KBKS-FM
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| City | Tacoma, Washington |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Seattle/Tacoma |
| Branding | 106.1 KISS FM |
| Slogan | More Music, More Variety |
| Frequency | 106.1 MHz FM (also on HD Radio) 106.1-2 FM-EDM ("Evolution") |
| First air date | May 1959 (as KLAY-FM) |
| Format | Hot AC |
| ERP | 73,000 watts |
| HAAT | 698 meters |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 27020 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 47°30′17″N 121°58′04″W / 47.50472°N 121.96778°W |
| Callsign meaning | Best KisS |
| Former callsigns | KLAY-FM (1959-3/24/1980) KRPM-FM (3/24/1980-12/23/1981) KRPM (12/23/1981-4/11/1986) KRPM-FM (4/11/1986-11/1/1995) KCIN-FM (11/1/1995-4/5/1996) KRPM-FM (4/5/1996-4/15/1996) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia (AMFM Texas Licenses LLC) |
| Sister stations | KFOO, KHHO, KJR, KJR-FM, KPWK, KUBE |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | kissfmseattle.com |
KBKS-FM (106.1 FM), better known as "106.1 KISS FM", is a hot adult contemporary-formatted radio station licensed to Tacoma, Washington and broadcasts to the Seattle metropolitan area. The iHeartMedia outlet broadcasts at 106.1 MHz with an effective radiated power of 73,000 watts from a transmitter on Tiger Mountain, while its studios are located in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle.
KBKS signed on the air in May 1959 as KLAY-FM, a sister station to KLAY. Like most FM stations at the time, the station aired a beautiful music format that targeted Tacoma, its city of license, and South Puget Sound. KLAY-FM was the first FM station in the Pacific Northwest broadcasting in stereo.
On May 1, 1972, KLAY-FM began airing a progressive rock format during the evening and overnight hours, with the beautiful music format remaining in other dayparts. By October 1972, the rock format was airing full-time. Many famous Seattle radio personalities got their start here during this time period.
In March 1980, the station was sold to Heritage Media. The station then flipped to country as "K106", and the call letters changed to KRPM. The station competed against EZ Communications' KMPS. The station simulcasted on KRPM/KULL 770 AM from 1985 to 1991, and again for a brief time in 1995. The station would adopt the call sign KCIN-FM (when the station rebranded to "Kickin' Country 106") on November 1, 1995 (while the AM simulcast would move to 1090 as part of a format swap with 770, with 1090 taking the KRPM calls).
Shortly after the passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, EZ purchased KCIN and KRPM from Heritage on March 18, 1996, making KMPS and KCIN sister stations (EZ took over the stations via an LMA until the purchase was completed). EZ also bought KYCW-FM (which also ran a country format) from Infinity Broadcasting two weeks prior, which would lead to the end of the country format on 106.1/1090. On the same day EZ purchased KCIN, 106.1/1090 dropped regular programming and began simulcasting KMPS from Monday (March 18) to Thursday (March 21), then simulcasted KYCW on Friday (March 22) and Saturday (March 23). At Midnight on Sunday (March 24), 106.1/1090 began a 39-hour stunt with random audio soundbites, as well as announcing a change coming the following afternoon.
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