KING-FM

Infobox Radio Station
name = KING-FM
city = Seattle, Washington
area = Seattle metropolitan area
frequency = 98.1 MHz HD Radio
erp = 57,000 watts
haat = 714 meters
class = C
facility_id = 11755
format = Classical
owner = Classic Radio, Inc.
callsign_meaning = King County
webcast = [http://www.king.org/listen/index.aspx Listen Live]
website = [http://www.king.org/ www.king.org]

KING-FM is a classical music radio station in Seattle, Washington. Its transmitter is located in Issaquah, Washington.

The station is owned by a non-profit partnership of the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera and ArtsFund known as Beethoven, A Non-Profit Corporation.

KING-FM was once co-owned with KING 5, but was donated to the non-profit partnership by King Broadcasting upon that company’s sale to "The Providence Journal" Company in 1992. Even after the sale, the radio station was long co-located with the television operation. KING-FM moved to an office building several blocks away in 1999.

History

KING-FM began broadcasting classical music in Seattle around 1948. For many decades, KING-FM was a particular source of joy and enthusiasm for KING Broadcasting co-owner Dorothy Bullitt. The station's ambitious and challenging musical programming reflected a very special enthusiasm and joy for musical arts.

Listeners have fond memories of the late 1970s when KING-FM carried syndicated concert broadcasts by the Philadelphia Orchestra (usually under direction of Eugene Ormandy), the New York Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony. Many of the syndicated concert programs featured well-known instrumentalists and conductors performing works which they never recorded commercially - e.g. Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic in a highly memorable 1976 reading of Bruckner's Sixth Symphony in A major.

In the mid-1970s, KING-FM's schedule also included specialized programs showcasing Quadraphonic LP recordings and historical recordings. In 1983, KING-FM was the first station in the Seattle area to utilize compact disc technology for its recordings.Facts|date=November 2007

In 1993, KING-FM relocated its transmitter from Seattle's Queen Anne Hill to Cougar Mountain near Issaquah, Washington. This higher-altitude transmitter location provided a vast improvement in the reception quality of KING-FM's signal throughout the Puget Sound area, and the Cascades.

KING-FM was also one of the first radio stations to broadcast its programming online, becoming one of the first internet radio stations.Facts|date=November 2007

Related links

* [http://www.king.org/ KING-FM official website]
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