View source for KKSS

{{short description|Rhythmic contemporary hit radio station in Santa Fe, New Mexico}}
{{For|the radio station in St. Louis, Missouri at 107.7 FM known as KKSS from 1972-1979|KSLZ}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name             = KKSS
| logo             = Kiss 97.3.jpg
| city             = [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]]
| area             = [[Albuquerque metropolitan area]]
| branding         = KISS 97.3
| frequency        = 97.3 [[Megahertz|MHz]]
| airdate          = 1969 (as KAFE-FM)
| format           = [[Rhythmic contemporary]]
| erp              = 100,000 [[watt]]s
| haat             = 572 meters (1,877 ft)
| class            = C
| facility_id      = 63928
| callsign_meaning = '''KISS''' (the second '''K''' substitutes for the I)
| former_callsigns = KAFE-FM (1969–1985)
| owner            = [[American General Media]]
| licensee         = AGM Nevada, LLC
| affiliations     = [[Compass Media Networks]]
| sister_stations  = [[KABG]], [[KJFA-FM]], [[KIOT]], [[KKRG-FM]], [[KLVO (FM)|KLVO]]
| webcast          = [https://player.amperwave.net/6592 Listen Live]
| website          = [https://www.mykiss973.com mykiss973.com]
}}
'''KKSS''' (97.3 [[FM broadcasting|FM]]) is a [[commercial radio|commercial]] [[radio station]] [[city of license|licensed]] to [[Santa Fe, New Mexico]], and broadcasting to the Santa Fe and [[Albuquerque metropolitan area]]. KKSS airs an [[urban contemporary|urban]]-leaning [[rhythmic contemporary]] [[radio format]] branded as "Kiss 97.3".  Owned by [[American General Media]], its [[radio studio]]s and offices are in Northeast Albuquerque (a mile north of [[Central Avenue (Albuquerque)|Central Avenue]]).
KKSS has an [[effective radiated power]] (ERP) of 100,000 [[watt]]s.  The [[transmitter]] is in the [[Valles Caldera National Preserve]] in [[Jemez Springs, New Mexico]].<ref>[https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=kkss&nav=home Radio-Locator.com/KKSS]</ref>
==History==
The station first [[sign-on|signed on]] the air in 1969 as KAFE-FM, keeping that [[call sign]] until 1985.  It was the FM counterpart to KAFE (810 AM, now [[KSWV]]) in Santa Fe.
On September 16, 1985, after upgrading the signal and acquiring new broadcasting equipment, KAFE-FM switched its call letters to KKSS.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/582422613/ | title=The Santa Fe New Mexican from Santa Fe, New Mexico on September 16, 1985 · 7 }}</ref> The format was initially described as being "a popular, contemporary music format which will be between the hard rock music of [[KRZY-FM#KNMQ|Q106-FM]] and the soft contemporary music of [[KOBQ#Adult Contemporary|KOB-FM]]". The station was owned by New Mexico Broadcasting Inc. In 1986, KKSS and AM sister station KAFE were sold to SunGroup Broadcasting for $2.2 million.<ref>https://mirror.thelifeofkenneth.com/sites/www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1986/BC-1986-03-17.pdf page 97</ref>
Following SunGroup's purchase of the station, the company had surveyed the market and found that there was a demand for urban music. In March 1987, the company appointed Bill Thomas as operations manager and program director. While the format had leaned toward urban music from the start, it still featured some [[album rock]] crossovers. KKSS had struggled in the ratings during its first year on air, battling two other mainstream top 40 stations in the area, while public radio station [[KANW]] was playing mostly urban music at the time. Thomas had committed to evolving the format to make it stand out from its competitors, while also making it work in the largely Hispanic market. This would be done featuring more dance music and less R&B ballads, while still bordering on CHR in some dayparts. Thomas predicted that the format "is going to continue to erode CHR as we know it, and will continue to grow".<ref>https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1987/RR-1987-10-02.pdf Page 51 "Urban Heats Up In Southwest"</ref> The effort would succeed as KKSS would become the leading CHR in the area by late 1987, often ranking highest among teens and young adults.<ref>https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Duncan-American-Radio/Duncan-1988-Fall.pdf page 58</ref> By early 1990, after competing CHR [[KRZY-FM|KNMQ]] flipped to [[country music|country]], KKSS saw its shares more than double, ranking it at #3 overall.<ref>https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Duncan-American-Radio/Duncan-1990-Spring.pdf Page 35</ref> It also would continue to do well throughout the 1990s with the emergence of hip-hop music.
In 1998, SunGroup had planned to sell KKSS for $6 million to Trumper Communications, which owned the 94.1, 100.3, 104.1 and 107.9 signals in the market. However, Trumper later withdrew from the deal; instead, KKSS was sold to the [[Simmons Media Group]] for $5.5 million in November 1998.<ref>https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-Radio-Business-Report/Radio-Business-Report/1998/RBR-1998-11-30.pdf page 12</ref>  While it mostly had a rhythmic contemporary sound, KKSS had detoured to mainstream [[Top 40]] a few times, mostly when new competition came to the Albuquerque market (most of them short-lived).
In 2001, KKSS again shifted toward mainstream Top 40. In late 2002, after [[Univision]] bought the station, the station shifted back to its current Rhythmic Contemporary direction. Today, KKSS has managed to do well with its mix of [[R&B]]-[[Hip hop music|hip hop]] and [[rhythmic adult contemporary|rhythmic pop]] product, despite competition from mainstream Top 40 rival [[KOBQ]].
On April 4, 2014, three KKSS air staffers, including program director and midday host DJ Lopez, Johnny V, and MQ, had left the station to join KAGM. (The three were later let go in December 2015 when KAGM revamped its direction.)  Former KJFA personality Julian Robles also left, moving to [[KLVO]]. This all came amidst restructuring at Univision Radio, which then had KKSS sharing on-air personalities and programming with sister station [[KBBT]] in [[San Antonio, Texas]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/88275/albuquerque-staffers-cross-the-street-en-masse | title=Albuquerque Staffers Cross the Street en Masse }}</ref> KKSS would return to mostly local programming after it was sold in 2017.
On June 14, 2017, Univision announced that it would sell KKSS (as well as sister stations KIOT and KKRG-FM) to American General Media, which had attempted repeatedly to challenge KKSS over the years.<ref>[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/118350/american-general-media-acquires-univision-albuquerque-spins-four/ "American General Media Acquires Univision Albuquerque; Spins Four"] from Radio Insight (June 14, 2017)</ref> AGM paid $5 million for the Univision cluster that its predecessor paid $22.5 million for in 2002 (which also included [[KQTM]]), showing a significant drop in value over 15 years.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2002/11/04/daily2.html| title = Hispanic Broadcasting buys N.M. radio stations - Albuquerque Business First}} </ref> The sale was approved by the FCC on August 23, 2017, and was consummated on September 1, 2017.
==Current staff==
* Gina Lee Fuentez and Ando (mornings)
* The Dana Cortez Show (syndicated in middays)
* DJ Animal "The Street King of the 505!!!" (2-7pm Afternoons)
* Boy Loco (Weeknights)
* Club Kiss (Friday Night 9pm-1am)
'''Weekends:'''
* Comedian Robert "Buck D" Gipson (Saturday at 10am-4pm and Sunday at 12-5pm)
* Kyzer Sozay
* Kiss Mix (Saturday Night)
* Slowjams (Sunday Night)
==Former staff==
Mornings: Cadillac Jack, Chaz Malibu (now at [[KABG]]), Brandon Scott<br />
Middays/Mornings: Brandon Scott<br />
Middays: Randy Savage<br />
Middays: DJ Lopez (until April 2014)<br />
Afternoons: Johnny V (until April 2014)<br />
Afternoons: JJ Morgan<br />
Afternoons: [https://www.facebook.com/kumbiashow Kumbia Show] (Until March 2016) <br />
Nights: The 'Bad Boys' Carlos D (now at [[KOBQ]]), Big Moon & DJ Trauma<br />
Nights: Joe Mama<br />
Nights: MQ's Neighborhood (until April 2014)<br />
Overnights: Kandi O
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links ==
*[https://www.mykiss973.com KISS 97.3 FM official website]
{{FM station data|63928|KKSS}}
*[https://www.myspace.com/kiss973 KKSS MySpace page]
{{Santa Fe Radio}}
{{Albuquerque Radio}}
{{Rhythmic Contemporary Radio Stations in New Mexico}}
{{Kiss FM Radio stations}}
{{coord|35.781|N|106.527|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}
[[Category:Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Santa Fe, New Mexico|KSS]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1969]]
[[Category:1969 establishments in New Mexico]]