KEZA

KEZA (107.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Fayetteville, Arkansas, broadcasting to Northeast Arkansas, including Bentonville and Fort Smith. KEZA is owned by iHeartMedia and airs an adult contemporary radio format branded as "Magic 107.9." For much of November and December, it switches to all-Christmas music. In the evening, KEZA carries the nationally syndicated call-in and dedication show hosted by Delilah. Saturday mornings, it carries Ellen K. Both shows are supplied by co-owned Premiere Networks.

KEZA has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for non-grandfathered FM stations. The transmitter is on Skelton Road in Wyola, Arkansas.^[1] The signal covers sections of Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. The studios and offices are on East Joyce Boulevard in Fayetteville.^[2]

History

On September 16, 1983, KEZA first signed on the air.^[3] It was owned by Hamden Communications with studios on First Place in Fayetteville. It chose the call sign KEZA because it played Easy Listening music in Arkansas.

The station played quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumental cover versions of popular songs, as well as Hollywood and Broadway show tunes. In the 1980s, as its audience started to age, KEZA added more soft vocals. But advertisers usually seek young to middle aged listeners, so management decided to eliminate the instrumentals.

On February 14, 1989, it switched to soft adult contemporary music. In August 2000, the station was acquired by Clear Channel Communications, the forerunner of current owner iHeartMedia.^[4] In the early 2000s, it picked up the tempo and moved to a mainstream adult contemporary sound.

References

External links

• Official Website
• KEZA in the FCC's FM station database
• KEZA on Radio-Locator
• KEZA in Nielsen Audio's FM station database