KSOC
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| City of license | Gainesville, Texas |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex/Sherman/Denison/ Gainesville/Southern Oklahoma (Ardmore/Durant area) |
| Branding | Boom 94.5 |
| Frequency | 94.5 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| Repeaters | KBFB 97.9 HD2 |
| First air date | 1958 (as KGAF) |
| Format | Classic hip hop |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 591 meters |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 6386 |
| Callsign meaning | K Soul Of the City (former branding) |
| Former callsigns | KGAF (1958-1981) KDNT (1981-1987) KZRK (1987-1989) KDGE (1989-2000) KTXQ (2000-2002) |
| Owner | Radio One (Radio One Licenses, LLC) |
| Sister stations | KBFB |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | boom945.com |
KSOC (94.5 FM, known on-air as Boom 94.5) is a radio station serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in Texas. The format of the station is classic hip hop. The station is licensed to Gainesville and is owned by Radio One. Co-owned with KBFB, its studios are located in the Valley View Center in North Dallas, and its transmitter is located in Collinsville, Texas.
Contents
History
94.5 FM signed on in 1958 as KGAF-FM and AM 1580 as an oldies format. The station was owned by the Leonard Brothers and the transmitter was east of Gainesville. KGAF would last until the 1980s when the 94.5 frequency would be sold off.
KDNT
94.5 was then sold to Mel Wheeler, who owned 106.1 (now KHKS). KDNT broadcast a country format, which was previously on 106.1. The country format would be moved to the newly acquired 94.5 frequency. 94.5 would never claim good ratings in the Dallas-Fort Worth market due to the location of the tower east of Gainesville which would have a rimshot signal into the Metroplex.
KZRK
In July 1987, with KSCS and KPLX competing for the country audience and were city-grade signals, KDNT and its country format were dropped and became KZRK "Z-Rock 94-5". Wheeler, owner of KDNT, had died and the station was sold once again.
KDGE
In July 1989, Z-Rock 94.5 was sold to Evergeen Media, who would change the calls to KDGE, adjusted the format to alternative rock, and rebranded the station as "94-5 the Edge". Evergreen Media would be purchased by Chancellor Media in 1998. Chancellor would look to improve 94.5's current ERP at 78,000 watts. Part of the station's signal woes were solved when KDGE relocated its transmitter to its current location and increase the power to 98,000 watts.
94.5/102.1 swap
Before there was KSOC, there was KTXQ Q102 (on frequency 102.1), owned by SFX Broadcasting. Q102 was a popular rock station during the 1980s in the Metroplex, calling itself "Texas' Best Rock". It was frequented by rockers such as Van Halen and Joe Walsh. It also promoted the Texxas Jam, an annual summer concert.
In August 1998, SFX sold the station to AMFM (aka Chancellor Media) after Q102's ratings lagged, and changed it to Magic 102, an urban oldies station playing old school R&B and dance music. In November, 2000, Clear Channel Communications would purchase AMFM, which put them over current ownership limits and they swapped frequencies with KDGE and the station's name was changed to Magic 94.5. The last song for 94.5 The Edge was "How Soon Is Now?" by The Smiths, with the first song of Magic 94.5 being "I Would Die 4 U" by Prince.[2]
Urban AC years
Radio One would purchase KTXQ and KBFB, and shifted KTXQ to the Urban AC format on April 22, 2002 as KSOC 94.5 K-Soul, playing current R&B and classic soul. It was home to two syndicated shows: The Tom Joyner Morning Show (which previously aired on KKDA/K-104 and then-Urban AC rival KRNB-FM) and Love, Lust and Lies with Michael Baisden in the afternoons.
On July 18, 2011, KSOC dropped the "K-Soul" branding after 9 years. However, the format continued to run, although jockless at the time with Michael Baisden dropped from the station's schedule. The staff of KSOC has indicated that changes are coming to the station, and they've accepted feedback from their listeners.[3]
At 5 PM on July 29, 2011, KSOC rebranded as Old School 94.5, although the station's format remained urban adult contemporary per Mediabase & Nielsen BDS. The last song of "K-Soul" was A Change Is Gonna Come by Sam Cooke, followed by the first song of the new format being Ain't No Stoppin' Us Now by McFadden & Whitehead. KSOC's playlist has a diverse mix of classic R&B and soul music from the 1960s to early 1990s, much similar to its "Magic 102/94.5" predecessors, with fewer currents. As of October 2011, Tom Joyner has returned to the morning drive, Janet G handles the 9AM to 2PM shift, and Kenny J handles the 2PM to 7PM slot. The launch was helped by former radio personalities Skip Murphy & Company (previously on KKDA-FM).[4][5]
On January 22, 2014, at 9AM, following the Tom Joyner Morning Show, KSOC returned to the "K-Soul" branding, this time as "K-Soul 94.5", launching with 94 hours of commercial-free music. While keeping a gold based presentation, KSOC has updated its music to bring back tracks from the 1990s and 2000s.[6] As of late March 2014, KSOC simulcasts on sister station KBFB's secondary HD broadcast on 97.9 HD2 for those in the immediate DFW area and southern neighbors who are not in this station's pre-determined coverage area.
Flip to Old School Hip-Hop
On November 14, 2014, at 6 PM, KSOC changed their format to classic hip hop, branded as "Boom 94.5". As before, they provided 94 hours of commercial-free music.[7] With the recent format change, the syndicated "Tom Joyner Morning Show", for which K-Soul was the home station, was dropped, a change he noted the following Monday morning on his show, where he told DFW listeners to download the free app for the iPhone or Android or listen on a different affiliate. A month after the format switch, ratings have jumped from a 2.8 share to a 3.4 according to Nielsen & Mediabase (who oddly enough kept KSOC in the Urban AC panel), cracking the Top 10 station list above its urban counterpart KBFB (97.9 The Beat).[8]
References
- ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=10 HD Radio Guide for Dallas-Ft. Worth
- ↑ 94.5 The Edge Becomes Magic 94.5 - Format Change Archive (accessed June 30, 2012)
- ↑ What Is Going On With 94.5? - thesoulofdfw.com (accessed July 26, 2011)
- ↑ KSOC Dallas becomes "Old School 94.5." - Radio-Info.com (released August 1, 2011)
- ↑ 94.5 KSoul Revamps As Old School 94.5 - Format Change Archive (accessed October 4, 2011)
- ↑ KSOC Returns to K-Soul
- ↑ Classic Hip Hop Duel Breaks Out in Dallas
- ↑ [1] - Radio Online (accessed December 22, 2014)
External links
- KSOC Boom 94.5 official website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KSOC
- Radio-Locator information on KSOC
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for KSOC
- DFW Radio/TV History
- DFW Radio Archives
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