- KCNL
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KCNL 
City of license Sunnyvale, California Broadcast area San Jose/Oakland/San Francisco, California Branding iFM 104.9 Slogan La Nueva Internacional de FM Frequency 104.9 FM MHz (also on HD Radio) First air date 1970s Format Spanish Variety ERP 6,000 watts HAAT -47 meters Class A Facility ID 54478 Owner The Principle Broadcasting Network San Jose, LLC Sister stations KLOK_(AM), KSJO Webcast Listen Live Website kcnl1049fm.com KCNL (104.9 FM) is a radio station in San Jose, California and serves the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by The Principle Broadcasting Network San Jose, LLC and airs a Mexican Oldies format.
On September 18, 2009, KCNL swapped formats (but not calls) with KSJO 92.3 FM, and become "La Preciosa 104.9". [1]
History
The station that is today known as KCNL 104.9 started life in the early 1970s in Fremont, California, as KFMR, a 3,000 watt station operating out of a house on Mowry Avenue in Fremont.
Among the alumni of those early days at KFMR was a gawky 18-year-old kid named Bill Stairs who went on to a stellar career as a DJ, program director and broadcast consultant in markets from Spokane,[2] Sacramento[3] and San Diego[4] in the west to Boston[5] and Chicago[6] in the east.
Another early DJ at KFMR was writer Timothy Perrin,[7] winner of the 2007 Angie Award for best screenplay.[8]
By the early 1980s, under new ownership, KFMR was airing a religious format.
In 1983, it changed formats and call letters becoming Spanish-language KDOS.
In December 1983, the station adopted the KBRG call letters that had been abandoned by another station when it changed formats earlier in the year. The "new" KBRG adopted the "old" KBRG's Spanish-language music and variety format, as well as the Oakland Athletics baseball games in Spanish called by Amaury Pi-Gonzales. The station was still licensed to Fremont, California.
On December 31, 1997, in a three-station frequency swap, KBRG moved to 100.3, KBAY moved to 94.5, and KUFX ended up occupying 104.9.
This was not the end of the moves. In August 1998, Jacor, KUFX's owner, purchased KOME 98.5 from CBS Radio. Jacor moved KUFX to 98.5, and essentially launched a new station on 104.9 with a modern AC format and the call letters KLDZ. Six months later, the format was tweaked to alternative rock classics as KCNL Channel 104.9. KCNL switched to full-fledged alternative rock on January 15, 2001.
KCNL's call letters were briefly changed to KMJO on October 14, 2005, and changed back to KCNL ten days later, though there was no format change involved. It was likely that Clear Channel, the owners at the time, wanted to park the KMJO call letters temporarily.
On January 1, 2006, KCNL dropped alternative rock and flipped to Spanish. It was named "La Romántica" for a couple of months, but was later renamed "Enamorada 104.9".
Fourteen months later, on February 27, 2007, KCNL switched back to an alternative rock format, claiming that 60% of all comments they received were from people who wanted their old station back[9]. The fact that the ratings had dropped from a 3.4 share to a 1.3 share in the year Enamorada was playing may have had been a factor as well. The final song played by KCNL as "Enamorada 104.9" was "Te Veo Venir Soledad" by Franco de Vita on 3:48 PM, February 26. Right after the song, the return of the alternative rock format was unofficially launched with "For Those About to Rock (We Salute You)" by AC/DC. The station immediately switched to a countdown audio, playing a few songs far apart in the daytime of February 27, until officially relaunching 5:00 PM that day, briefly sampling the songs "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana and "Give it Away" by Red Hot Chili Peppers before playing fully "Beautiful Day" by U2 as the first song in the resurrected Channel 104.9 format.
After 11 months without airstaff, on January 22, 2008, "Joe" was heard in the afternoon announcing songs once again.
On September 18, 2009, KCNL's Channel 104.9 modern rock format moved to 92.3 KSJO as "Channel 92.3". KCNL picked up the "La Preciosa" Spanish adult hits format from KSJO.
On March 2, 2010, the sale of KCNL was closed, as the station had officially changed hands from Clear Channel Communications to the Principle Broadcasting Network San Jose, LLC for the sum of $5 million. KCNL changed to their current "iFM" Spanish variety format.
On Saturday and Sunday nights from 8 p.m. to midnight, KCNL broadcasts an alternative format known as "Save Alternative," which also airs 24 hours a day on the HD2 channel and online at savealternative.com.
References
External links
- The Enamorada KCNL Home Page, as of April 2, 2006 from Internet Archive
- FormatChange.com page describing the circumstances of KCNL's birth
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KCNL
- Radio-Locator information on KCNL
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for KCNL
Radio stations in the San Jose, California market By FM frequency By AM frequency NOAA WX Radio frequency 162.450 · 162.550By callsign Defunct California Radio Markets: Bakersfield • Chico • Fresno • Los Angeles • Merced • Modesto • Oxnard-Ventura • Palm Springs • Redding • Riverside-San Bernardino • Sacramento • San Diego • San Francisco/Oakland • San Jose • San Luis Obispo • Santa Barbara • Santa Cruz/Salinas/Monterey • Santa Maria-Lompoc • Santa Rosa • Stockton • Victor Valley • Visalia-Tulare-Hanford
Other California Radio Regions: Barstow • Bishop • Crescent City • Diablo Valley • High Desert/Eastern Sierra • Eureka • Fort Bragg-Ukiah • Gilroy/Hollister • Imperial Valley • Marysville/Yuba City • Needles • Red Bluff • Susanville/Sierra Nevada • Tri-Valley • Yreka
See also: List of radio stations in CaliforniaRadio stations in the San Francisco market By FM frequency 87.9 · 88.1 · 88.5 · 88.9 · 89.1 · 89.3 · 89.3 · 89.3 · 89.5 · 89.7 · 89.9 · 90.1 · 90.3 · 90.3 · 90.5 · 90.7 · 91.1 · 91.5 · 91.7 · 91.9 · 92.3 · 92.7 · 93.3 · 94.1 · 94.5 · 94.9 · 95.3 · 95.3 · 95.7 · 96.1 · 96.5 · 97.3 · 97.7 · 98.1 · 98.5 · 98.9 · 99.3 · 99.7 · 100.3 · 100.7 · 100.7 · 100.9 · 100.9 · 100.9 · 101.3 · 102.1 · 102.9 · 103.7 · 104.5 · 104.9 · 105.3 · 105.7 · 106.1 · 106.5 · 106.9 · 107.7By AM frequency NOAA Weather Radio frequency 162.400 · 162.450 · 162.500 · 162.550By callsign K205BN · K212AA · K220BV · K257BE · K264AQ · K265CV · K265CY · K265DI · KALW · KALX · KBLX · KBRG · KCBS · KCEA · KCNL · KCRH · KCSM · KDFC · KDIA · KDOW · KDX54 · KDYA · KEAR · KEC49 · KECG · KEST · KEZR · KFAX · KFFG · KFJC · KFOG · KFRC-FM · KGMZ · KGO · KHB49 · KIOI · KIQI · KISQ · KITS · KKDV · KKGN · KKSF · KKUP · KLIV · KLLC · KLOK · KMEL · KMKY · KMTG · KMVQ · KNBR · KNEW · KOIT-FM · KPFA · KPFB · KPOO · KQED · KREV · KRTY · KRZZ · KSAN · KSFB · KSFH · KSFN · KSFO · KSJO · KSJS · KSJX · KSOL · KSQQ · KTCT · KTRB · KUFX · KUZX · KVTO · KVVF · KVVN · KVVZ · KYLD · KZDG · KZSF · KZSU · WWF64Defunct Satellite Radio Local Traffic/Weather: XM Channel 221 · Sirius Channel 156¹ = Clear-channel stations with extended nighttime coverage.Mass media in the San Francisco Bay Area: Radio stationsCalifornia Radio Markets: Bakersfield • Chico • Fresno • Los Angeles • Merced • Modesto • Oxnard-Ventura • Palm Springs • Redding • Riverside-San Bernardino • Sacramento • San Diego • San Francisco/Oakland • San Jose • San Luis Obispo • Santa Barbara • Santa Cruz/Salinas/Monterey • Santa Maria-Lompoc • Santa Rosa • Stockton • Victor Valley • Visalia-Tulare-Hanford
Other California Radio Regions: Barstow • Bishop • Crescent City • Diablo Valley • High Desert/Eastern Sierra • Eureka • Fort Bragg-Ukiah • Gilroy/Hollister • Imperial Valley • Marysville/Yuba City • Needles • Red Bluff • Susanville/Sierra Nevada • Tri-Valley • Yreka
See also: List of radio stations in CaliforniaCategories:- HD Radio stations
- Radio stations in the San Francisco Bay Area
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