KKOL (AM)
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| City | Seattle, Washington |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Seattle metropolitan area |
| Branding | AM 1300 Business Radio KKOL |
| Frequency | 1300 kHz |
| First air date | 1924 (as KFOA) |
| Format | Business News/Talk |
| Power | 50,000 watts (day) 47,000 watts (night) |
| Class | B (regional) |
| Transmitter coordinates | 47°14′56″N 122°24′18″W / 47.24889°N 122.40500°W |
| Former callsigns | KFOA, KOL, KMPS |
| Owner |
Salem Communications (Inspiration Media, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | KNTS, KGNW, KKMO, KLFE |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | 1300kol.com |
KKOL AM 1300 is a commercial radio station located in Seattle, Washington. KKOL airs business news/talk programming branded as "AM 1300 Business Radio KKOL".
The original call letters were KFOA when the station commenced broadcasting at a wavelength of 465 meters in 1924, and the studios and transmitter were located at Rhodes Department Store, the original owner. The station was sold in 1928 to Archie Taft, at which time the call letters were changed to KOL, its frequency was 1270 kHz, and its studios were moved to the Northern Life Tower. In 1934, KOL abandoned its T-wire transmitter on the roof of the Rhodes Department Store building and commenced using a new, 490-foot transmitter on Harbor Island, which at the time was the tallest radio transmitter of its type in the United States. From 1930 to 1938, KOL was Seattle's CBS affiliate. The studios were moved to the transmitter site in 1952. In 1962, the Taft interests sold KOL to television producers and game show moguls Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. The station then briefly adopted a Top 40 format which was dropped within a year due to a perceived failure to compete with KJR-AM, and reverted to an MOR format. By 1965 the Top 40 format had returned. In 1967, the station was sold to Buckley Broadcasting. From 1965 to 1975, KOL battled KJR as the Number 1 top 40 station in Seattle. The call letters were changed to KMPS (for "Kountry Music Puget Sound", featuring a country/western format) in 1975 following another change in ownership. During its days as KMPS, it simulcasted KMPS-FM/94.1, the former frequency of KOL-FM. The Harbor Island studio and transmitter site was demolished in 1981. The station's call letters were changed to KKOL in 1997, and a conservative talk format was adopted at that time.
In 2002, due to losing its broadcast location, KOL installed a temporary 1000-watt transmitter on a moored boat and began to broadcast from a 175-foot/61-meter ship in one of the waterways in Seattle. This was the only floating radio station in the US. In 2007 the station has a new broadcast facility with a 50,000-watt transmitter and is dedicated to news/talk.
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Wikipedia