francisco of selfie sticks.
Some of Klein's most notable interviews include Drew Barrymore, Dave Grohl, Ronda Rousey, and Lisa Johnson, an African-American woman who made headlines after getting kicked off the Napa Valley Wine Train.