# KIXI

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Adult standards/oldies radio station in Mercer Island/Seattle, Washington

KIXI Mercer Island–Seattle, Washington United States Broadcast area Seattle metropolitan area Frequency 880 kHz Branding Retro Radio AM 880 KIXI Programming Format Adult standards, oldies Affiliations NBC News Radio Bloomberg Radio Compass Media Networks Ownership Owner Hubbard Broadcasting (Seattle FCC License Sub, LLC) Sister stations KQMV, KRWM, KPNW-FM, KKNW History First air date 1947 (as KXRN at 1220) Former call signs KXRN (1947–1952) KLAN (1952–1958) KQDE (1958–1960) KUDY (1960–1961) Former frequencies 1220 kHz (1947–1951) 1230 kHz (1951–1957) 910 kHz (1957–1983) Call sign meaning IX, I (Roman numerals for 9 and 1, in reference to former AM 910 frequency) Technical information[1] Licensing authority FCC Facility ID 4629 Class B Power 50,000 watts day 10,000 watts night Repeater 106.9 KRWM-HD3 (Bremerton) Links Public license information Public file LMS Webcast Listen live Website www.kixi.com

**KIXI** (880 [AM](/source/AM_broadcasting)) is a radio station licensed to [Mercer Island](/source/Mercer_Island%2C_Washington)/[Seattle, Washington](/source/Seattle). It operates [24 hours a day](/source/24_hours_a_day) with a daytime power of 50,000 watts and a nighttime power of 10,000 watts from a transmitter in Mercer Slough Nature Park in Bellevue, where studios are also located (although in a separate location).

## Format

KIXI features nostalgic music, such as rock and roll classic [oldies](/source/Oldies) mixed in with [musical standards](/source/Traditional_pop).[2] The music spans from the early 1950s through the early 1980s. In recent years the station has moved away from [big band](/source/Big_band) music but occasionally plays some. It is the only station in the Seattle area to feature the [Imagination Theatre](/source/Imagination_Theatre) and *[Twilight Zone](/source/The_Twilight_Zone_(radio_series))* radio dramas.

KIXI remains one of the few AM radio stations that continues to successfully program music on the AM band.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] It also enjoys some of the highest ratings of any "Nostalgia" formatted station in the US.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

On June 1, 2006, KIXI started to carry the nationally syndicated format [Music of Your Life](/source/Music_of_Your_Life) format from Jones Radio Networks. Jones stopped carrying Music of Your Life via satellite in January 2008 in favor of its own standards format, called "[Jones Standards](/source/Jones_Standards)" (which has since been discontinued and absorbed into [Dial Global](/source/Dial_Global)'s [America's Best Music](/source/America's_Best_Music) network). However, KIXI remained until April 2009 an affiliate of Music of Your Life, now distributed by Planet Halo, Incorporated.

The station was the first AM station in Seattle to transmit its signal in [IBOC](/source/In-band_on-channel) [digital radio](/source/Digital_radio) during a joint demonstration with Harris Corporation and iBiquity, the licensee of the new digital AM transmission method. KIXI can also be heard in [HD Radio](/source/HD_Radio) on [KRWM](/source/KRWM_(FM)) 106.9 FM HD3.

## History

KIXI took the air in 1947 as KXRN, a 250-watt [Renton](/source/Renton%2C_Washington) station broadcasting at 1220 kHz during daytime hours only. KXRN was owned by the Interlake Broadcasting Company. It was built by Frank C. Cook, who was also the radio announcer. In 1951, the station moved to 1230 kHz and changed its call letters to KLAN a year later.

KLAN became a full-time station broadcasting with 1,000 watts at 910 kHz in 1957. Purchased the following year by former KRSC and [KJR](/source/KJR_(AM)) personality Wally Nelskog, the station became [top-40](/source/Top-40) KQDE, or "Cutie Radio". A sister station on 1230 kHz in [Everett](/source/Everett%2C_Washington), [KQTY](/source/KWYZ), also used the same branding. One of Seattle's first black deejays, Bob Summerrise, brought an R&B influence to his airshift on KQDE. (Summerrise would later own [soul](/source/Soul_music)-formatted KYAC, which took the air in 1964.) In 1960, KQDE would change its call letters to the more phonetic KUDY and changed its [city of license](/source/City_of_license) to Seattle.

Failing to make an impact in the top-40 battle dominated by KJR and KOL, the station became [beautiful music](/source/Beautiful_music) KIXI in late 1961. (The call letters were a [Roman numeral](/source/Roman_numeral) representation of the station's "9-1" dial position.) Bob Liddle, formerly of [KXL](/source/KXTG) and [KEX](/source/KEX_(AM)) in [Portland, Oregon](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon), joined the airstaff and would stay with KIXI for 45 years. During the 1970s, Liddle teamed with Dean Smith on *News 90*, one of Seattle's first all-news morning drive programs.

A partnership led by [J. Elroy McCaw](/source/J._Elroy_McCaw), owner of Tacoma television station [KTVW](/source/KCPQ) and father of future [cellular telephone](/source/Cellular_telephone) tycoon [Craig McCaw](/source/Craig_McCaw), purchased a 50-percent interest in KIXI in 1963. The group also acquired FM beautiful music station [KGMJ](/source/KJEB) from Rogan Jones, founder of the pioneering radio automation firm IGM. KGMJ became KIXI-FM and simulcasted the AM station's programming. McCaw died suddenly of a stroke in 1969, exposing a considerable amount of debt accumulated from his speculation on radio and television stations, including [WINS](/source/WINS_(AM)) in New York and [KYA](/source/KYA_Radio) in San Francisco. With the exception of a small cable television system in [Centralia](/source/Centralia%2C_Washington), McCaw's entire broadcasting portfolio was sold off to pay down the debt service. Wally Nelskog and two [Richland](/source/Richland%2C_Washington) physicians purchased KIXI and KIXI-FM in 1971.

The beautiful music simulcast ended in 1980, with the AM side adopting an [oldies](/source/Oldies) format and the FM station programming [adult contemporary](/source/Adult_contemporary) as "KIXI Lite". A move to the 880 kHz frequency a year later allowed for a daytime power boost to 50,000 watts, and in 1986, a nighttime increase to 10,000 watts. With the move, KIXI (AM) began running a satellite-fed [adult standards](/source/Adult_standards) format. That same year, Nelskog sold the station to Thunder Bay Communications. In December 1987, the group sold the AM station to Sunbelt Communications, while the FM station, which had become KLTX, was sold to [Ackerley](/source/Ackerley_Group).[3][4]

KIXI was purchased by [Sandusky Radio](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sandusky_Radio&action=edit&redlink=1), owners of [KLSY](/source/KQMV), in November 1991. Hiring personalities such as Jim Dai and Dan Murphy in 1993, the station dropped the AM Only satellite service for a locally voicetracked lineup. Bob Dearborn, best known for his work at [WCFL](/source/WMVP) in Chicago, was the KIXI [program director](/source/Program_director) from 1994 to 1999. He was replaced by Bob Brooks, formerly of KLSY.

While the aging demographics of the adult standards audience forced many stations in larger markets to drop the format in the late 1990s, KIXI continued to enjoy modest success, often selling advertising time as an "add-on" to spots on KLSY or the other stations in the Sandusky Seattle group. Finally, in a move that led to an outcry from a loyal listener base, KIXI abruptly began airing [Music of Your Life](/source/Music_of_Your_Life) satellite programming on June 1, 2006. With the exception of Dan Murphy, who continued to voice station promotions and weekday weather forecasts, the entire KIXI airstaff was terminated. In April 2009, KIXI dropped the Music of Your Life programming after three years and returned to local programming. In the past ten years the station gradually modified its sound to more of an oldies format playing some rock and roll oldies as well as some early soft rock along with some traditional pop standards mixed in. In July 2013, Sandusky announced it would sell its radio holdings in Seattle and Phoenix, Arizona to [Hubbard Broadcasting](/source/Hubbard_Broadcasting). The sale was completed that November.[5] However, the station is now largely voicetracked and automated - with total operations being overseen by Dan Murphy. COVID-19 forced cuts at KIXI on May 12, 2020. Dan Murphy was cut from the staff by Hubbard Broadcasting.

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FCC-LMS-4629_1-0)** ["Facility Technical Data for KIXI"](https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityTechDetails.html?facilityId=4629). *Licensing and Management System*. [Federal Communications Commission](/source/Federal_Communications_Commission).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["KIXI"](https://onlineradiobox.com/us/kixi/playlist/).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Mediatrix Market Profile: Seattle Volume 1 Number 9"](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Mediatrix/Mediatrix-Seattle-1986.pdf) (PDF). *Mediatrix*. 1988. Retrieved January 31, 2024.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["AM 880 KIXI Radio TV SPOT - Steve Allen - 1990's"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BV3bLC5GEbk). *[YouTube](/source/YouTube)*. February 28, 2018. [Archived](https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/BV3bLC5GEbk) from the original on December 12, 2021.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** [Hubbard Acquires Sandusky Radio](https://radioinsight.com/headlines/84251/hubbard-acquires-sandusky-broadcasting/)

## External links

- [AM 880](http://www.kixi.com)

- [FCC History Cards for KIXI](https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=41528)

- [Facility details for Facility ID 4629 (KIXI)](https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityDetails.html?facilityId=4629) in the [FCC](/source/Federal_Communications_Commission) Licensing and Management System

- [KIXI](https://www1.arbitron.com/sip/displaySip.do?surveyID=SP26&band=am&callLetter=KIXI) in [Nielsen Audio](/source/Nielsen_Audio)'s AM station database

v t e Radio stations in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington, metropolitan area By AM frequency 5301 570 630 710 770 820 850 880 950 1000 1050 1090 1150 1180 1210 1230 1250 1300 1330 1360 1380 1400 1420 1450 1480 1520 1540 1560 1590 1620 1680 By FM frequency 88.5 88.9 89.5 89.7 89.9 KASB KGHP KGRG-FM KXIR 90.1 90.3 90.7 90.9 91.3 91.5 91.7 92.5 93.3 93.7 94.1 94.9 95.7 96.1 96.5 97.3 98.1 98.9 99.3 99.9 100.7 101.5 102.5 102.9 103.7 104.5 104.9 105.3 106.1 106.9 107.7 LPFM 95.3 96.9 100.3 101.1 101.9 KCSC-LP KQES-LP KTAH-LP KVSH-LP 102.1 104.9 KAPY-LP KHUH-LP 105.7 106.5 107.3 KBFG-LP KWJZ-LP Translators 88.1 88.9 89.1 K206CJ K206DM 89.3 89.7 K209FO K209FQ 90.1 90.3 92.1 K221FJ K221FR 94.5 95.3 97.7 98.5 100.3 101.1 102.1 103.3 104.1 K281CI K281CQ 105.7 K289AK K289BZ 106.5 107.3 NOAA Weather Radio frequency 162.425 162.475 162.55 Digital radio by frequency & subchannel 88.5-1 88.5-2 89.5-1 89.5-2 89.5-3 89.9-1 89.9-2 90.3-1 91.3-1 91.3-2 92.5-1 93.3-1 93.3-2 94.1-1 94.1-2 94.9-1 95.7-1 95.7-2 96.5-1 96.5-2 96.5-3 97.3-1 97.3-2 97.3-3 98.1-1 98.1-2 98.1-3 98.9-1 98.9-2 98.9-3 99.9-1 100.7-1 101.5-1 101.5-2 101.5-3 102.5-1 102.9-1 102.9-2 103.7-1 103.7-2 104.1-1 104.9-1 105.3-1 105.3-2 105.3-3 106.1-1 106.1-2 106.9-1 106.9-2 106.9-3 107.7-1 107.7-2 By call sign K201EN K205DF K206CJ K206DM K207AZ K209FO K209FQ K211FH K212GL K221FJ K221FR K233BU K237GN K249DX K253CG K262CX K266CJ K271BS K277AE K281CI K281CQ K289AK K289BZ K293AY K297BD KAPY-LP KASB KBCS KBFG-LP KBKS-FM HD2 KBLE KBRO KCIS KCMS HD2 HD3 KCSC-LP KDDS-FM KEXP KGHP KGNW KGRG KGRG-FM HD2 KHB60 KHHO KHTP HD2 KHUH-LP KING-FM HD2 HD3 KIRO KIRO-FM HD2 HD3 KISW HD2 KITZ KIXI KJAQ HD2 HD3 KJEB HD2 KJR KJR-FM HD2 KKDZ KKMO KKNW KKOL KKWF HD2 KKXA KLAY KLFE KLSW KLSY KMGP-LP KMIA KMIH KNCL518 KNDD HD2 KNHC KNKX HD2 HD3 KNTS KNWN KODX-LP KPLZ-FM KPNW-FM HD2 KPTR KQES-LP KQMV KQWZ-LP KQXI KRIZ KRKO KRWM HD2 HD3 KSER KSUH KSWD HD2 KTAH-LP KTDD KTQA-LP KTTH KUCP-LP KUOW-FM KUPS KVI KVRU-LP KVSH-LP KVTI KWJZ-LP KWYZ KXIR KXPA KXSU-LP KXXO KYFQ KYIZ KZIZ KZOK-FM HD2 KZTM WWG24 WXM62 Defunct KARR KDP KDXB-LP KDZT KFC KFFD KFWY KKZU KNLI-LP KNTB Nearby regions Aberdeen Longview-Kelso Northwest Washington Olympia-Centralia Portland Wenatchee Yakima See also List of radio stations in Washington Notes 1. Travelers' information station for WSDOT.

v t e Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. Key people Stanley S. Hubbard Radio KAZG KBHP KBLB KBUN KBUN-FM KDKB KDUS KIKV-FM KIXI KKNW KKWS KKZY KLIZ KLIZ-FM KLLZ-FM KNSP KPNT KPNW-FM KQMV KRWM KSHE KSLX-FM KSTP KSTP-FM KTMY KUAL-FM KULO KUPD KVBR KWAD WARH WDRV WEAT WFED WFTL WHFS WIL-FM WIRK WJJY-FM WKRQ WMBX WMEN WREW WRMF WSHE WTBC-FM WTMX WTOP-FM WTLP WWWT-FM WUBE-FM WWDV WXOS WYGY Television ABC KAAL KSTP-TV KSAX-TV KRWF-TV WDIO-DT WIRT-DT Independent KSTC-TV MyNetworkTV WNYA NBC KOB KOBF KOBR K22NM-D WHEC-TV WNYT Cable Ovation Reelz Acquisitions Omni Broadcasting Defunct CONUS Communications All News Channel

[47°34′59″N 122°10′52″W / 47.58306°N 122.18111°W / 47.58306; -122.18111](https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?pagename=KIXI&params=47_34_59_N_122_10_52_W_type:landmark_region:US-WA_source:FCC)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [KIXI](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KIXI) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KIXI?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.