KZDG
 |
|
| City | San Francisco, California |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | San Francisco Bay Area |
| Branding | Radio Zindagi |
| Slogan | Jiye… Ja! |
| Frequency | 1550 kHz |
| Repeater(s) | KMVQ HD3 |
| First air date | 1947 |
| Format | Indian talk/music |
| Power | 10,000 watts |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 25458 |
| Callsign meaning | Radio ZinDaGi |
| Former callsigns | KFRC (2009-2011) KYCY (1997-2009) KPIX (1994-1997) KKHI (1963-1994) KQBY (1960-1963) KOBY (1956-1960) KEAR (1952-1956) KSMO (1947-1952) |
| Owner |
CBS Radio (operated by Cinemaya Media under a time-brokerage agreement) (CBS Radio East Inc.) |
| Sister stations |
KCBS, KFRC-FM, KITS, KLLC, KMVQ-FM also part of CBS Corp. cluster: KPIX-TV and KBCW |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www |
KZDG (1550 AM; "Radio Zindagi") is a radio station in San Francisco, owned by CBS Radio and programmed by Cinemaya Media. KZDG features talk and music programming targeted to the Bay Area's Indian population.
Radio Zindagi started in 2011 on KZDG as a successful South Asian radio format, with concentration in Bollywood and Indian American affairs. The format has spread to the New York City and Washington, D.C. areas, and is also a syndicated format.
The 1550AM frequency has been home to many call signs and formats since it signed on in 1947. The original format was classical music as KSMO (later KEAR).
When the station was sold in 1956, following a brief period of being off the air, it flipped to Top 40 as KOBY. The station quickly went to the top of the local ratings. They also simulcast with their new FM station at 95.7. Soon, other stations in the Bay Area switched to Top 40, and with much deeper financial resources, and the owners of KOBY decided to sell. In order to inflate station revenues, they began programming heavy amounts of commercials. This move backfired, and potential buyers were scared away from the rapidly failing stations.
In 1960, KOBY and KOBY-FM switched to beautiful music under a new owner, with new call letters KQBY. Ratings were still poor, and the owner ran out of money. The stations went dark once again until a new buyer was found.
The new owner adopted a middle of the road (MOR) format for the two stations, with the call letters KKHI, as well as personality-oriented disc jockeys. The next year, KKHI-FM, due to new Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations concerning FM simulcasting, switched to an automated beautiful music format. Soon after, the owner ran out of money, and with a severe cutback of station staffers (including the expensive disc jockeys), flipped to classical music once again. Eventually, they simulcast once again with their FM signal. The classical format was somewhat successful, but the owner could not dig himself out of his massive debts and sold the stations in 1965. The new owners, Buckley Broadcasting were satisfied with the revenue generated by KKHI, so the format was kept. Buckley continued to own the station and program classical music until 1994.
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Wikipedia