KMVQ-FM

For KFRC today see KFRC-FM.

KMVQ-FM

City of license	San Francisco, California
Broadcast area	San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, California
Branding	99-7 Now
Slogan	"All The Hits"
Frequency	99.7 MHz (also on HD Radio) 99.7 HD-2: Pulse Radio (Dance)
First air date	1978
Format	Top 40 (CHR)
ERP	40,000 watts
HAAT	396 meters
Class	B
Facility ID	1084
Callsign meaning	K Movin Q (previous branding)
Former callsigns	KFRC-FM (1991-2007) KXXX (1988-1991) KYUU (1978-1988) KNAI (?-?) KNBR-FM (?-?)
Owner	CBS Radio (CBS Radio Stations, Inc.)
Sister stations	KCBS, KFRC-FM, KITS, KLLC, KZDG also part of CBS Corp. cluster: KPIX-TV and KBCW-TV
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	997now.com

KMVQ-FM (99.7 FM, "99-7 Now") is a broadcast radio station in San Francisco, California in the United States. The station, known as "99-7 Now", broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) format with a Rhythmic lean.

KMVQ's HD2 channel features a Dance format, billing themselves as "Pulse Radio." The move came about after KNGY dropped their Dance format for Top 40/CHR in September 2009.

History

See also: KNBR

The 99.7 FM was originally owned by NBC, with sister station KNBR. At various times, they aired an all-news format as KNAI and a middle of the road format as KNBR-FM.

KYUU

In 1978, NBC decided to take advantage of the newfound success of FM radio, and they hired programmers to create a new format, similar to Top 40 but targeting a market they felt was underserved, adults in the 25-34 age range. Years later, this approach would be labeled Hot adult contemporary by the radio industry. The station became KYUU.

Over time, the station migrated to more of a contemporary hit radio format as "The Hit Music Station". By 1986, the station migrated back to an adult contemporary direction. During much of this time, KYUU's morning host was Don Bleu.

KXXX/X-100

In 1988, NBC decided to sell all their owned-and-operated radio stations and concentrate on television. KYUU was among the last to be sold when Emmis Communications bought the radio station. Emmis made many changes, and due to heavy competition, in October, 1988, decided to relaunch the station with a straightforward CHR approach as X-100 and the KXXX call letters.^[1][2]

X-100 fared poorly compared to the legacy of KYUU, which led Emmis to sell the station to real estate developer Peter Bedford, who in turn sold it to Alliance Broadcasting, a company run by former KYUU general manager John Hayes. Alliance later sold the station to Infinity Broadcasting, who flipped the station's format to oldies as KFRC-FM in March, 1991. The station simulcasted its new sister station 610 AM.

Oldies 99.7 KFRC

Main article: KFRC (defunct)

This was not KFRC's first attempt at FM broadcasting. For many years, they owned an FM counterpart at 106.1 FM, which carried a variety of formats. In 1977, KFRC's owners sold off the money-losing FM station at 106.1 (which soon became successful AOR station KMEL). Over the next few years, as the FM band eclipsed AM in popularity, it became clear that the owners had made a mistake. This was finally remedied in 1991 under different ownership with the purchase of KXXX. As KFRC, 99.7 FM simulcast the oldies format of their well-known sister AM station. The oldies format proved very successful in the Bay Area market, reaching number one with the popular 25-54 demo.

In 2005, the owners, Infinity Broadcasting (later becoming CBS Radio), traded 610 AM to Christian radio broadcaster Family Stations, the owners of KEAR, for their station at 106.9 FM. On April 29, 2005, Family Stations began simulcasting the signal of their FM station on 610 AM, and the oldies format and KFRC call letters remained at 99.7 FM.

On September 5, 2005, KFRC relaunched their oldies format, this time focusing on '70s & '80s music with a softer approach. The station billed itself as "the Bay Area's Classic Hits."

MOViN 99.7

Logo for MOViN 99.7, 2006-2007

At 10:03 a.m. on Friday, September 22, 2006, after playing "American Pie" by Don McLean, KFRC switched to a Rhythmic AC format, relaunching this time as "The New MOViN' 99.7" (with KFRC calls) with Gonna Make You Sweat by C+C Music Factory as the first song. The "MOViN'" brand had previously been picked up by KQMV/Seattle, KMVN/Los Angeles, KYMV/Salt Lake City, KMVK/Dallas and WMVN/St. Louis. .

Logo for MOViN 99.7, 2007-2010

The format switch was met with sharp criticism from long time listeners of the KFRC Oldies format because it was the last remaining oldies station in the region.

Main article: KFRC-FM

On Thursday, May 17, 2007, CBS Radio decided to bring back the old KFRC, as they dropped the Free FM talk format on 106.9 FM and revived the old "classic hits" format. The KFRC call sign moved to 106.9 FM. As a result, MOViN' 99.7 received the new call sign KMVQ. KFRC 106.9 is now a news station, a simulcast of KCBS-AM 740.

Transistion to CHR

Logo for MOViN 99.7, 2010

On November 14, 2008 KMVQ was added to the BDS Top 40/CHR reporting panel. The station has moved away from the typical Rhythmic AC format and now is primarily top 40 with occasional 1990s and early 2000s songs added, becoming the first top 40 station for San Francisco in six years since KZQZ flipped to country music in 2002. Later, the name was switched from Movin 99.7 to MOViN 99-7, eliminating the 'point' in the frequency. As a result, this move pursued Clear Channel urban AC station KISQ to acquire the rhythmic AC format from KMVQ, and musically be similar to CBS Radio's other newly launched top 40 stations in Pittsburgh (WBZW-FM, now all-sports as KDKA-FM), Houston (KKHH), Los Angeles (KAMP-FM), New York City (WXRK) and Detroit (WVMV).

On November 12, 2009, KMVQ added Fernando and Greg in the Morning as the station's new morning show. The pair are the first openly gay duo to host a morning broadcast on American commercial radio. Before moving to KMVQ, the show was initially established on KNGY-FM/Energy 92.7 in San Francisco.

KMVQ-FM began leaning Rhythmic but still plays mainstream CHR music by late 2010 because of KISQ's sudden flip from rhythmic adult contemporary back to urban oldies, and dropped most pop/rock acts to sister Hot AC station KLLC and KZZO in Sacramento.

99-7 Now

In Mid 2010 KMVQ changed its logo to match the Amp Radio stations in Los Angeles & Detroit. The station began using the slogan "All the Hits." On December 31, 2010 the station re-branded as "99-7 Now" to match the CBS owned 92-3 Now station in New York City.

KMVQ has competition from other Rhythmic KYLD and Urban KMEL and KWIN in Stockton CA.

99-7 Now currently ranks at #6 (4.2) in The Bay Area according to the May 2011 PPM ratings release.

Current Airstaff

The current lineup (as of August 30, 2010) is as follows:

• Morning Show (6 am - 10 am): Fernando and Greg in the Morning - Fernando Ventura, Greg Sherell & Jason Dahlstedt
• Mid-Days (10 am - 2 pm): Letty B.
• Afternoons (2 pm - 7 pm): St. John's Playhouse - St. John
• Nighttime (7 pm - 12 am): Strawberry
• Weekend's/Fill-ins: Mary Diaz, Freska and Bennie Siegal
• Speciality Shows: Club 99-7 - DJ E Rock and "Hella" Miles Medina (Early Saturday Morning 1am-4am)
  • House Nation - St. John (Early Sunday morning 1am-3am)
  • Street Talk (Sundays 6am-7am)

References

1. ^ [1]
2. ^ [2]

External links

• KMVQ-FM official website
• The Unplugged 99.7 KYUU Radio Archive
• KFRC switches from oldies to music of 1970s and '80s, from the San Francisco Chronicle
• The History of KFRC Radio
• Query the FCC's FM station database for KMVQ
• Radio-Locator information on KMVQ
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for KMVQ