KSRZ (104.5 FM, "Star 104.5") is a commercial radio station in Omaha, Nebraska.[2] It airs an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for part of November and December. The station is owned by SummitMedia.[3] KSRZ's studios are located on Mercy Road in Omaha's Aksarben Village.
 | |
| Broadcast area | Omaha-Lincoln-Council Bluffs |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 104.5 MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Star 104.5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2: Sports (KXSP simulcast) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KEZO-FM, KKCD, KQCH, KXSP | |
| History | |
First air date | May 12, 1972 (as KOOO-FM) |
Former call signs | KOOO-FM (1972–1979) KESY-FM (1979–1997) |
Call sign meaning | K StaR Z |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 50308 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 331.7 meters (1,088 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°18′16″N 96°1′41″W / 41.30444°N 96.02806°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 104star.com |
KSRZ is a Class C0 station. Its effective radiated power (ERP) is 100,000 watts, the maximum for most stations.[4] The transmitter tower is at the Omaha master antenna farm on North 72nd Street and Crown Point.[5]
History
editCountry (1972–1979)
editThe station signed on the air in May 12, 1972.[6] Its original call sign was KOOO-FM, the sister station to KOOO 1420 AM (now KXCB). The two stations broadcast a country music format and were owned by Pier San of Nebraska, Inc. KOOO-FM's power was only 31,000 watts, a fraction of its current output.
Beautiful music (1979–1989)
editIn 1979, the station changed its call letters to KESY, to represent the word "easy." It flipped to a largely automated beautiful music format. It played quarter-hour sweeps of soft instrumental music, mostly cover versions of popular adult songs with Broadway and Hollywood show tunes. Throughout the early 1980s, KESY was used as the audio on a local Limelight Movie Channel when it signed off the air for the night.
Soft adult contemporary (1989–1998)
editBy the late 1980s, the audience for easy listening music was aging, so KESY added more vocals to its playlist to interest younger listeners. In 1989, KESY evolved to soft adult contemporary music. It adopted the moniker "Y 104", and used live DJs to host shows and announce songs and artists.
Adult contemporary (1998–present)
editOn January 9, 1998, KESY moved to the 97.7 FM frequency. After a few days of simulcasting, 104.5 FM flipped to modern adult contemporary. It played modern rock hits that are a bit softer than those heard on alternative rock stations, targeting a female audience. It began calling itself "Star 104.5", with new call letters KSRZ.[7] The format later evolved to a more broad-based Hot AC sound.
By 2008, KSRZ repositioned to a mainstream adult contemporary format. It placed a heavy reliance on songs from the 1980s.
Journal Communications and the E. W. Scripps Company announced on July 30, 2014 that the two companies would merge to create a new broadcast company under the E. W. Scripps Company name that owned the two companies' broadcast properties, including KSRZ. The transaction was completed in 2015.[8] Scripps exited radio in 2018; the Omaha stations went to SummitMedia in a four-market, $47 million deal completed on November 1, 2018.[9]
References
edit- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KSRZ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "KSRZ Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. Archived from the original on 2010-03-01.
- ^ FCC.gov/KSRZ
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/KSRZ
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 page B-129. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
- ^ Jim Minge, "Star 104 up, running," The Omaha World-Herald, January 17, 1998.
- ^ "E.W. Scripps, Journal Merging Broadcast Ops". TVNewsCheck. July 30, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2014.
- ^ "Scripps Completes Two More Pieces Of Radio Division Sale". Inside Radio. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
External links
edit- Facility details for Facility ID 50308 (KSRZ) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- KSRZ in Nielsen Audio's FM station database