KOLA
Broadcast areaRiverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire
Frequency99.9 MHz
BrandingKOLA 99.9
Programming
FormatClassic hits
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
Ownership
OwnerAnaheim Broadcasting Corp.
KCAL-FM
History
First air date
June 15, 1959 (1959-06-15) (as KFMW)
Former call signs
KFMW (1959-1969)
Call sign meaning
Sounds like "Cola"
Technical information
Facility ID55240
ClassB
ERP29,500 watts
HAAT507 meters (1,663 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live or
Listen Live
Websitekolafm.com

KOLA (99.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to San Bernardino, California, and broadcasting to the Riverside-San Bernardino-Inland Empire radio market. It is owned by the Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation and it airs a classic hits radio format. Its studios are on Orange Tree Lane in Redlands, California.

KOLA has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 29,500 watts. Adding in its tower that is taller than the Empire State Building, KOLA is considered a "superpower" FM station.[1] The transmitter is on Box Spring Mountain Road amid other FM and TV towers for Inland Empire stations.

History

Easy Listening

The station first signed on the air on June 15, 1959.[2] The station's original call sign was KFMW. The transmitter was located on Box Springs Mountain southeast of Riverside.

The format was a mix of easy listening, middle of the road (MOR) and beautiful music. Rogan Jones served as the original general manager.

Top 40 and Album Rock

Frederick Coté and Chester Coleman bought the station in 1965.[3] Coté bought out Coleman's half-interest at the end of 1969.[4] The call letters were changed to KOLA.[5]

The format flipped to Top 40, concentrating on rhythmic hits. In the winter of 1970–71, KOLA moved its studios to the Mission Inn in downtown Riverside.[6] In 1980, the station switched to Album Rock with Ted Ziegenbusch as the programming consultant through 1987. In 1987 the station switched back to Top 40 music.

Oldies and Classic Hits

In the 1990s KOLA changed its format to Oldies from the 1950s, '60s and '70s. Over time, the 1950s songs were deleted and 1980s songs were added. Around 2007, most of the 1960s hits were dropped as the station concentrated on the hits of the 1970s and 1980s. By spring of 2013, KOLA had dropped all the 1960s oldies and switched to a 1970s-80s-90s Classic Hits format. In 2018, KOLA dropped most of the 1970s hits and began adding songs from the early 2000s.

KOLA continues to broadcast from the same tower at the same 29,500 watts, as was stated on its original license from 1959 as KFMW.

References

  1. ↑ "Superpower" Grandfathered FM Stations by D. Smith W9WI, Sept. 9, 1998, Retrieved Aug. 8, 2022
  2. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1961-1962 page B-23, Broadcasting & Cable
  3. ↑ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 16, 1965. p. 92. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  4. ↑ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 3, 1969. p. 114. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  5. ↑ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 29, 1969. p. 68. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  6. ↑ Hall, Claude (30 January 1971). "Radio-TV programming: Vox Jox". Billboard: 35.

33°57′58″N 117°17′20″W / 33.966°N 117.289°W / 33.966; -117.289

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