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Broadcast area | Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex |
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Frequency | 92.5 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | Lone Star 92.5 |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Classic Rock |
Ownership | |
Owner |
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KDGE, KDMX, KEGL, KFXR, KHKS, KHVN, KKGM | |
History | |
First air date | April 1, 1948 | (as KRLD-FM)
Former call signs | |
Call sign meaning | KZPower Station (former branding) |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 6378 |
Class | C |
ERP | 100,000 watts |
HAAT | 508 metres (1,667 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 32°35′19″N 96°58′05″W / 32.58861°N 96.96806°WCoordinates: 32°35′19″N 96°58′05″W / 32.58861°N 96.96806°W |
Links | |
Webcast |
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Website | lonestar925 |
KZPS (92.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Dallas, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc., and airs a classic rock radio format. The studios are located along Dallas Parkway in Farmers Branch (although it has a Dallas address).
KZPS has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for FM stations. The transmitter site is off West Belt Line Road in Cedar Hill, amid the towers for other Dallas-area FM and TV stations.[1] The station uses HD Radio technology, although it currently offers no separate digital subchannels.
History
KRLD-FM
The station first signed on the air on April 1, 1948 with the KRLD-FM call sign. (Those call letters are currently used on a sports radio station owned by Entercom, 105.3 KRLD-FM.) The original KRLD-FM initially simulcast co-owned KRLD 1080 AM. KRLD-AM-FM were owned by the Times Herald Printing Company, along with daily newspaper The Dallas Times Herald. A TV station was added the following year, KRLD-TV channel 4 (now KDFW).
KRLD-FM was one of only three 24-hour FM stations in the Dallas market in the 1960s. In the late 60s, the Federal Communications Commission began requiring AM-FM combos in large cities to offer separate programming much of the day. A progressive rock format was instituted.
Power Station Z92.5
The call letters changed to KAFM in 1972, and the station underwent a number of format changes through the 1970s and 1980s. The Dallas-Fort Worth market has left without a single CHR station throughout parts of the early 1980s, but it wasn't until the first few quarters of 1983 when the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex added its second CHR station after KAFM dropped its short-lived adult contemporary formats. It was known as "92½ FM" with its slogan "Maximum Hits". In 1986, it was rebranded as "Z92.5" with its slogan "Your Power Station Z92.5". Its current call sign KZPS originated from that rebrand, with the last two letters representing Power Station, a MOR format, and an adult contemporary format.
From 1971 to 1978, the station was owned by the family of former Dallas Mayor J. Erik Jonsson. It was sold to Bonneville International in the summer of 1978.
Classic Rock
1987 is a very hard year for Top 40/CHR in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as 2 out of the 4 CHR (5 in total) stations flipped to new formats. KZPS flipped to classic hits in February, and its nearby successor KTKS flipped to Smooth Jazz later that September. The Dallas market had left KHYI the only mainstream Top 40 station in the metroplex, while KEGL continued its success of being a rock-based Top 40 format, but gradually died down by the late 1980s. However, AC station KVIL-FM also gained major success with a small mix of CHR as well marking it more dominant in DFW. KZPS's classic hits format gradually transitioned to classic rock, bringing the syndicated John Boy and Billy morning show on board in 1995. The station imaging switched to "Ninety Two Five KZPS, the Classic Rock station". John Boy and Billy were later replaced by local hosts Sam "Bo" Roberts and "Long" Jim White ("Bo and Jim") in the mornings.
Evergreen Media bought the station from Bonneville International in 1997. Evergreen was later acquired by Clear Channel Communications, a forerunner of iHeartMedia. Through the years, notable disk jockeys include: Sam "Bo" Roberts and "Long" Jim White (still hosting the weekday morning show), Jay Philpot (middays, later in Baltimore), Jon Dillon (afternoon drive, until his release in 2012), Stubie Doak (nights), Pamela Steele (middays), Ed Budanauro (”Enerjazz” host from 1987 to 1989), Benn McGregor ("McGregor" - 1982–86 writer/producer, co-host of "Morning Drive" with Andy Barber 1984–1985), Jerry Vigil (middays, production director), Pete Thomson (afternoons), John Shomby (program director), and Paul Donovan (evenings).
Lone Star 92.5
On April 23, 2007, KZPS rebranded itself as "Lone Star 92.5". It adopted a Texas-themed classic rock/country rock hybrid format that was previously heard on 92.5-HD2.[2] About a year later, KZPS changed back to its previous classic rock playlist, keeping the "Lonestar 92.5" branding.
KZPS-HD2
Since KZPS rebranded as "Lone Star 92.5", the classic rock format was briefly heard on 92.5-HD2. In April 2008, when KZPS returned to classic rock, 92.5-HD2 switched to an adult album alternative format branded as "The Music Summit" (previously on KDMX-HD2).
As of October 2013, it was simulcasting from iHeartRadio's "World Class Rock" network utilizing the same format as before.[3] Since April 2015, it was renamed to "The iHeart Current" and a month later, renamed again as "iHeart Eclectic". The AAA station in May 2018 rebranded as "Eclectic Rock".[4]
Since mid-2019, the Eclectic Rock feed was discontinued on KZPS-HD2, leaving the digital subchannel with no programming replacement.
KZPS's HD2 signal did resume programming for a brief period,[when?] but ceased programming once again by October 2021.
References
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/KZPS
- ^ First Listen: Clear Channel’s New Lone Star 92.5/Dallas Archived 2014-05-17 at the Wayback Machine (Published April 24, 2007, Retrieved May 16, 2014)
- ^ KZPS-HD2 World Class Rock - TuneIn (accessed October 1, 2013)
- ^ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=10 Archived 2015-11-23 at the Wayback Machine HD Radio Guide for Dallas-Ft. Worth
External links
- KZPS official site
- KZPS in the FCC FM station database
- KZPS on Radio-Locator
- KZPS in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- DFW Radio/TV History
- Mediaweek.com story on new Lone Star format
- DFW Radio Archives