KOIT
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Broadcast area | San Francisco Bay Area |
|---|---|
| [[Frequency|FrequencTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | 96.5 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 96.5 KOIT |
| Programming | |
| LanguageTemplate:Pluralize from text | English |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2: AAA "Highway 1" HD3: KUFX simulcast |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Connoisseur Media |
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| History | |
First air date | Script error: No such module "Date time". |
Former call signs | Page Template:Plainlist/styles.css has no content.
|
Call sign meaning | The Coit Tower, a San Francisco landmark |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| 6380 | |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 24,000 watts |
| HAAT | 480 meters (1,570 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | Lua error: callParserFunction: function "#coordinates" was not found. |
| [[Repeater|RepeaterTemplate:Pluralize from text]] | See § Booster |
| Links | |
Public license information | Template:FCC Licensing and Management System facility |
| Webcast | Listen live Template:Audacy.com Listen live (HD2) Template:Audacy.com (HD2) |
| Website | www highway1radio |
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KOIT (96.5 FM) is a commercial adult contemporary radio station licensed to San Francisco, California. The station has studios along Junipero Serra Boulevard in Daly City, and transmits from Sutro Tower in San Francisco, with a power output of 24,000 watts effective radiated power. The signal can be received throughout the Bay Area with relative ease. There is also a booster station in Martinez, California called KOIT-FM3 that improves the coverage in the Diablo Valley area.
KOIT is owned by Connoisseur Media following a May 2026 purchased from Bonneville International.
History
The station signed on the air July 1, 1947, under the callsign KRON-FM.[3] It was owned by the deYoung family, and was co-owned with KRON-TV and the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. The station had a limited broadcast schedule (airing only during the evening hours). The station shut down on December 31, 1954; when it returned to the air as non-commercial station in 1957, KRON-FM began carrying an evening-only program schedule devoted to classical music. During the 1960s, KRON-FM devoted a full hour (7 to 8 p.m.) to a complete Broadway show album. Since the station had no commercials, no underwriters, and no on-air fund drives, the Chronicle operated the station as a public service.[4] Staff announcers delivered short newscasts on the station's evening broadcasts. In December 1970, KRON-FM began simulcasting a Spanish-language newscast from KRON-TV by Terry Lowry.[5]
In 1975, the deYoung's Chronicle Publishing Company, which was the then-parent of KRON-TV and the Chronicle, sold KRON-FM to Bonneville International, who changed the station's callsign to KOIT. On December 13, 1983, Bonneville purchased KYA (1260 AM) from KING Broadcasting, changing the call letters to KOIT with 96.5 going to KOIT-FM per FCC convention. The KYA call letters remained in service at KYA-FM (93.3, now KRZZ) and went into retirement in 1993. In 1983, KOIT was playing a lot of instrumental music, sort of like the "elevator music" that was being played at KBAY (then at 100.3 FM) in San Jose. The majority of the station's playlist consisted of instrumentals, but also contained some vocals. In late 1985, KOIT changed their music format to soft adult contemporary by dropping all instrumentals, and started playing music from the 1950s, 1960's, 1970s and 1980s. KOIT called their music "Light Rock". For the first 8 years of the adult contemporary format, the station was heavy on oldies. In 1995, KOIT updated their playlist by dropping the 1950s and 1960s songs, and added more recent and current music. As recently as 2009, KOIT was playing approximately one song from every decade in order in 3 song-sets. In 2009, KOIT started playing more recent hits from the late 2000s and early 2010s. Since 2003, KOIT has switched to Christmas Music every year, generally the Friday before Thanksgiving at 12:00 PM, and brands itself as "The Bay Area's Official Christmas Music Station."
On January 18, 2007, Bonneville announced a station swap with Entercom, with KOIT and Bonneville's other San Francisco area FM radio holdings going to Entercom in return for three of Entercom's stations in Seattle, Washington and Entercom's entire radio cluster in Cincinnati, Ohio.[6] This trade marked Entercom's re-entry into the country's fourth largest radio market. Entercom officially took over KOIT-FM via a local marketing agreement on February 26, 2007, and Entercom and Bonneville officially closed on the deal on March 14, 2008, with KOIT and the other San Francisco FM stations formerly owned by Bonneville becoming owned by Entercom outright. KOIT's AM sister station was concurrently sold to Immaculate Heart Radio, and became KSFB in December 2007; however, KOIT-FM did not drop the "-FM" suffix until September 2010.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced that it would merge with Entercom. To comply with FCC ownership limits, it was announced that KOIT, along with sister stations KBLX and KUFX, CBS-owned KMVQ, and a cluster in Sacramento, would be divested.[7] Under a local marketing agreement with the Entercom Divestiture Trust, Bonneville once again assumed operations of the station following the completion of the merger on November 17.[8] On August 3, 2018, Bonneville announced that it would acquire all of the divested Entercom stations it had been operating for $141 million;[9][10] the sale was completed on September 21, 2018.[11]
In 2020, Bonneville's San Francisco stations moved their studios from the SoMa district in San Francisco into a newly built studio along Junipero Serra Boulevard in Daly City.[12]
On October 7, 2025, Connoisseur Media announced its intent to acquire Bonneville's San Francisco/San Jose cluster for $10 million.[13] The sale closed on May 15, 2026.[14]
Booster
KOIT is rebroadcast on the following FM booster:
HD Radio
On December 28, 2018, KOIT's HD2 subchannel changed their format from 1970s' hits (which moved to KUFX's HD2 subchannel) to adult album alternative, branded as "96.5 HD2".[15] In early September 2020, the format was changed to rock, branded as "Highway 1".
On May 10, 2024, KOIT's HD3 sub channel switched from year-round Christmas music to bilingual; soft adult contemporary, branded as "Bay Area Magic".[16]
References
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Facility Technical Data for KOIT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."HD Radio station guide for San Francisco, CA". Archived from the original on September 16, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2016. HD Radio Guide for San Francisco
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."San Francisco Chronicle Launches Its FM Outlet" (PDF). Broadcasting. July 7, 1947. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
- ^ Bay Area Radio Museum | History | Audio | Archives
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Broadcast Legends - Terry Lowry". Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2013.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Entercom trades radio stations". January 19, 2007.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Venta, Lance (October 10, 2017). "Entercom Narrows Down 16 Stations To Be Divested To Complete CBS Radio Merger". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Bonneville Turns San Francisco and Sacramento LMAs Into Purchase - RadioInsight". RadioInsight. August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."LMA Becomes Sale As Entercom Officially Sells Eight SF, Sacramento Stations To Bonneville For $141 Million". All Access. Retrieved August 9, 2018.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Consummation Notice". Bonneville Communications. September 24, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018 – via FCC.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."They Built New Studios During COVID". September 4, 2020.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Venta, Lance (October 7, 2025). "Connoisseur Media Acquires Bonneville's San Francisco Cluster". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 7, 2025.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Radio Industry News, Radio Show Prep, Radio Promotions, Radio Station Data, Podcast News". RADIO ONLINE. Retrieved May 19, 2026.
- ^ Bonneville Launches AAA on HD2 in San Francisco Radioinsight - December 28, 2018
- ^ Bonneville Brings Bilingual Magic to HD in the Bay Area Radioinsight - May 10, 2024
External links
- Official website
- Template:FCC Licensing and Management System facility
- KOIT in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
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