KCMO-FM
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| KCMO-FM | |
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| City of license | Kansas City, Missouri |
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| Broadcast area | Kansas City, MO-KS |
| Branding | 94-9 KCMO |
| Slogan | Kansas City's Greatest Hits |
| Frequency | 94.9 MHz |
| First air date | 1989 |
| Format | Oldies |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 341.4 meters |
| Class | C0 |
| Facility ID | 6385 |
| Callsign meaning | Kansas City, MissOuri |
| Owner | Cumulus Media |
| Sister stations | KCHZ, KCFX, KCJK, KCMO-AM, KMJK |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.949kcmo.com |
KCMO-FM, branded 94-9 KCMO, is an oldies station that serves the Kansas City metropolitan area. The station, owned by Cumulus Broadcasting, was acquired from Susquehanna Radio in 2006. Its transmitter is located in Independence, Missouri.
One of the first FM stations in Kansas City, KCMO-FM struggled to find a niche in the dense media market. Starting in 1977, KCMO (under various call letters) floated between easy listening, country, and Top-40 formats. In 1983, Meredith Corporation (which had owned KCMO-FM for years) sold both of the KCMO radio stations to Richard Fairbanks, a one-time owner of what is now WXIA-TV in Atlanta, Georgia. Fairbanks, in turn, sold both stations in 1985 to Summit Communications Group, who then sold the stations to the Gannett Company the following year. In 1989, KCMO-FM struck gold when it introduced Oldies 95 (although they broadcast at 94.9 MHz.) The last of WHB's listeners flocked from the former AM powerhouse in a matter of months, prompting that station's conversion to farm radio.
In 1993, Gannett sold KCMO-AM/FM to Bonneville International, the then-owner of KMBZ and KLTH (now KBLV). Four years later, Bonneville sold all four of its Kansas City stations together with three radio stations in Seattle, Washington to Entercom Communications. Susquehanna Radio bought both KCMO stations from Entercom in 2000, as Entercom was forced to sell the KCMO stations after its purchase of Sinclair Broadcast Group's radio stations (KQRC-FM, KXTR-FM and KCIY) left it two stations over the FCC's single-market ownership limit. Susquehanna subsequently merged with Cumulus Media in mid-2006.
KCMO-FM enjoyed strong ratings during the 1990s but in 2005 became caught up with the phobia of appealing to "too many" older listeners.
Ratings wasn't an issue, as the station was often in the Top 10; KCMO-FM was one of the few stations appealing to the city's older listeners. To reflect the increasing inclusion of music from the 1970s, and to further alienate its heritage Baby Boomer audience, the station dropped its Oldies moniker in April 2005. Now known as 94-9 KCMO, the station had a strong showing in the Kansas City Winter 2007 Arbitron survey, achieving a 5.6 share, good enough for #3 overall. This put KCMO-FM ahead of market mainstays like KFKF, WDAF, KMBZ, KBEQ, and KUDL.
[edit] External links
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KCMO
- Radio Locator information on KCMO
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for KCMO
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