KUBT
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| City | Honolulu, Hawaii |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Branding | 93.9 The Beat |
| Slogan | Hawaii's #1 Hit Music Station |
| Frequency | 93.9 MHz (also on HD Radio) 93.9 HD-2 for Rhythmic AC/Classic Hip-Hop "99.1 Jamz" |
| Translator(s) | 99.1 K256AS (Honolulu, relays HD2) |
| First air date | January 14, 1979 |
| Format | Rhythmic Contemporary |
| Audience share | 3.6 (Fall 2016, Nielsen Audio[1]) |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | -44 meters |
| Class | C1 |
| Facility ID | 34592 |
| Callsign meaning | K HonolulU BeaT |
| Former callsigns | KPIG-FM (1978-1980) KMAI (1980-1989) KIKI-FM (1989-2010) KHJZ (2010-2016) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia, Inc. (Capstar TX LLC) |
| Webcast | Listen Live (via iHeartRadio) |
| Website | 939beat.com |
KUBT, also known by its moniker "93.9 The Beat", is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station based in Honolulu, Hawaii. The station broadcasts at 93.9 FM and operates at 100 kW, is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications until September 2014). It is also transmitting on Oceanic Time Warner Cable digital channel 869 for the entire state of Hawaii.
KUBT, which signed on in January 1979 as KPIG (a disco station) and later became album oriented rock-formatted KMAI, has been a Rhythmic Top 40 in its two incarnations, from 1986 to 2010 (it picked up the KIKI calls in 1989, and was known as "I-94" until 2003, later rebranded as "Hot 93.9" until 2010), and since September 2, 2016, when it returned to the format as the current "93.9 The Beat."
The KIKI calls and Top 40 music format date back to the early 1970s, when KIKI 830 AM changed to Top 40 (as "Gold Key Radio") from a middle of the road format. The Top 40/CHR format moved to the FM dial as rhythmic-leaning I-94 in 1986 as the AM station went to an oldies format; the AM station is now KHVH.
KIKI was locally famous in the 1980s for its "Brown Bags to Stardom" contest which gave up-and-coming local Hawaii artists a chance at stardom. Some notable winners of the contest have included the female vocal trio Na Leo Pilimehana (1984) and Glenn Medeiros (1986), who would go on to national prominence with hits such as "Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You" and "She Ain't Worth It."
On September 2, 2010, at Noon (Hawaii Time), KIKI-FM changed their format to rhythmic adult contemporary, branded as "93.9 Jamz" and picked up the new calls KHJZ (previously used on a radio station in Houston, TX). The station described its format as a "Generation-X" style Rhythmic AC, featuring a hybrid mix of currents from today along with Rhythmic hits from the 1990s and 2000s with Batu influences, hoping to distinguish itself from rival KUMU by billing itself as "it's not your mom's old school," a reference to KUMU's Gold-based Rhythmic AC direction, which favors music from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. Clear Channel also decided to move the KIKI calls back the AM side, where it replaced the call letters of KHBZ. Despite having attracted loyal listeners, the ratings were not impressive and failed to overtake KUMU. By the fall of 2015, KHJZ became more current heavy, though the station still focused on 1990s and 2000s hits. However, the improvement didn't make any impact in the ratings.
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