Thursday, December 11, 2014

KFRO, Longview (1990s)

Unused bumper sticker from 1990s, sheet measures approximately 13.2 cm by 9.2 cm.
Front side: shaped; background: white; KFRO logo.
Back side: Diet Coca-Cola promotion.



KFRO-FM (95.3 FM) currently is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station, branded as "The Breeze" simulcasting KLJT in Tyler, Texas. Licensed to Gilmer, Texas, USA, the station serves the Lonvgiew-Marshall area.

The station is currently owned by Waller Media, LLC and features programing from Hits Now! network and ABC News Radio.

In the mid-1980s J.R. Curtis Jr. bought 95.3 KNIF Gilmer, on December 5, 1986.. 95.3 became KAEZ, and moved the studios to Longview. 95.3 then became KLSQ on September 17, 1990. Then March 1, 1993 95.3 was rebranded as KFRO-FM, and the format changed to oldies (1950s and 1960s rock and roll and pop), and was called "The Frog". On December 7, 1998 95.3 became KCGL, and then back to 95.3 KFRO-FM February 15, 1999. 95.3 has been just about every format in the book, Beautiful Music, Easy Listening, Country, Top-40, Oldies, Spanish, Smooth Jazz, Soft Rock, and now a Top-40 mix variety format. The most successful time in 95.3's history was the oldies era when the station was known as "The Frog".


*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFRO-FM and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KFRO_(AM)

Monday, November 24, 2014

Magic 98.9, Anchorage (1999)

Unused bumper sticker from 1999, sheet measures approximately 16.5 cm by 8.5 cm.
Front side: background: clear; Magic 98.9 logo.
Back side: Dark Horse Coffee Company coupon.


KYMG (branded as Magic 98.9) is a commercial Adult Contemporary music radio station in Anchorage, Alaska, USA, broadcasting on 98.9 FM. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc.

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KYMG

Friday, November 14, 2014

Kiss 90, Melbourne (1999)

*Kiss 90 promotional materials, released in 1999

Kiss 90 was an aspirant dance radio station based in Melbourne, Australia. Kiss was the first 100% dance format radio station in Melbourne. The station broadcast sporadically to the Greater Melbourne area between 1994 and 2001 on 89.9 FM.

Kiss 90 had a reputation for setting Melbourne's music trends. The station was at the centre of nightclub and rave culture trends. The music format was designed to unite dance music lovers and showcase a broad range of dance music, featuring most of Melbourne's big name DJs live on air.

The station continually broke new songs and gave airplay to many artists for the first time on Australian radio, pushing many into the mainstream charts. Kiss is also credited with significantly influencing the sound of radio in the southern capital. This resulted in mainstream commercial radio stations introducing more dance music into their playlists and Fox FM dropping classic rock for a Rhythmic CHR format in the late '90s.

Kiss 90 was licenced as an 'aspirant' community broadcaster and created to foster Melbourne's dance music culture. The station's mission was to achieve a full-time Melbourne-wide community licence.


Kiss conducted a number of broadcasts to gain listen support and convince the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) to grant a permanent Melbourne wide license. The station was one of many aspirant community groups who shared the 89.9 FM frequency in Melbourne. Kiss, like the other aspirants was only allowed to broadcast for a limited amount of time, usually for 4–8 weeks at any one time.


After many delays, the ABA finally made a decision on the license and Kiss was not successful. The ABA awarded the available high-power FM frequencies to other stations.


*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kiss_90_FM

Here's my collection of Kiss 90 stickers and promotional materials:


Unused bumper sticker from 1999, sheet measures approximately 10 cm by 10 cm.
Front side: background: blue; text:'Melbourne', Kiss 90 logo, slogan '100% Dance'.
Back side: white.




Unused bumper sticker from 1999, sheet measures approximately 8.5 cm by 6 cm.
Front side: background: chrome; oval; Kiss 90 logo; color version: blue, clear, and orange.
Back side: white.




"KISS CARD" registration card, from 1999, sheet measures approximately 13.8 cm by 10.9 cm.
Front side: background: blue, orange; Kiss 90 logo, text: "Melbourne", [Choose Kiss], broadcast test period.
Back side: KISS CARD registration form.



Kiss 90 compliments slip, from 1999, sheet measures approximately 13.8 cm by 10.9 cm.
Front side: background: white; text, Kiss 90 logo, slogan, address.
Back side: white.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Q101, Meridian (1988)

Unused bumper sticker from the 1988, sheet measures approximately 23 cm by 7.5 cm. 
Front side: shaped; background: black; Q101 logo.
Back side: Church's Fried Chicken coupons.


WJDQ (101.3 FM, "Q101") is a CHR formatted radio station broadcasting in the Meridian, Mississippi, USA. In 2006 their call letter changed to WYHL, then WMSO.

On September 9, 2011, WMSO changed their format from country (as "Miss 101") to CHR, branded as "Q101" again. On October 7, 2011, WMSO changed their call letters to WJDQ.

source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJDQ

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Star 102, Kansas City (1999)

Unused bumper sticker from the 1999, sheet measures approximately 14 cm by 9 cm. 
Front side: background: clear; Star 102 logo.
Back side: Tires Plus promos, "Star of Your Car" coupons.


KSRC (102.1 FM, "Star 102") was a Adult Contemporary music formatted radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, USA, between 1999 to 2011.

On January 4, 1999, at 5 PM, after playing "Ants Marching" by Dave Matthews Band, the station began stunting with ocean sounds, as well as liners redirecting listeners to Mix 93.3 (KMXV), and to listen at 9 AM the following day for something new on 102.1. At 9 AM on January 5, 102.1 The Zone (KOZN, previous call letters) flipped to adult contemporary, branded as "Star 102". The first song on "Star" was "Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now" by Starship.

Star 102's slogan is "Kansas City's Lite Rock."

On February 1, KOZN changed their call letters to KSRC. "Star" competed with 98.1 KUDL and 106.5 The City (KCIY), both of which were sister stations. The station also aired Christmas music during the holiday season to compete with KUDL. (A few times, the two stations would flip to Christmas music within hours of each other.)

In 2005, KSRC changed to a more upbeat image, dropping most soft-sounding music. Despite the new upbeat image, KSRC added John Tesh's syndicated "Intelligence For Your Life" for nights in September 2005; it lasted a few months.

On January 24, 2006, the station changed call letters to KCKC, in what was reportedly a near format flip to CBS Radio's FM Talk format as "Free FM". CBS aborted the format flip after the ratings of other Free FM stations tanked. In late 2006, Wilks Broadcasting bought the station due to CBS wanting to concentrate on major media markets. John Tesh's show soon returned to nights, and eventually replays from the previous night aired in the afternoons.

While popular for many years, both KUDL and KCKC began to decline in the Arbitron ratings after the introduction of the Portable People Meter in early 2009. KUDL, though, usually had the upper hand compared to KCKC, most likely due to that station's heritage in the market, as they have been in the format since 1977. In addition, most AC stations across the country were declining in ratings, as they have struggled to gain a younger audience.


During the station's annual Christmas music run on December 22, 2010, the station began airing promotions announcing "a new sound coming" on January 3, 2011. In addition, the station's website displayed a countdown clock to the announcement, which would take place that day at Noon. At that time, after playing "Same Old Lang Syne" by Dan Fogelberg, the station flipped to AAA, branded as "Alice 102".

102.1 FM is currently branded as KC 102.1.

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KCKC

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

97.3 The Coast, Miami (2000s)

Unused bumper sticker from the 2000s, sheet measures approximately 10.8 cm by 10.2 cm. 
Front side: background: clear; 97.3 The Coast logo.
Back side: 97.3 The Coast promotion.


WFLC (97.3 FM, "97.3 The Coast") was a Adult Top 40/CHR music formatted radio station in Miami, Florida, USA. The station is owned by Cox Radio. Its studios are in Hollywood and the transmitter site is in Miami Gardens.

Prior to becoming WFLC, 97.3 FM was home to a modern rock station, WGTR, known as "97 GTR". Before that, it was home to another adult contemporary station, WAIA, known as "97A1A". WFLC callsign meaning is W FLorida's Coast.


On January 17, 2014, at 10AM, WFLC transitioned from 97.3 The Coast to Top 40/CHR music station as "Hits 97.3." The final song on 97.3 The Coast was That's All by Genesis while the first song on Hits 97.3 was Timber by Pitbull.

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WFLC

Friday, August 29, 2014

1430 CJXX, Grande Prairie (1987)

Unused bumper sticker from the 1987, sheet measures approximately 12.9 cm by 9 cm. 
Front side: oval; background: orange and white; CJXX logo.
Back side: Echo Sound promotion.


CJXX was a radio station, broadcasting at AM 1430 kHz in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada.

The station originally began broadcasting on December 16, 1979. On February 15, CJXX received approval to change frequency from 1430 AM to 840 AM in 1991, and then to its current FM frequency, 93.1 MHz in November 2000.

CJXX-FM currently owned by Jim Pattison Broadcast Group, the station is branded as Big Country 93.1 and broadcasts a country music format.

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CJXX-FM; broadcasting-history.ca

Friday, August 22, 2014

HitRadio 103 WHTT, Boston (1984)

Unused bumper sticker from the 1984, sheet measures approximately 22 cm by 10 cm. 
Front side: background: red; HitRadio 103 WHTT logo; + 2 small stickers.
Back side: WHTT contest rules and registration form.


On March 9, 1983, at Midnight, WEEI-FM, Boston, USA changed call letters to WHTT, and rebranded, first as HitRadio 103, and then The New Power 103 WHTT. After WEEI was sold, WEEI-FM became the call letters of Lawrence-licensed 93.7, initially as a simulcast of WEEI.

WHTT, for a time in the mid-1980s, was one of Boston's most popular stations, but its stay at the top of the Arbitron ratings was not to last. WHTT continued with a Top 40 format until July 7, 1986. At that point, ratings were decent, but it was determined that it was tough competing directly with WXKS-FM (Kiss 108), as well as 94.5 WZOU (now WJMN, Jamn' 94.5). Top 40 formats are generally hard to sell unless ratings are extremely high. It was also determined that Boston could not support three viable Top 40 stations. As a result, WHTT launched an adult rock format known as "Boston's Quality Rock" playing a blend of softer Album Rock cuts, pop rock cuts, some eclectic smooth jazz, and a few mainstream pop hits. The station became then became WMRQ, better known as "Q103". The on-air staff stayed on from WHTT initially, though most gradually left over the next year. Their ratings went downhill fast.

103.3 FM is currently WODS (103.3 AMP Radio).

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WODS

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

96-7 The Twister, Dallas (2004)

Unused bumper sticker from the 2004, sheet measures approximately 19 cm by 7.5 cm. 
Front side: shaped; background: white; 96-7 The Twister logo.
Back side: white.


96-7 The Twister (alternately "The Texas Twister"), in Dallas, Texas, USA officially "touched down" at 5 pm on June 27, 2003. The last song heard on"Memories"--KMEO (Memories 96.7, earlier brand) was "Thanks For The Memories" by Bob Hope. This was followed by the first song on the "Twister", being "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" by Alan Jackson. This was the start of 20,000 songs in a row without commercial interruption. Initially jockless, The Twister started adding DJs in September 2003. Its playlist was composed of "today's modern country hits" mixed with Texas country music, thus adopting the slogan "The Most New Country In Texas". The call letters were not officially changed to KTYS until October 21, 2003.

On June 12, 2007, 24 Disney/ABC Radio stations, including KTYS, merged into Citadel Broadcasting's portfolio. The KMEO call letters have been reassigned to an American Family Radio-affiliate station in Mertzon, Texas.

On June 30, 2008 at 5:28 am, after five years as The Twister, the station ended its tenure as a country station in favor of returning to Oldies as Platinum 96.7. The last song on "The Twister" was "Kiss My Country Ass" by Rhett Akins, followed by the first song of "Platinum" being "Hello, Goodbye" by The Beatles. From there, it broadcast a diverse oldies format, as the playlist was taken directly from the remnants of the former ABC Radio's corporate "Memories" music library; thus, their slogan was "Forgotten Hits Re-Discovered.". It also marked a return of a few former "Memories" personalities with Ron Chapman as the station's consultant. The callsign was changed to KPMZ on July 2, 2008 (referring to a PlatinuM record and paying homage to "Memories 96.7"). The "Texas Twister" format was moved to its sister station KSCS's HD-2 signal.


96.7 FM is currently KTCK-FM/The Ticket simulcast.

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KTCK-FM

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

98.5 KLUC, Las Vegas (1990s-2010)

Unused bumper sticker from the 2010, sheet measures approximately 21 cm by 8.3 cm. 
Front side: shaped; 98.5 KLUC logo; slogan "Las Vegas' #1 Hit Music Station".
Back side: white


KLUC-FM is a legacy commercial radio station located in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Broadcasting on 98.5 FM. KLUC airs a Top 40 (CHR) music format, which tends to lean heavily pop. Their pop-leaning Top 40 sister KZON Phoenix, Arizona was patterned after KLUC. Owned by CBS Radio, the station's studios are located in the unincorporated Clark County area of Spring Valley, while its transmitter is atop Black Mountain in Henderson. Callsign (KLUC) meaning is K LUCky.

KLUC current slogan is "Las Vegas' #1 Hit Music Station". 


 
Unused bumper sticker from the 2007, sheet measures approximately 19.7 cm by 8.6 cm. 
Front side: shaped; background: white; text: "The All New"; 98.5 KLUC logo; slogan "Las Vegas' #1 Hit Music Station".
Back side: white.


98.5 KLUC has been a long time Top 40 station in Las Vegas. The signal was originally owned by Western Cities Broadcasting, and went live in the mid-1970s. In 1985, Western Cities was acquired by Nationwide. In 1995, a couple of years before Nationwide was "acquired", ARS bought KLUC, and then CBS Radio who owns them today.

From the mid-1970s to 1983, KLUC was a rock leaning Top 40. In 1977 KLUC experimented with a "Disco Format" in the evenings but it was short lived. This changed in the fall of 1983 when KLUC added a lot of R&B and dance music product. KLUC "leaned dance" through the rest of the 1980s and early 1990s before officially shifting to Rhythmic CHR in 1993 even though KLUC remained the mass appeal station in the Las Vegas market. Through their many years KLUC would play everything from the biggest rhythm hits to big pop hits. This was especially true during the late 1990s when KLUC heavily played the boy bands that were popular during that era. KLUC has long been recognized as an industry leader having won numerous awards as "Station Of The Year" in the USA from Billboard, Gavin, R&R and S.I.N. awards to excellence. KLUC was the first station to achieve over 500,000 weekly listeners and still holds the title year after year as "The Most Listened To Radio Station In Nevada."



Unused bumper sticker from the 1990s, sheet measures approximately 19.4 cm by 11 cm. 
Front side: shaped; background: white; 98.5 KLUC logo; slogan "The #1 Hit Music Station".
Back side: KLUC great prizes registration form.


Up until 1978 they simulcasted with sister station 1140 AM. They returned to a simulcast in 1987 for several years. At one time in the 1970s and early 1980s, KLUC had studios located on the Howard Hughes property at the Frontier Hotel.


Unused bumper sticker from the 1990s, sheet measures approximately 20 cm by 6.7 cm. 
Front side: background: blue; text: "Life's A Party, Turn It Up!"; 98.5 KLUC logo; slogan "The #1 Hit Music Station".
Back side: KLUC Morning Zoo promo.


When KFMS changed from top 40 to rhythmic top 40 in 2002 (they are now a Mexican Adult Hits station as KWID), KLUC changed to a more CHR Top-40 format versus a previous Rhythmic format, but continued to report to Mediabase and Nielsen BDS as a Rhythmic reporter although remaining the mass appeal station for Las Vegas. That all changed in April 2014 when both monitored trades moved KLUC to the Top 40/CHR panel as CBS Radio has begun converting their CHR formatted station to a model based on the "AMP" brand. This leaves KSFM Sacramento, California as the only CBS Radio outlet in the West Coast that is still a Rhythmic Top 40.

source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KLUC-FM

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

KONO 101.1, San Antonio (2000s)

Unused bumper sticker from the 2000s, sheet measures approximately 16 cm by 8 cm. 
Front side: background: white; KONO 101.1 logo, slogan "San Antonio's Greatest Hits" and mascot.
Back side: white.


KONO-FM/101.1 MHz is a classic hits music formatted radio station licensed to Helotes, Texas, USA. It is owned by Cox Radio. Its studios are located in Northwest San Antonio near the South Texas Medical Center complex, and the transmitter site is near Government Canyon.
 

KONO-FM was previously known as KFAN, an adult album alternative station located in Fredericksburg, Texas. KONO-FM had been simulcasting KONO-AM/860 kHz from May 1990 until KONO changed formats to sports in January 2014 as CBS Sports Radio 860.


Unused bumper sticker from the 1990s, sheet measures approximately 14.5 cm by 9 cm. 
Front side: background: white; KONO AM860 logo.
Back side: white.


KONO is the fourth oldest radio station in San Antonio, Texas, USA, First air in 1927. Callsign meaning: K San AntONiO. KONO began as a hobby in the early days of radio broadcasting by Eugene Roth in a room over his garage in downtown San Antonio. Later, Eugene Roth's son, Jack Roth, inherited the station from his father. Its original format was country & western. In the sixties, KONO (the Big 86) was one of the leading "top-40" stations in San Antonio for several years. KONO began the 1990s getting further squeezed within the oldies format.

During that time KBKK 107.9 FM started broadcasting KFAN's previous format from Johnson City, Texas about a 1 year later acquiring the KFAN calls. KONO-FM, formerly part of an oldies AM and FM simulcast, now features a playlist of hit songs from the co-owned A.M. station's long history of Top 40 music from the mid '60s to the late '70s.

The simulcast on KONO 860 and 101.1 was of the longest AM/FM simulcasts in the country until KONO 860 flipped to CBS Sports Radio 860 on January 31, 2014.

KONO-FM uses the slogan "San Antonio's Greatest Hits". Playlist artists include The Eagles, Spinners, Al Green, Supremes, Fleetwood Mac, Elton John, Billy Joel and others from the '60s through the mid-80's era of hit music radio.

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KONO-FM and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KONO_(AM)

Sunday, June 8, 2014

101.7 The Fox, Santa Rosa (1990s)

Unused bumper sticker from the 1990s, sheet measures approximately 20 cm by 7.5 cm. 
Front side: background: white; 101.7 The Fox logo; text: "Sonoma County's Rock Station"; code no.: 064804.
Back side: "Half Million Dollars from 101.7 The Fox" registration form and rules.


KXFX (101.7 The Fox) was a active rock radio station in Santa Rosa, California, USA, from 1988 to 2011, broadcasting on 101.7 FM. It is owned and operated by Maverick Media, LLC. out of Westport, Connecticut.

This station first began its broadcasting activities as on December 23, 1974 as KVRE-FM at 99.3 MHz. In 1988, the callsign was changed to KXFX and branded as "101.7 The Fox."

On March 24, 2011 KXFX changed their format from active rock (as "The Fox") to top 40, branded as "Hot 101.7". Shortly after, the station applied for and was granted new call letters, KHTH.

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KHTH

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

99.5 KISS, San Antonio (1990, 2000s)

Unused bumper sticker from the 2000s, sheet measures approximately 23 cm by 8.5 cm. 
Front side: background: white; 99.5 KISS logo; text: "Rocks San Antonio".
Back side: white.


Unused bumper sticker from the 2000s, sheet measures approximately 10 cm by 10 cm. 
Front side: background: white; 99.5 KISS logo, red lips.
Back side: white.


2 unused mini bumper stickers from the 2000s, sheet measures approximately 10 cm by 5 cm. 
Sticker #1
Front side: background: black; 99.5 KISS logo; text: "Rocks San Antonio".
Back side: white.

Sticker #2
Front side: background: black; 99.5 KISS logo; text: "Rocks UR Xtreme A**".
Back side: white.


Unused bumper sticker from the 1990, sheet measures approximately 19 cm by 6.3 cm. 
Front side: background: black; 99.5 KISS logo, 20th Anniversary logo; text: "Rocks San Antonio".
Back side: 99.5 KISS 20th Anniversary sticker promo.


KISS-FM is a radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format serving the San Antonio, Texas, USA. The Cox Radio outlet broadcasts at 99.5 MHz. Its studios are located in Northwest San Antonio near the South Texas Medical Center complex, and the transmitter site is in Elmendorf, Texas.

KISS-FM was originally a Show Tunes format which changed to a type of AOR (Album-Oriented Rock) in the late 1970s. The AOR format would last until May 1990 when KISS flipped to oldies known as 99.5 KISS Oldies. The owners of KSMG Magic 105.3 (a competing Oldies station at the time) bought KISS-FM and KOOL 930 AM from Adams Broadcasting Corporation in November 1991 and simulcasted KSMG on both 99.5 FM and 930 AM. As of New Year's Day 1992, the rock music format was back on 99.5 KISS, now called "Active Rock".

AOR was sometimes referred to as "All Over (the) Road". During the early years, KISS DJ's were given a free rein. Many brought in their own records/albums to do their shows within a looser, free-form rock, rock ballad & heavy metal format. The most notable past KISS/KMAC DJ's/personalities were Joe Anthony "The Godfather" (deceased 1992), and Lou Roney.

Back in the days before corporate consultants, KISS-FM was 12,900 watts and their AM sister station was KMAC. KMAC broadcast show tunes, opera, as well as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir until they simulcasted the rock format with KISS-FM later in the day/evening. In those earlier years, KISS-FM signed off at midnight each night.

KMAC/KISS was originally owned by the late Howard W. Davis. "Spread The Word"--was the popular window sticker slogan & on-air moniker during the 1970s & 1980s. KISS would be owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company, Adams Broadcasting, Rusk Corp, and current owners Cox Media Group.

Despite being considered a mainstream rock reporter per Mediabase, they were typically an active rock station per Nielsen BDS. By 2012, KISS-FM essentially switched formats to mainstream rock. The station was delisted from Mediabase's add board following the tweak.

KISS-FM is the legal call sign issued to this San Antonio radio station by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) at licensing and is in no way related to the KISS-FM brand name used by Clear Channel Communications, which originated with Los Angeles' KIIS-FM. Despite San Antonio being the headquarters city of Clear Channel, they seem to have a gentlemen's agreement not to have a KISS-branded station in the city, while Cox has not attempted to claim rights on the branding despite holding the official KISS-FM calls from the FCC. (Of note, Cox owns R&B stations in Atlanta and Birmingham that utilize the "Kiss FM" branding, though both stations have urban adult contemporary formats rather than the Top 40/Hot AC format usually associated with the "Kiss FM" brand.)


*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KISS-FM

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Atlantic 252, Ireland (1990s)

Unused bumper sticker from the 1990s, sheet measures approximately 12.5 cm by 8.5 cm. 
Front side: background: white; Atlantic 252 logo; text: "More Music Radio", "Long Wave Radio". 
Back side: white.


Atlantic 252 was an Irish long wave radio station broadcasting across Ireland and Great Britain on 252 kHz (1190 meter) from its 1988 purpose built transmission site in Clarkstown, County Meath, which provided service to Atlantic 252 from 1989 until 2002. The station's studios were located just 12 km (7 mi) away in Mornington House, Summerhill Road, Trim, County Meath. Atlantic 252 also had sales offices and studios at 74, Newman Street in London. In 2002 the station's former frequency and transmitter were used for the failed TeamTalk 252 project.

The frequency was re-subsumed by RTÉ in 2002 to provide a version of RTÉ Radio 1 to the expatriate community in Britain from the Clarkstown radio transmitter.


The concept of Atlantic 252 can be traced back as far as August 1986, when Irish state broadcaster RTÉ announced it was to use their allocated longwave channel for a new pop music station. They teamed up with RTL Group/Radio Luxembourg to form Radio Tara–the trading name of Atlantic 252, which being long wave, enabled reception across Ireland and Britain. This was following Chris Cary's test transmissions from Clogher Head, County Louth, in the mid-1980s with 254 kHz Longwave as "Radio Exidy".

Initially, the station transmitted only from 06:00 until 19:00, outside of which listeners were invited to tune to Radio Luxembourg. In August 1990 the station began broadcasting until 02:00, and eventually by September 1991, a 24 hour service with the overnight automated slot called "The Big Mattress". The music format consisted of high-rotation mainstream pop and rock music, with influences borrowed heavily from American radio, and through to 1993, the station was known to play much of the music mostly from the top part of the US charts. The station mixed the best songs from the last few years along with the best songs from the top 40–this was called "Today's Best Music Variety". Commercial Radio and the BBC initially objected to the station, seeing it as a commercial pirate. However, as UK commercial radio developed and deregulation saw many more stations launching, formats similar to Atlantic's began to appear on FM and Atlantic 252's audience began to decline. Attempts at repositioning followed, including "Real Music, Real Radio", when the station attempted to tackle BBC Radio 1's "new music" format. At the peak of its popularity in the mid-1990s, Atlantic 252 had just under five million listeners aged 15+, but vastly increased competition from local radio stations with similar formats, as well as the renaissance of BBC Radio 1 and the repositioning of BBC Radio 2, saw this take a dive below one million by 2000.

In late 1998 under the direction of David Dunne the station responded to dropping audiences by shifting its format to concentrate on indie and dance music, but it continued to lose listeners. This included 30 hours of 'specialist' music including programmes from The Wise Guys, Eddy Temple Morris and the Trade nightclub. Though money was spent on advertising and a high profile breakfast show was attempted fronted by Marc Brow (including several innovative ideas like travel news backed by new age chill out music called 'Traffic Calming', and specially re-formatted youth news presented by Specialist Producer Mark Ovenden which included one of the first broadcast uses of the term 'The Noughties'), in 1999 the station suffered its lowest Rajar ratings since it first came on the air, with the audience falling to just under 1 million listeners in the last quarter of the year.

Then in November 1999 with the arrival of John O'Hara as the new Managing Director the station found a new focus and re-launched in February 2000 as "The New Atlantic 252" The format was Rhythmic CHR and the station was repositioned as "Nonstop Rhythm and Dance" The station played 12 songs in a row and featured Tony and Becky at Brekkie plus a brand new website at www.atlantic252.com. There was over £1million spent on rebranding and marketing the station to a new audience and media buyers. However, although the station did see a rise in audience again back to under 2 million listeners during 2000 and 2001, the writing was on the wall when the sale of the station was announced in early 2001 by its owners RTÉ and CLT.


The last show on Atlantic was presented by Enda Caldwell on Thursday 20 December 2001, This was followed by a Tribute show produced by Enda Caldwell and Eric Murphy celebrating the station's 12-year history of broadcasting and featuring classic airchecks of each year of Atlantic 252's history. The station then transitioned to automation, and continued broadcasting music without continuity, along with commercials that had been booked for the month of January 2002, for about two to three weeks afterwards, until the carrier fell dead and the music stopped playing.

Atlantic 252 was briefly replaced by a sports station, TeamTalk 252, which opened in the early days of January 2002. This faced competition from BBC Radio 5 Live and talkSPORT, and was itself closed in the summer of 2002, just a few months after its launch. The transmission site is now owned by 2RN (RTÉ Networks) and the 252 kHz frequency is used by RTÉ Radio 1. DRM tests have also been heard on this frequency since 2007. Mornington House is now regional offices for Meath County Council.


*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_252

Saturday, May 31, 2014

93QFM, Milwaukee (1990)

Unused bumper sticker from the 1990, sheet measures approximately 19 cm by 9.5 cm. 
Front side: background: black; 93QFM logo. 
Back side: white.


WQFM (branded as "93QFM") was a commercial radio station located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA, broadcasting on 93.3 FM.

Beginning in 1958, WQFM had various formats, including classical music, big band music, jazz and ethnic programming before a short-lived automated Top 40 format. For many years, starting in 1973, this was Milwaukee's dominant Album Oriented Rock station. They competed with the eclectic free-form WZMF until 1979, and WLPX until 1983.

"93QFM" was the top rock station in town for over a decade, but faced its stiffest competition in 1986, when WBCS dropped their country music format and became hard-rocker "Lazer 103". They shifted to a more heavy metal/hard rock direction, similar to that of Lazer, then switched to a more "adult" rock feel in 1992, then became heavier again. In addition, the station had a seemingly endless succession of morning shows over the years, including an ill-fated attempt at airing Wisconsin native Jonathon Brandmeier's show from WLUP in Chicago, which backfired when WLUP shuffled their on-air lineup, moved Brandmeier to afternoons, putting Kevin Matthews in morning drive. At one point, WQFM put together one short-lived morning show that consisted of people who had never done radio, which included Lori Minetti, the hostess of the Wisconsin Lottery's Money Game television show.


After years of poor and hasty decisions and falling ratings, the owners of WQFM pulled the plug in March 1996 and flipped the station to smooth jazz as WJZI. WJZI's smooth jazz format never dominated the local ratings, but remained competitive in the middle portion of the Arbitrons. In the winter of 2005, the station tied for 9th place with WJMR among listeners 25 to 54, but rose to 7th place in the winter of 2006.


On March 5, 2007, WJZI began a transition in its format, gearing the station towards a slightly younger female demographic. This involved adding more adult contemporary music. De-emphasizing the smooth jazz music that was a staple of the station, WJZI changed its branding to "Smooth 93.3," as it slowly began to make the transition to full-fledged soft rock.


93.3 FM is currently WLDB, branding as "B93.3".

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WLDB

Friday, May 30, 2014

FM94 CGY, Boston (1987)

Unused bumper sticker from the 1987, sheet measures approximately 19 cm by 9.5 cm. 
Front side: background: blue; FM94 CGY logo; text: "Classic Rock and Roll". 
Back side: brown.


WCGY 93.7 FM (SuperHits 94 CGY) was a radio station in Greater Boston, Massachusetts, USA. In the station's early days as WGHJ and WCCM-FM, 93.7 aired locally based programming that targeted Lawrence and the Merrimack Valley. In 1974 the station evolved into WCGY, an automated Stereo Top 40/oldies station that targeted the Greater Boston, Massachusetts area, due to the signal's strength. The call letters were chosen with the owner in mind as Curt Gowdy and his children owned and operated the station until the sale to American Radio Systems in 1994.

In 1983, WCGY flipped to an oldies format playing hits of the '50s and '60s. The station, however, did not perform well in the Boston ratings. Some early to mid '70s oldies were mixed in by 1984, and by 1985, the '50s music was gone. The station by then was called "Superhits  94 CGY". By 1986, the station leaned slightly toward classic rock still playing mostly music from 1964 to 1974. By 1987, WCGY evolved to more of a classic rock format and held on to this format until 1994. From 1992-1994, they were called "Rock 93, WCGY"

On September 30, 1994, after the station was sold to American Radio Systems, WCGY became '70s-formatted WEGQ "Eagle 93.7", which then underwent many changes over its five-year existence. Initially, they played music from 1970-79 ranging from classic rock to disco to pop to pop/rock to novelty to easy listening.


93.7 FM is currently WEEI-FM (SportsRadio 93.7).

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WEEI-FM

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Orange Juice, USA (1994, 2000)

There are quite a few "Orange/Juice" stations across the USA with the similar orange logo. Currently I have sticker of K-Juice 1370, Austin, Texas; 101 The Juice, Atlanta; and O.J. 92.7 Riverside. Are they owned by same or different companies?

Unused bumper sticker from the 2000, sheet measures approximately 15 cm by 7.5 cm.
Front side: background: black; K-Juice logo.

Back side: white.



Unused bumper sticker from the 2000, sheet measures approximately 19.5 cm by 8.5 cm.
Front side: background: black; The Juice logo; text: "Best Songs - No Rap"; + 1 small sticker.

Back side: white.



Unused bumper sticker from the 1994, sheet measures approximately 18 cm by 7.3 cm.
Front side: background: black; rounded; O.J. 92.7 logo; text: "Fresh Country Hits".

Back side: Grease Monkey discount coupon.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

FM98 WJLB, Detroit (1990)

Unused bumper sticker from the 1990, sheet measures approximately 22.5 cm by 7.5 cm.
Front side: background: navy; text: "Detroit's Strongest Songs"; WJLB logo; the muscular arm.

Back side: Coats for Kids, Little Caesars Pizza discount coupon.



WJLB (FM98) is a mainstream urban radio station in Detroit, Michigan, USA that broadcasts on 97.9 MHz.

WJLB, along with sister WMXD (Mix 92.3), broadcast for 20 years in Detroit's Penobscot Building in the heart of the financial district. Clear Channel moved both stations to a building in Farmington Hills in November 2009. WJLB's transmitter is located in Highland Park near the intersection of Hamilton Avenue and Midland Street, and transmits its signal from an antenna 489 feet in height with an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts. FM98 can be heard far north as Flint and as far west as Lansing on I-96, and past Jackson west on Interstate 94. WJLB can be heard farther distances at night, as is typical in radio.


The station traces its origins to a testing station which began operations on May 7, 1941, with 1,000 watts of power at 44.9 megahertz frequency. On May 24, it officially began broadcasting as W49D, Michigan's second FM radio station. It was owned by John Lord Booth. WJLB = W John Lord Booth.

On September 12, 1945, W49D was assigned a full-powered frequency at 96.5 MHz and renamed WLOU. In June 1948, the station moved up to the 97.9 frequency as WMZK, which was a play on the word music, with a format of automated beautiful music. In later years, WMZK alternated between beautiful music and foreign-language programming for various ethnic groups.

In 1980, the WJLB callsign migrated back to the FM dial along with an urban contemporary format from the AM 1400 kHz frequency. WJLB-AM, which went on the air as WMBC in 1926 and adopted the WJLB callsign in 1939, had been providing programming geared toward Detroit's black community for nearly four decades.

Now, the stereo FM station became "FM98 WJLB, Detroit's Strongest Songs". WJLB-AM 1400 continued to program to the African-American community in Detroit for nearly a quarter-century afterward as WQBH, and is now WDTK, owned by Salem Communications with a conservative news/talk format. Within a few years, WJLB-FM performed well in the Detroit Arbitron ratings, despite picking up competition from several competitors including WHYT (Power 96), which was mostly dance and Top 40 but in 1992 would flip to "96.3 Jamz" and aired a rhythmic contemporary format, and then in 1996 at the 105.9 frequency, the former jazz-formatted WJZZ, which became WCHB-FM "The Beat" and later WDTJ "105.9 Jamz" (now urban AC-formatted WDMK "105.9 Kiss FM"). FM98 was famous for its specialty Friday mix shows with "Electrifying Mojo" and the "Sunday Night Segue," hosted by John "Johnny Smooth" Edwards, featuring classic "Quiet Storm" tracks.

In April 1994, Booth American Company merged with Broadcast Alchemy to become Secret Communications. In August, Chancellor Media acquired the station from Secret Communications. In 1997, Chancellor Media and Evergreen, which already owned WKQI "Q95-5" and WMGC later merged to form AMFM, Inc. In November 1999, AMFM, Inc. was purchased by Clear Channel Communications. WJLB and sister station WMXD have been under the Clear Channel banner ever since. Over the last several years, WJLB has shifted to a more younger demo playlist with more Hip Hop and less Urban and Old school and House Music which the station was built on in the 1990s and through 2005.

WJLB's HD2 side channel features a Motown oldies format known as "The Sounds of Detroit," which changed from a Classic Hip-Hop format in the fall of 2013.

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WJLB

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Mix 102.9, Dallas (1998-2005)

Unused bumper sticker from the 2005, sheet measures approximately 22 cm by 8 cm.
Front side: background: white; Mix 102.9 logo; text: "Mix Means Variety!"

Back side: white.



Unused bumper sticker from the 2004, sheet measures approximately 12 cm by 5 cm.
Front side: background: white; Mix 102.9 logo.

Back side: white.



Unused bumper sticker from the 1999, sheet measures approximately 23 cm by 6 cm.
Front side: background: purple; Mix 102.9 logo.

Back side: white.



Unused bumper sticker from the 1998, sheet measures approximately 20 cm by 3.3 cm.
Front side: background: blue, black; Mix 102.9 logo.

Back side: white.



KDMX (Mix 102.9) was a Hot Adult Contemporary station in Dallas, Texas, USA, from 1991 to 2012. This station first began its broadcasting activities as KQRO on October 15, 1960 (although license was granted on July 2, 1959). It went dark a year later then returned to the airwaves in 1962. For that time, KQRO's format consisted mostly of classical and orchestral music. In 1965, the callsign was changed to KEIR with an unknown format.

In 1971, the call letters were changed once again to KDTX, this time with a religious format. Then over six years later, the callsign was changed to KMGC (the KDTX call letters were later used on a local TV station in 1987, ironically with Christian programming) and the Christian contemporary format continued up until September 1977. It was then changed to an adult contemporary format as Mellow 102.9 and a month later to Magic 102.9. Prior to that, a mass distribution of door-hanger flyers announced the station is coming. The station enjoyed a loyal following until May 9, 1991, when KMGC began stunting with a series of formats ranging from rock oldies (as "Cool 102.9" on May 9) to country (as "Kickin' Country" on May 10) to an all-Beatles format (also on May 10), and then party cocktail noise on May 11 and May 12, before changing to its current call letters and settling on its long-running Hot adult contemporary format as "Mix 102.9." Call letters stand for "K Dallas MiX" (similarly-named sister station KHMX (Mix 96.5) in Houston is named regionally as well.)


Typically, a Hot AC station wouldn't play any hip hop/rap songs or pop songs that feature rappers. However, as of 2011, KDMX began playing very few said tracks by LMFAO, Gym Class Heroes, and Pitbull; as of 2012, KDMX began playing songs from artists like Flo Rida, Eminem, and Nicki Minaj.

On May 18, 2012, KDMX rebranded as "102.9 NOW" dropping most modern AC artists, and shifted to an Adult CHR format. However, as of October 2012, KDMX returned to Hot AC. Some of the Modern AC artists have returned to the station's playlist, and dropped some hip hop tracks. The switch back to Hot AC was likely due to low ratings, as well as playlist overlap with sister CHR KHKS (106.1 KISS FM). It is the only Hot AC station in the market, as there are no competitors. However, it shares an audience with CBS-owned 103.7 KVIL, which recently retooled its AC format to include music from the 90s to current product.


*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KDMX

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Energy 103.7, San Diego (2012)

Unused bumper sticker from the 2012, sheet measures approximately 14.5 cm by 9 cm.
Front side: background: magenta, cyan; Energy 103.7 logo.

Back side: Jack Powell promo.



Unused bumper sticker from the 2012, sheet measures approximately 14.5 cm by 9 cm.
Front side: background: orange, deep yellow; Energy 103.7 logo.

Back side: Go Fast promo.



KEGY (Energy 103.7) is Top 40 (CHR) station based in San Diego, USA. Owned and operated by CBS Radio. The station broadcasts in HD Radio. The HD2 broadcasts a simulcast of sister station KROQ-FM, Los Angeles. House of Sophie, which broadcasts down-tempo and chill-out music, is on the HD3 signal. Its studios are in the city's Linda Vista neighborhood and the transmitter site is in La Jolla.

The station originally signed on in February 1965 as KSDO-FM, and aired Country music. It was co-owned with KSDO-AM. By the late 1970s, the station was KOZN-FM playing a beautiful music format. On May 20, 1979, the call letters were changed to KJQY and the station was known as "K-Joy". The station evolved into an adult contemporary format in the late 1980s as "Sunny 103.7", then in 1995 it became "Rock Mix 103.7" KMKX, playing classic rock music.


On October 25, 2005, the station changed formats from classic rock to an FM talk format with the brand "Free FM", and their call letters changed on October 28 from KPLN to KSCF. In December 2005, Howard Stern left the terrestrial airwaves and moved to Sirius Satellite Radio. At the beginning, Adam Carolla was their morning show host. He started January 3, 2006, replacing Stern.


In the end, the attempt to make Free FM a success in San Diego had proven to be too difficult and like other Free FM sister stations in New York City (WFNY) and San Francisco (KIFR), which returned to active rock and classic hits respectively, KSCF decided to switch formats in June 2007. To add to the demise of the Free FM family of stations, Its sister station in Phoenix (KZON) flipped to Rhythmic Contemporary at the same exact time as KSCF's format switch.

On June 22, 2007, KSCF flipped to Oldies as "K-Surf 103.7". They were supposed to be the market's first FM Oldies outlet since 2005, when XHOCL had the format prior to its flip to Regional Mexican. The Oldies format turned out to be a stunt as the station revealed its true format, a Modern AC as Sophie @ 103.7, adapted slightly from sister station KLLC in San Francisco, which is known as Alice @ 97.3.


On March 29, 2012, CBS Radio announced that it would flip KSCF to a CHR format with a heavy emphasis on upbeat Rhythmic, Dance and Pop hits targeting Teens and Adults 18–34 years old, using the "Energy 103.7" moniker. CBS also applied for a call letter change to KEGY, which was granted on April 2. The switch to top 40 mirrors other California markets with multiple top 40's, although San Diego has three--Los Angeles (KAMP-FM & KIIS-FM), San Francisco (KMVQ-FM & KREV). "Energy" competes with KHTS-FM and XHTZ. KEGY also appeals to be more rhythmic-leaning like other CBS Radio contemporary hit radio stations such as WNOW-FM New York City, KAMP-FM Los Angeles and KMVQ-FM San Francisco. This makes California have the most contemporary hit radio stations owned by the company out of any state, and the youngest in California after KMVQ-FM & KAMP-FM of CBS Radio's top 40s still having the format today.

CBS Radio's California hot AC stations are now solely located in Northern California with only KZZO Sacramento and KLLC San Francisco following the flip of KSCF to KEGY.

*source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KEGY