KATM
 | |
| City | Modesto, California |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Modesto, California and Stockton, California |
| Branding | Kat Country 103 |
| Slogan | Continuous Country Favorites And Fun |
| Frequency | 103.3 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | April 4, 1992 |
| Format | Country |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 152 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 11239 |
| Callsign meaning | KAT (branding) Modesto |
| Former callsigns | KBEE |
| Owner |
Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding CBC, LLC) |
| Sister stations | KDJK/KHKK, KESP, KHOP, KJOY, KWIN/KWNN |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | katm.com |
KATM (branded as Kat Country 103) is a radio station serving the Modesto/Stockton area of California with its country format. It broadcasts on FM frequency 103.3 MHz and is now under ownership of Cumulus Media. Its studios are in Stockton, and its transmitter is located south of Tracy, California.
The station was purchased by Citadel Broadcasting and switched from an easy listening formatted station to a Top 40 Country formatted radio station in 1992 under the helm of then Brand Manager, Scott Mahalick.
KAT Country is entrenched in the surrounding listening area and works heavily with local charities and community organizations providing air time and fundraising opportunities. Most notably: "Make-A-Wish", St Jude, Toys for Tots, Second Harvest Food Bank, American Cancer Society and countless others.
The station hosts a yearly Listener Appreciation Concert. As the concert crowds have grown, the venues have been changed to accommodate the growing number of attendees. The June 2nd show at the Stanislaus County Fairgrounds hosted around 20,000 fans in Turlock, CA.
In 2011, the Listener Appreciation Concert was held at Weber Point Event Center on the waterfront in Stockton, CA.
Past Listener Appreciation performers
- Blake Shelton
- Taylor Swift
- Craig Morgan
- Eric Church
- The Band Perry
- Lee Brice
- Tracy Lawrence
- Clay Walker
- Jerrod Niemann
- Eli Young Band
- Mark Chesnutt
- Lee Ann Womack
- Steve Holy
- Montgomery Gentry
- Toby Keith
- Gretchen Wilson
- Rascal Flatts
- Thompson Square
- Parmalee
- Gloriana
- Keith Anderson
- Travis Tritt
Program directors
- Scott Mahalick was the GM and spearheaded the branding of the "KAT". Mahalick went on to program in San Francisco, Seattle and now is at Portland, OR country station KUPL.
- Ed Hill left the station to serve as OM at KUBL in Salt Lake City, UT in 1998. Hill left Citadel in 2011 to take on the job as Program Director of KMPS in Seattle, WA.
- Randy "Bubba" Black, a native of Manteca, CA was a former KATM employee, who returned to the station after the departure of Ed Hill. Black had programmed the Bull in Reno and served as Program Director for the KAT from 1998 until 2011. Black continued the KATM tradition of market dominance during his tenure.
- Nikki Thomas, formerly of WKSF in Asheville, NC and Infinity Broadcasting stations KWYE and KDJK in Fresno, CA, came to work for the station as Music Director in 2006 and served as interim Program Director from the time Black left in February 2011. She is the first female Program Director in the history of the station.
Air staff
- Morning Show (5am-9am): DJ Walker in the Morning with Ryn Stevens, Tammy Cruise and Jungle Jim
- Early Mid-Days (9am-12n): Nikki Thomas
- Late Mid-Days (12n-3pm): Jaimee Lee
- Afternoon Drive (2pm-7pm): Scott Simon
- Evenings (7pm-12mid):Nash Nights Live With Shawn Parr
- Overnight (12mid-5am):"Kicking It With Kix Brooks"
- Weekend's/Fill-ins:Bryan Thomas
- Weekend's/Fill-ins:Tim Cruz
- Program Director:Nikki Thomas
Awards
- KATM won the Country Music Association Medium Market Station of the Year award in 2011. The station received the news via a phone call from CMA Entertainer of the Year Nominee Taylor Swift, October 17, 2011.
- KATM won the Academy of Country Music Medium Market Station of the Year award in 2012.
- KATM received their second Country Music Association "Medium Market Station of the Year" nomination September 3, 2014.[1]
- KATM Morning Show Personalities DJ Walker In The Morning were nominees for Medium Market Broadcast Personalities of the Year September 9, 2015.[2]
References
- ↑ Scott, Jason (2014). "CMA Awards 2014—Full Nominations Revealed!". Popdust. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
- ↑ "CMA Announces 2015 Broadcast Awards Finalists". CMAworld. 9 September 2015.
External links
- Kat Country 103's Official Website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KATM
- Radio-Locator information on KATM
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for KATM
Coordinates: 37°34′30″N 121°21′18″W / 37.575°N 121.355°W