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KISX

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Coordinates: 32°17′20″N 95°11′56″W / 32.289°N 95.199°W / 32.289; -95.199
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
KISX
Broadcast areaTyler-Longview area
Frequency107.3 MHz
Branding107-3 Kiss-FM
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatUrban adult contemporary
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
July 8, 1982 (42 years ago) (1982-07-08)
Former call signs
  • KFML (1982–1984)
  • KEYP (1984–1989)
Former frequencies
99.3 MHz (1982–1989)
Call sign meaning
Kiss FM (station branding)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID72661
ClassC2
ERP50,000 watts
HAAT148 meters (486 ft)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Website1073kissfmtexas.com

KISX (107.3 FM) is a Townsquare Media radio station licensed to Whitehouse, Texas, serving the Tyler/ Longview market with an urban adult contemporary format. Studios are located in south Tyler; transmitter site is located southeast of Tyler in Smith County.

History

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Early years

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The station began broadcasting on 99.3 MHz on July 8, 1982, as KFML.[2] The Class A station had studios and offices at Whitehouse and aired an adult contemporary music format.[3]

In April 1983, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the sale of KFML from Hine Broadcasting Company to Barry Turner and John C. Culpepper Jr., who also owned Tyler AM station KDOK.[4] KFML changed its call letters to KEYP on January 10, 1984,[5] and the station late in the year adopted a contemporary hit radio format. KEYP and KDOK were sold in 1986 to a group from Lawton, Oklahoma, as Turner and Culpepper's company, Broadcast Properties, focused on larger markets.[6]

Kiss 107 FM

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In 1988, Tyler Broadcasting Company with KDOK and KEYP was sold for $1.4 million.[7] A regional reallocation of radio frequencies in 1989 saw KEYP upgrade to a new frequency, 107.3 MHz, and an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts. Tyler Broadcasting Company wanted to replace the pop format of KEYP with a "superstation" offering a format with regional appeal. As a result, upon changing frequencies on February 21, 1990, it became classic hits "Kiss 107" with the KISX call letters, seeking to appeal to the large baby boomer market.[8]

In December 1990, Broadcasters Unlimited, the owners of KNUE, took over KISX under a local marketing agreement and relaunched the station with a hit radio format.[9][10] With the new format, the station doubled its market share in Smith County in one year.[11] By 1994, the station was known as Mix 107.3.[12]

The 1990s saw rapid shifts in ownership as the industry consolidated. Broadcasters Unlimited sold itself to GulfStar Communications in 1994 for $12.5 million, which included KNUE and sister stations in Texarkana and Waco.[13] The Hicks brothers, who founded GulfStar, then sold the company and its 54 stations in 1997 to Capstar Broadcasting Partners, which R. Steven Hicks had formed the year prior.[14] Chancellor Media acquired Capstar for $4.1 billion in 1999, changed its name to AMFM, and then merged with Clear Channel Communications in a $23 billion transaction that October.[15] The Kiss branding was restored in 2001.[16]

In 2005, the station flipped to urban adult contemporary branded as "Hot 107.3 Jamz".[16] Clear Channel retained the Tyler cluster until 2007, when it began downsizing and selling off smaller-market stations. The company sold 52 stations in 11 markets in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, including KISX, to Gap Broadcasting, a Dallas-based company owned by George Laughlin.[17] Gap Broadcasting and co-owned Gap West were merged with the former Regent Communications to form Townsquare Media after Oaktree Capital Management, already an investor in the Gap companies, became the majority owner of Regent after its bankruptcy.[18]

KISX reverted to the Kiss moniker, retaining its format, in April 2021. It also changed syndicated morning shows from Steve Harvey to Rickey Smiley.[16]

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KISX". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Radio Station KFML On Air". Tyler Morning Telegraph. July 14, 1982. p. 4:7. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Part Delays Whitehouse Station Opening". The Tyler Courier-Times. July 4, 1982. p. 3:15. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Radio Station Given Okay". Tyler Morning Telegraph. April 21, 1983. p. 2:8. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Radio Station Has New Call Letters". Tyler Morning Telegraph. January 10, 1984. p. 1:11. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "2 Tyler Stations Bought". The Tyler Courier-Times—Telegraph. January 19, 1986. p. 4:3. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Transactions". Radio & Records. April 22, 1988. pp. 8, 10. ProQuest 1040255769.
  8. ^ "New Tyler Station Goes On Air Feb. 21". Tyler Morning Telegraph. February 14, 1989. p. 3:10. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Tyler radio stations sign agreement". Longview News-Journal. December 23, 1990. p. 3-C. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Hvezdos, Mike (January 14, 1991). "Only stamped mail may be put in mailbox". Longview News-Journal. p. 2-A. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Floyd, Tony (July 21, 1991). "Arbitron: Tyler Is 'Country' Country". The Tyler Courier-Times. pp. 4:1, 6. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "#1 In East Texas". The Tyler Courier-Times. April 20, 1994. p. 5:41. Retrieved June 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Austin-Based Group To Purchase Tyler Radio Stations". Tyler Courier-Times. January 13, 1994. p. 6. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  14. ^ Tomich, Jeff (July 10, 1997). "Capstar To Run 3 Tyler Radio Stations After Buying GulfStar". Tyler Morning Telegraph. p. 3. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  15. ^ Shweder, Jeremy (October 8, 1999). "Clear Channel-AMFM: What A Deal!" (PDF). Radio & Records. pp. 3, 40. Archived (PDF) from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  16. ^ a b c Venta, Lance (April 22, 2021). "KISX Rebrands As 107.3 Kiss-FM". RadioInsight.
  17. ^ "Clear Channel Culls Empire" (PDF). Radio & Records. April 13, 2007. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on September 2, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  18. ^ "Townsquare To Buy-Out Oaktree Capital's Stake In The Company". Inside Radio. January 25, 2021. Archived from the original on December 4, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
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32°17′20″N 95°11′56″W / 32.289°N 95.199°W / 32.289; -95.199

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