City | Los Angeles, California |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Southern California |
Branding | KFI AM 640 |
Slogan | Number 1 in News, Talk, and Sports in LA & San Diego |
Frequency | 640 kHz (also on HD Radio) KOST 103.5-HD2. |
First air date | April 16, 1922 |
Format | News/Talk |
Audience share | 3.5 (Holiday 2016, Nielsen Audio[2]) |
Power | 50,000 watts |
Class | A (Clear channel) |
Facility ID | 34425 |
Transmitter coordinates |
33°52′47″N 118°0′47″W / 33.87972°N 118.01306°W (main antenna) 33°52′47″N 118°0′55″W / 33.87972°N 118.01528°W (auxiliary antenna) |
Affiliations |
ABC News Radio Premiere Networks |
Owner |
iHeartMedia (Capstar TX LLC) |
Sister stations | KBIG, KRRL, KIIS-FM, KLAC, KOST, KEIB, KYSR |
Webcast | Listen Live (via iHeartRadio) |
Website | www.kfiam640.com |
KFI (640 kHz) is an AM radio station in Los Angeles, California, owned and operated by iHeartMedia. It received its license to operate on March 31, 1922 and began operating on April 16, 1922, and after a succession of power increases, became one of the United States' first high-powered, "clear-channel" stations. KFI is a Class A 50,000 watt station. It airs a talk radio format, with mostly local hosts and frequent news updates.
Its studios are located in Burbank between the Warner Bros. Studios and The Burbank Studios, and it has a transmitter site in La Mirada near the Artesia Boulevard exit of Interstate 5, the Santa Ana Freeway. By day, its signal can be heard around Southern California and at night, when radio waves travel further, it can be picked up around Western North America.
KFI is licensed by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to broadcast in the HD (hybrid) format. Los Angeles media has recently reported (August 12, 2015) that KFI has turned off the AM HD signal.
In 1922, Earle C. Anthony was the founder and owner of what eventually became KFI, a radio station he controlled until his death in 1961. From 1929 to 1944, he also owned KECA 1430, later 780 and now 790 KABC. The E.C.A. in KECA stood for Earle C. Anthony.