KVRQ
| City | Seattle, Washington |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Seattle metropolitan area |
| Branding | Rock 98.9 |
| Slogan | Everything That Rocks |
| Frequency | 98.9 MHz FM (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1958 (as KMCS) |
| Format |
Mainstream Rock HD2: Talk (KKNW simulcast) |
| ERP | 68,000 watts |
| HAAT | 698 meters |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 57843 |
| Callsign meaning | K V RQ (sounds like "rock") |
| Former callsigns | KMCS (1958-1966) KBBX (1966-1972) KEZX (1972-1995) KWJZ (1995-2011) KLCK-FM (2011-2016) |
| Owner |
Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. (Seattle FCC License Sub, LLC) |
| Sister stations | KQMV, KRWM, KIXI, KKNW |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 989rocks.com |
KVRQ (98.9 FM) is a radio station based in Seattle, Washington that is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, broadcasting at 98.9 MHz with an effective radiated power of 68,000 watts. Its transmitter is located near Issaquah, Washington on Tiger Mountain, with studios located at Newport Corporate Center in Bellevue.
The station first went on the air in 1958 as KMCS. It was then locally owned by former Crown (later to be known as King Broadcasting Company) executives. Like most FM stations at the time, the format was beautiful music/easy listening, which lasted until about 1983. Up until 1972, the station played LPs.
KMCS switched calls to KBBX in 1966. Then, with a major promotional thrust and with the TM syndicated "Music Only For A Woman" format in 1972, the call letters and format were changed to KEZX and 'Oceans of Beautiful Music'. Also from the late 1960s into the late 1980s, the sub-carrier 67 kHz SCA transmitted music and point of sale commercials to many of the retail outlets in the Puget Sound area.
The marketcasting portion was the reason that Roy Park, owner of Park Broadcasting purchased the station in late 1975. Park at the time was one of the largest broadcast firms in the US. The station increased its power in the spring of 1977 from 35,000 watts to 100,000 watts. At first, the station was locally programmed, but later changed to a syndicated service, only to revert to being locally programmed in 1980. In 1983, it flipped to a mix of AC, "West Coast" singer-songwriter pop music, AOR, and jazz music. This is considered to be an early version of what was to be known as adult album alternative. It remained as a AAA station until October 31, 1990, when it reverted to easy listening, but flipped again in August 1993 to Smooth Jazz, which was starting to gain ground in many major US cities.
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Wikipedia