KHTB

KHTB (101.9 FM) is a Salt Lake City, Utah-based radio station. The station's studios are located in South Salt Lake (behind the I-15/I-80 interchange) and its transmitter site is located southwest of the city on Farnsworth Peak in the Oquirrh Mountains.

For the Provo, Utah radio station that held the call sign KHTB at 94.9 FM from 2004 to 2015, see KENZ (FM).
KHTB
Simulcasts KENZ, Provo
CityOgden, Utah
Broadcast areaSalt Lake City-Ogden-Provo
Frequency101.9 MHz
BrandingPower 94.9/101.9
SloganUtah's New Hit Music
Programming
FormatTop 40/CHR
Ownership
OwnerCumulus Media
(Radio License Holding CBC, LLC)
KBEE, KBER, KENZ, KKAT, KUBL-FM
History
First air date
1964 (as KQPD)
Former call signs
KQPD (1964-1984)
KKAT (1984-2004)
KPQP (2004-2005)
KENZ (2005-2015)
Technical information
Facility ID2444
ClassC
ERP25,000 watts
HAAT1,140 meters (3,740 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°39′34″N 112°12′5″W
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitepowerslc.com

History of KKAT

In 1995, KKAT licensed "Young Country" from Alliance Broadcasting.[1] It was the first country station to intentionally go after young listeners.[2] Also that year, Kid Cassidy (John Potter) of KWNR replaced Gary and Scotty in the mornings, with Insane Rick Shane remaining as producer. Other local hosts were T.J. Evans, "Gentleman Jim" Mickleson, Bob Wells and Tracy Chapman, while Blair Garner did the overnight shift.[3] KKAT took over the number one position among five country stations from KSOP-FM, the only station in the group to lose listeners. Gary and Scotty had been hired to replace Ken Simmons after Simmons' arrest for lewd behavior, and the station and the morning hosts could not overcome the stigma of that incident. But hiring Cassidy and a strong promotional effort worked.[2] By 1999, 101.9 rebranded as just "101.9 KKAT", and on January 18, 2002, at 5PM, after stunting with a loop of "God Bless The USA" for several hours, they rebranded again, this time as "K102", adding more classic country to their modern playlist (as evidenced by the first song after the rebrand, "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" by John Denver).[4] It would rebrand back to "101.9 KKAT" in January 2004.[5] KKAT would be replaced by KPQP, a Top 40 station branded as "101.9 Pop FM", in May 2004.[6] KPQP would last until KENZ's move to the frequency in September 2005.

History of KENZ/KHTB

What is now KENZ first started as "107.5 The End" at midnight on January 1, 1996 with R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)", and aired an adult album alternative format.[7][8] Originally owned by The Slaymaker Group (Monarch Broadcasting), the station was sold to Citadel Broadcasting in 1998.

Much of the original staff came from now cross town rival KXRK. Jimmy Chunga, a weekender and producer of The Radio from Hell Show at X96 was hired to lead the morning show. Chunga first did the show solo, then was teamed up for a short time with a female co-host. He was joined by Marcus soon afterward. Andrea was hired away from X96 to work the midday shift. Biff Raff returned to the Salt Lake City market after spending time in Austin, TX and Denver, CO to be the program director. He also did an afternoon on-air shift. Dom Casual was the station's first music director and afternoon drive jock. Barb Thomas worked the night shift. Mister West left X96 as well and brought the "Saturday Night Cold Case" to the station. Norm Church also left X96 to work on-air, as well as take over marketing responsibilities for the station.

In 1999, "Chunga and Marcus" hosted a contest titled "The Cruise of Dreams," after which Marcus did not return to the show. Shortly after the departure of Marcus, Mister West joined the morning show as Chunga's partner. This was a role reversal of sorts as Chunga had been West's partner on the "Saturday Night Cold Case," a call-in request show during West's weekend shift dating back to their days at X96.[9]

At the end of 2005, Citadel Broadcasting moved the station from the 107.5 MHz frequency to the stronger and farther-reaching 101.9 MHz frequency. Even though they were no longer at the end of the dial, they retained the name.[10]

In 2006, Bruce Jones ("Biff Raff"), The End's first and only program director at the time, announced he would be leaving KENZ and radio in general. Mike Peer, of WXRK in New York, was selected at the end of 2006 to become the new program director of KENZ. Peer had actually worked for Bruce Jones in Austin, Texas before Jones headed to Denver and then returned to Utah to start The End.[11]

On December 6, 2007, Chunga announced that Mister West had left the station and the Chunga and Mister show. Chunga explained that both his and Mister's contracts were up this year and he had planned to retire at the end of the year. Citadel Broadcasting gave him a good deal and he chose to stay. Citadel management decided not to renew Mister's contract. However, according to the February 22, 2008, edition of the Deseret Morning News, Mister claims that Chunga demanded Mister be fired (as part of Chunga's own contract negotiation).[12]

On November 18, 2008, during the Tuesday CD Review, it was announced that the Parker Show would air for the final time on November 26. Parker later said that the only reason was budget cuts and that he feels no resentment towards management for the decision. Dallan, as part of the Parker Show, was laid off at the same time.[13]

On January 1, 2010, Chelsea Earlewine announced on her Facebook page that she was moving to California.

On April 21, 2010, at 3:07 p.m., KENZ changed format and adopted a jockless "Gen X" format that focused largely on ‘90s music[14][15] and released their on-air staff, with the exception of Cort Johnson, who ran all station promotions and acted as the station's sole on-air personality. This was an incredibly unpopular change, as ratings for the station tanked. On December 21, 2010, at 3 p.m., the station reverted to the more familiar "101-9 The End", returning to an Alternative format, with a music focused morning show, "The Morning Alternative with Cort."[16]

On July 5, 2011, Chunga returned to KENZ to join Cort for the "Chunga & Cort" morning show.

On August 29, 2011, after 11 years at The End, Cort announced that he would be leaving The End and moving to Portland, Oregon. His last show on The End was August 31.

Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[17]

At 10 a.m. on August 16, 2013, following their morning show, KENZ began stunting with a sound similar to that of Hypnotoad from Futurama. This was interspired with an announcer saying this message: "Listen today at 12 noon for your new favorite radio station. KENZ Ogden-Salt Lake City." At Noon, after a brief launch package, KENZ flipped to classic hits as "Classic Hits 101.9". The new station focuses on classic rock, mostly from the 1970s.[18] The first song on "Classic Hits" was The Doobie Brothers' Listen to the Music.

On June 20, 2014, at 3 p.m., KENZ changed their format to adult hits, branded as "Trax 101.9". The last song on "Classic Hits" was Money by Pink Floyd, while the first song on "Trax" was What I Like About You by The Romantics.[19]

On September 4, 2015, at 5 p.m., 101.9 began simulcasting KHTB as part of a format transfer as "Alt 101.9", bringing the format back to 101.9 for the 3rd time, with "Alt" moving to 101.9 permanently at 5 p.m. on the 8th. The last song on "Trax" was "Waterfalls" by TLC.[20] On September 23, 2015, KENZ changed their call letters to KHTB.

On October 31, 2019, at 6 p.m., KHTB dropped the alternative format a 3rd time, and began another simulcast, this time permanent, of KENZ's Top 40/CHR format, as "Power 94.9/101.9". The move gives the CHR format better coverage of Salt Lake City, as 94.9’s transmitter was located on the southern end of the market.[21]

References
  1. Stark, Phyllis (1995-06-03). "Vox Jox". Billboard. 107 (22): 104.
  2. Nielsen Business Media, Inc (1995-11-18). "KKAT Rises To No. 1, Despite Many Hurdles". Billboard. 107: 108.
  3. Arave, Lynn (1995-04-28). "'Kid Cassidy' Coming to KKAT in S.L." Deseret News. Retrieved 2015-07-16.
  4. "KKAT Relaunches As K102 - Format Change Archive". formatchange.com. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  5. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2004/RR-2004-01-16.pdf
  6. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2004/RR-2004-05-07.pdf
  7. 'The End' begins with the New Year on 107.5, Deseret Morning News, December 30, 1995
  8. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-01-05.pdf
  9. "Suit Sheds Light on Firing of KENZ Disc Jockey". Deseret News. November 10, 1999.
  10. "The End" moves to the middle - Deseret News Sept. 30, 2005
  11. 3 local stations are making some big changes - Deseret Morning News Jan. 5, 2007
  12. Internet is keeping some programs alive - Deseret Morning News Friday February 22, 2008
  13. Deseret Morning News Nov. 14, 2008
  14. It's the end of 101.9 The End as we know it, Salt Lake Tribune, April 23, 2010 Archived April 29, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "The End Of 101.9 The End - RadioInsight". radioinsight.com. 21 April 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  16. "101.9 The End Returns In Salt Lake City - RadioInsight". radioinsight.com. 21 December 2010. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  17. "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  18. "Salt Lake City bar". www.24saltlake.com. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  19. "Trax Debuts In Salt Lake City - RadioInsight". radioinsight.com. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  20. "94.9 The Vibe Brings Classic Hip-Hop To Salt Lake City - RadioInsight". radioinsight.com. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  21. Power 94.9 Salt Lake City Begins Simulcasting On Alt 101.9
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