City | Seattle, Washington |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Seattle/Tacoma |
Branding | 99.9 The Rock KISW |
Slogan | The Rock Of Seattle |
Frequency | 99.9 MHz FM (also on HD Radio) 99.9-2 FM-"The Metal Channel" |
First air date | January 18, 1950 |
Format | Mainstream Rock |
ERP | 67,000 watts |
HAAT | 707 meters |
Class | C |
Facility ID | 47750 |
Callsign meaning | Kool In Seattle, Washington / K Independent State of Washington |
Owner |
Entercom Communications (Entercom License, LLC) |
Sister stations | KKWF, KHTP, KNDD |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website |
kisw.com The Metal Channel (HD2) |
KISW (99.9 FM) is a radio station in Seattle, Washington. Its format is Mainstream Rock, with the slogan, "The Rock of Seattle". KISW broadcasts on a frequency of 99.9 MHz with an ERP of 67,000 watts through a transmitter near Issaquah, Washington on Tiger Mountain, and operates from its studios at the Metropolitan Park complex in Downtown Seattle.
KISW has a long history in Seattle as a hard rocking album-oriented rock and mainstream rock station with the slogan "Seattle's Best Rock". Over the years the station has employed some of Seattle's most successful on-air hosts and DJs, including Bob Rivers, Crow and West, Robin and Maynard, Steve Slaton and others. KISW's license is held by Entercom, who operates four stations in the Seattle metropolitan area. KISW morphed to an active rock format by 2003, when sister alternative rock station KNDD dropped the majority of hard rock songs.
KISW commenced broadcasting on January 18, 1950. KISW played classical music under the tutelage of its founder and first owner, Ellwood W. Lippincott (1904–1977). From 1954 to 1956, the station was managed by Harvey Manning.
In 1969, the station was purchased by Kaye-Smith, a partnership of famed entertainer Danny Kaye and Lester Smith. At that time Kaye-Smith were also the owners of the number one pop music station in Seattle, KJR. By 1971, KISW had switched to a progressive rock (or "underground") format pioneered by Tom Donahue at KMPX and KSAN in San Francisco.