KDGE

KDGE
City Fort Worth-Dallas, Texas
Broadcast area Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Branding Star 102.1
Slogan Dallas-Fort Worth's Best Variety (January-October)
Dallas-Fort Worth's Home for the Holidays (November-December)
Frequency 102.1 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date April 10, 1962 (as KJIM-FM)
Format FM/HD1: Christmas
(To flip to Adult Contemporary on December 26.)
HD2: Mainstream Rock (Sixx Sense with Nikki Sixx)
ERP 98,480 watts
HAAT 485 meters (1788 feet)
Class C
Facility ID 9620
Callsign meaning K EDGE (former branding)
Former callsigns KFMF (1961-1962, CP)
KJIM-FM (1962-1967)
KFWT-FM (1967-1970)
KFWD (1970-1978)
KTXQ (1978-2000)
Owner iHeartMedia
(Capstar TX LLC)
Sister stations KDMX, KEGL, KFXR, KHKS, KZPS
Webcast Listen Live (via iHeartRadio)
Website star1021online.com

KDGE (102.1 MHz, "Star 102.1") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to both Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas. It is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, and is temporarily broadcasting a commercial-free all-Christmas music format. The station's studios are located along Dallas Parkway in Farmers Branch, Texas (although it has a Dallas address). The transmitter site is off West Belt Line Road in Cedar Hill.

History

Easy Listening format

102.1 FM was authorized by the Federal Communications Commission in 1960 to broadcast as KFMF, but the station was not immediately built. KJIM AM 870 (now KFJZ) purchased the KFMF construction permit and it signed on the air on April 10, 1962 as KJIM-FM.[1] At first, KJIM-FM simulcast the daytime-only AM sister station, to allow programming to be heard after sunset. Later, KJIM-FM switched to an automated easy listening instrumental format. KJIM-AM-FM acquired a UHF-TV permit in the mid-1960s to construct Channel 21 (today KTXA-TV). The company sold off AM 870 to raise capital.

Move to Album Rock

In 1966, KJIM-FM changed its call letters to KFWT-FM and improved its signal, going from 2900 watts at 165 feet to 100,000 watts at 1,000 feet HAAT from the antenna tower that would also transmit Channel 21. (Channel 21 went on the air in 1967 and signed off in 1970, returning under new ownership in 1980.) KFWT-FM was sold to Marsh Media of Amarillo, Texas and subsequently changed its call letters to KFWD. In 1973, the station flipped to album rock, and was bought by the Southern Media Company in 1975.

Switch to Q102

In October 1978, Program Director Steve Sutton changed the call sign to KTXQ and the branding to "Q102" (to launder the station of a Fort Worth image, and to lessen confusion with then-CBS network affiliate KDFW-TV Channel 4). In 1983, CBS Radio bought the station. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the station aired variations on the rock format, including classic rock and mainstream rock. Morning hosts Bo and Jim were popular Q102 DJs for most of Q102's existence. Though KTXQ maintained high ratings for years, by the mid-1990s, the station fell into a steep decline, particularly after the debut of KRRW's similar-sounding classic rock format. In its final book in the summer of 1998, KTXQ was ranked 19th with a 2.4 share of the market.

In early 1997, CBS sold the station to New York-based SFX Broadcasting. By August of that year, however, Austin-based Capstar merged with SFX. Six months later, locally-based Chancellor Media acquired KTXQ through a series of trades with Capstar.[2]

Magic 102

At Noon on August 27, 1998, on the same day that Chancellor announced that they would merge with Capstar to form AMFM, Inc., KTXQ discontinued its long-running rock format and began stunting with simulcasts of other AMFM stations from across the country (including KYLD, WHTZ, KYSR, and WUBE), as well as redirecting listeners to KZPS.[3][4][5] On August 31, at 3 p.m., KTXQ flipped to Rhythmic Oldies as "Magic 102." The first song on "Magic" was "Shotgun" by Jr. Walker & the All Stars. [6][7][8]

102.1 The Edge

In 2000, as a condition of Clear Channel's purchase of AMFM, sister station 94.5 FM, along with the intellectual property of Magic 102, were sold to Radio One. When Radio One moved the rhythmic oldies format to 94.5 on November 9, 2000, Clear Channel moved 94.5's alternative rock format to 102.1 as KDGE, "102.1 the Edge."[9]

Star 102.1 Debuts

On November 16, 2016, at 3 p.m., after playing "Out of My League" by Fitz & the Tantrums, KDGE began stunting with a continuous loop of "Closing Time" by Semisonic (for the first few hours, it was interspersed with "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M.), while redirecting Edge listeners to KEGL and that a new format would debut the following day at 5 p.m. on KDGE.[10][11] At that time, the station flipped to Christmas music as "Star 102.1." The first song on "Star" was "Last Christmas" by Wham!.[12] After Christmas, KDGE will officially flip to Adult Contemporary, which will bring the format back to the Dallas-Fort Worth media market for the first time since 2014, when long-time AC station KVIL (now branded on the air as "More Hits 103.7") switched to Hot AC.

KDGE history

Created and led from 1989 to 1994 by Wendy Naylor and George Gimarc (originator of the first punk rock radio show in Dallas, the Rock n Roll Alternative in 1978), "The Edge" became an important force in the local music scene in Dallas, being the only station to play local and national "alternative" styles. ("The Eagle 97.1" had switched to a more modern format around 1982 but by 1989, that station was largely playing hits from national playlists.)

Kevin B. Smith was the promotion force behind the station. He created unusual events and promotions from 1989 through 2006. Smith was one of the driving forces in making The Edge a player in the Dallas market. From "Take the Edge on Vacation," to "Dinner on the Mayflower," Smith kept the Edge on the cutting force of promotions in Dallas.

Important contributions were made by Gimarc. Along with designing the station's musical format, and being its primary DJ, he also assembled a series of 11 compilation CDs of local bands under the name Tales from the Edge. Released between 1990 and 1996, each CD featured between 15 and 20 bands, mostly from Dallas, Austin and Denton. The CDs were value-priced: the first four include the prominent slogan "Still Only $2.94!" (sponsorships and advertising paid for the bulk of production). Several later issues were double-CD compilations, with one CD featuring current local bands, and the other being more specialized, including one focused on the area's earliest punk bands, including tracks by The Nervebreakers, The Telefones, Stickmen With Rayguns, and The Hugh Beaumont Experience, while another, put together by DJ Jeff K, featuring the (then-)newer styles of dance-club music including techno, trance and electropop (a direction the station was increasingly taking in 1994-95, after the departure of Gimarc, and with the increasing prominence of Jeff K). Notable artists featured on the CDs early in their careers included Course of Empire, Horton Heat, Deep Blue Something, Tripping Daisy, Sister 7 (as "Little Sister"), and Poi Dog Pondering. All told, over 100,000 CDs were sold in the series.

The station featured an annual music festival called Edgefest once or twice a year. Past Edgefest acts included Pearl Jam, The Charlatans, Sugarcubes, Tripping Daisy, Seether, The Origin, Nickelback, Staind, My Chemical Romance, Muse, The Killers, Placebo, Kaiser Chiefs, Weezer, The Toadies, Blue October, INXS, Beck, Social Distortion, Everclear, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Default, KoRn, Deftones, Hole, Phoenix, The Black Keys, Cage the Elephant, Cake, Flogging Molly and Drowning Pool. The first Edgefest was documented in the Jerry Lentz film "Angry Blue Planet."

There were also seven editions of The Edge Home Movie, a free rental - full hour of music videos hosted by Edge DJs. One was filmed at Edgefest in 1994, and another at Lollapalooza that same year. Other notable jocks during this time include Alex Luke, Brian the Butler, Jerry Lentz, Ernie Mills, Jeff K, Josh Venable, DJ Merritt, and Valerie Knight.

The station's 'unofficial' 20th Anniversary party was on July 3, 2009, at the Lakewood Theatre with performances from Zac Malloy of the Nixons, John Easdale of Dramarama, Deep Blue Something, Pop Poppins, and the Bat Mastersons.

Former 102.1 The Edge ident used until November 16, 2016.

Specialty programming included the Saturday night electronic/dance music show called "Edgeclub" with DJ Merritt (nation's longest running and highest rated mixshow), and Sunday shows "The Old School Edge" with Jeff K, "The Adventure Club" with Josh, and "The Local Show" with Mark, which features music made in the Dallas/Ft. Worth Metroplex. Edgeclub was taken off the air in 2010. Josh Venable became the Program Director in 2011.

In January 2013, KDGE was briefly rebranded as "102-1 KDGE"; it later returned to the "Edge" ident.

KDGE-HD2

102.1 HD-2 originally broadcast "The Cutting Edge," a version of the station's alternative rock format with reduced commercials and some tracks never before played on the radio. In July 2012, KDGE-HD2 switched formats and began airing a Classic Alternative format, renamed as "Old School Edge", with the playlist leaning toward adult alternative. As of October 2013, it broadcasts recent episodes of "Sixx Sense with Nikki Sixx" in addition to a mainstream rock format via iHeartRadio.[13]

External links

References

  1. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-204
  2. ↑ "Chancellor, Capstar swap radio stations". Dallas Morning News. 1998-02-24.
  3. ↑ "Air turbulence; Q102 staff members fired amid expected changes". Dallas Morning News. 1998-08-28.
  4. ↑ "Chancellor puts wrap on rock at KTXQ". Dallas Morning News. 1998-08-30.
  5. ↑ "The day the music died; Format change ends quarter century of rock at Q102". Dallas Morning News. 1998-09-05.
  6. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1998/RR-1998-09-04.pdf
  7. ↑ "KTXQ going oldies; New format's focus upbeat, urban hits". Dallas Morning News. 1998-09-01.
  8. ↑ http://www.dallasobserver.com/music/souled-out-6401763
  9. ↑ "Format swap reshapes radio landscape". Dallas Morning News. 2000-11-12.
  10. ↑ KDGE Dallas Drops Alternative After 27 Years; Flips to AC as "Star 102.1"
  11. ↑ 102.1 The Edge Signs Off
  12. ↑ Star 102.1 Debuts
  13. ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=5 HD Radio Guide for Dallas-Ft. Worth

Coordinates: 32°34′55″N 96°58′34″W / 32.582°N 96.976°W / 32.582; -96.976

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