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KSKI-FM
KSKI-FM (94.5 FM) is a commercial radio station located in Sun Valley, Idaho. The station was assigned the KSKI-FM call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on June 2, 1980.[2] HistoryKSKI-FM went on the air August 3, 1977, on 93.5 MHz, the sister to KSKI AM 1340. It broadcast from a tower atop Bald Mountain. Within three months of signing on, it changed its automation format;[3] automation complemented its diverse block programming lineup. KSKI-AM-FM were known for their eclectic mix of music programming, aiming to serve listeners in a market that had no other radio stations; the pair also gained a small but devoted audience in the larger Twin Falls area.[4] In November 1989, KSKI-AM-FM was sold to Silver Creek Communications, a company of businessman John McCaw, Jr., for $950,000; while McCaw owned cable systems and was in the middle of acquiring TV station group LIN Broadcasting, his other radio holdings were all in Alaska.[5] KSKI-FM moved to 103.7 MHz at a much higher power level, improving reception in the Magic Valley area, in 1991.[6] The AM sister station continued to operate until late 1992, when economic difficulties in the local advertising market caused by the launch of competing station KECH-FM, which had taken to the air in 1988, prompted Silver Creek to shutter the AM station and send the license to the Federal Communications Commission for cancellation.[7] The difficulties also would prompt changes for KSKI-FM in February 1993, when Silver Creek converted the operations of KSKI-FM to an automated service known as "The Mountain", programmed specifically for ski resort areas with special Sun Valley-specific inserts from its base at KZYR in Colorado; it was the service's first non-owned affiliate.[8] The layoffs included KSKI-FM's program director, DJs and a news director, while sales staff and a local news reporter remained in Hailey.[8] In 1994, KSKI was bought by Idaho state senator Clint Stennett, who owned a cable channel known as KWRV.[9] Stennett unhooked KSKI from "The Mountain" and instituted a live and local adult album alternative format.[10] The station made national headlines three years later when an admiring listener brought the station's morning DJs banana bread that they ate without knowing it was laced with marijuana;[11] the employees were suspended with pay after having remained on the air under the influence, while a 28-year-old Ketchum man was arrested[12] and the station retooled its morning show. Stennett also instituted a drug policy.[13] 1998 brought consolidation when cross town rival station KECH-FM (owned then by Scott Parker’s Alpine Broadcasting, Ltd) bought KSKI, bringing both of Blaine County's radio stations under common ownership; KSKI's studios relocated from Hailey to Ketchum as a result.[14] KSKI flipped to a wider hot adult contemporary music format in 2002;[15] the station returned to adult album alternative in October 2008.[16] OwnershipIn March 2007, Denver-based Blue Point Media announced that it was set to merge with KSKI-FM owner Chaparral Broadcasting, Inc.[17] Chaparral Broadcasting also owns KECH-FM and KYZK in Idaho as well as four stations in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The FCC approved the transfer of the license on May 24, 2007,[18] however no consummation notice has been filed with the FCC as required by law, and as of January 2009, the license remains in the name of Chaparral Broadcasting.[19] Chaparral sold KSKI-FM and seven other stations to Rich Broadcasting for $3.7 million; the transaction was consummated on April 1, 2013. On December 5, 2013, the station moved from 103.7 FM to its current 94.5 FM. Rich Broadcasting sold KSKI-FM, three other stations, and a translator to Richard Mecham's Magic Valley Media, LLC effective September 17, 2019, for $475,000. On November 1, 2019, KSKI-FM dropped its adult album alternative format and began stunting with Christmas music.[20] On January 1, 2020, KSKI-FM ended the Christmas music stunt and launched an alternative rock format.[21] References
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