KPRI

Infobox Radio Station
name = KPRI


city = Encinitas, California
area = San Diego County
branding = 102.1 KPRI
slogan = "San Diego's Finest Rock."
airdate = April 1, 1996 as KXST with the Triple-A format
frequency = 102.1 (MHz)
format = Triple-A
erp = 30,000 watts
haat = 192.7 meters
class = B
facility_id = 51503
owner = Compass Radio Group
former_callsigns = KXST, KIOZ, KGMG
webcast = [http://www.live365.com/cgi-bin/mini.cgi?membername=kpri_fm&site=pro&clientType=&playlist=&odatrack=&odapos=0&tm=1207893722345 Listen Live]
website = [http://www.kprifm.com/ www.kprifm.com]
callsign_meaning =

KPRI-FM (also 102.1 KPRI) is an adult album alternative radio station in San Diego, California that plays blues, reggae, folk, pop, and rock music from the mid-1960s through the present.

KPRI-FM is the only locally owned and operated commercial station in the San Diego market, and is operated by the Compass Radio Group, Inc. The station was formed on April 1, 1996 by two partners, Robert "Bob" Hughes and Jonathan Schwartz. Both had backgrounds in the corporate side of radio and had always hoped to create a station that was commercially viable while at the same time critically successful.

102.1 was originally licensed by the FCC with antenna and tower in San Marcos, California. The station was—and still is—licensed to Encinitas, California. KPRI's transmission emitted a city-grade signal that covered most of San Diego County, but due to the topography of the county, there were certain areas the station served better than others. San Diego's affluent North County Coastal areas received the signal without interruption, while areas in main San Diego such as Pacific Beach or La Jolla had degraded "in home" reception due to interference caused by Mount Soledad. Previous ownership had set up repeaters (low-power transmitters) scattered across San Diego to improve transmission of the radio station, but because those created as many problems as they solved, KPRI stopped using some of them in 1997.

On February 13, 2008, KPRI moved their transmitter atop Mount Soledad in order to improve their signal and to increase their audience.

=The Original Station=Known as K P R I " Capri by the Sea" a middle-of the road and jazz station with studios on 5th ave. San Diego. Featuring DJ's like Rod Page & George Manning.

KPRI continued their MOR format, supplemented by progressive rock show provided by SD pioneering Underground DJ OB Jetty. Finally in May 1968 KPRI switched full time to Progessive Rock. Lineup included Gabriel Wisdom, Fred Nurk, Dana Jones, Joe Chandler,& Jerry Lubin.This era is portrayed in the motion picture "Almost Famous", with Cameron Crowe's visit to KPRI's studios at 7th & Ash downtown.

In 1973 KPRI hired Michael Harrison as PD. He installed a more mainstream AOR format which influenced many other stations around the country. KGB FM and KPRI battled for rating supremacy for all of the 70's and into the 80's.

The original KPRI (at 106.5 FM) is believed to have been started in the 1950s when FM was new and rarely used. Their format was rock music. They existed until the mid 1980s. Their main competition was KGB-FM, which dominated in the local radio station ratings (for rock music stations). When “91X” (XETRA-FM) became extremely popular in the early 1980s with its “New Rock” format, KPRI lost more market share until they were sold, changing format as well as their call letters. Studios at the time were adjacent to Montgomery Field airport just north of Aero Drive.According to [http://www.myspace.com/dfsxradio David Tanny] , operator of [http://www.sandiegoradionews.com/0100.htm San Diego Radio News] : "The KPRI that is back is basically the station that used to be KCBQ-FM ten years ago on 105.3 until it shifted radio transmitter locations from San Diego to Oceanside's 102.1 in a complex deal swap. In 2002, 102.1 picked up the KPRI calls when that became available. It was KXST from 1996-2002 between those times".

While operating as KXST, the station called itself "Sets-102" and its programming featured sets of two or more songs by the same artist. That format was dropped with the switch to the KPRI call letters in 2002.

KPRI current programming

* "The House of Blues Radio Hour"
* "The KPRI Morning Show with Madison"
* "Meg Banta in the Midday"
* "Saturday Morning Unplugged"
* "Sunday Morning Unplugged"
* "Oz in the Late Afternoon"
* "Evening with Robert"
* "Homegrown Hour"
* "E-Town"
* "San Diego Live"

External links

* [http://www.kprifm.com/ Official website]
*FMQ|KPRI
*FML|KPRI
*FMARB|KPRI