May 1997 – Chuck Taylor/Seattle Times
In these days of corporate consolidation and precision programming, it’s noteworthy, even in a major market, when a station decides to compete head to head in a niche with an established player like adult-Top 40 KPLZ-FM (101.5), owned by Seattle-based Fisher Broadcasting.
The radio market is so fragmented, it’s practically suicide to try to steal a share of a miniscule slice of pie.
But there’s a challenger, unveiled this week, calling itself “the new Kiss 106.1 – the ’90s music mix,” even though the old Kiss wasn’t much more than a year old itself.
Kiss is officially KBKS-FM and KRPM-AM (1090), owned by EZ Communications of Fairfax, Va. (soon to be absorbed by American Radio Systems of Boston). Kiss began in 1996 with a mission to play pop rhythm, with plenty of soulful oldies, that adults could enjoy.
It has now nearly abandoned rhythm-oriented adult-contemporary music. Most of the air personalities, including Cheryl Palmer and Australian Outback Jack, are gone. Morning host Dana Dearden remains, but Kiss basically sounds like a juke box – for now, anyway.
Program director Mike Preston did not return a phone call, but it appears Kiss intends to take on KPLZ, better known as “Star 101.5.” Joked KPLZ morning co-host and program director Kent Phillips: “It sounds like us, so I think they’re great!”
The entrenched Star in recent years has evolved from “hot” adult-contemporary to adult Top 40 – a subtle shift to the untrained ear, but one that recognizes the hot genre of mainstream rock dominated by women.
On both stations you’ll hear the closest thing to the traditional notion of eclectic Top 40 radio. It’s mostly up-tempo, rock-oriented. Female artists such as the Spice Girls, Jewel and Shawn Colvin are thriving now. Yesterday morning, you could hear both stations simultaneously playing Colvin’s “Sunny Came Home.”
