KJOY

KJOY is an FM radio station serving the Stockton area with its lite rock format. It broadcasts on the FM frequency 99.3 MHz and is under ownership of Cumulus Media. Its studios and transmitter are located separately in Stockton.

KJOY 99.3 signed on the air as KJAX in 1968 with an Instrumental Easy Listening Music format also known as Elevator Music and Beautiful Music. It was known as Cloud 99. It was originally owned by Joseph Gamble Stations Inc. and was the FM sister station to KJOY 1280 AM. In October 1989, both stations flip flopped their call letters with KJOY going to the FM station's dial position and KJAX replacing the KJOY call letters at 1280 on the AM dial. Today, KJAX-1280 is KWSX.

KJOY history

As mentioned above, KJOY was originally an AM station at 1280. The KJOY story goes back to December 1946 when founding company Valley Broadcasting Company (VBC) was granted a construction permit to put a new AM station on the air in Stockton at 1280 with 1,000 watts, directional to the west at night. This new AM would sign on in the Spring of 1947 with the call sign KXOB, co-owned with KXOA in Sacramento and KXOC in Chico. VBC partners were: Lincoln Dellar, Executive Director (90%), and Morton Sidley (10%). KXOB's offices and studios were originally at 2013 Pacific Avenue in Stockton with the transmitter site at Beyer Lane and East Harding Way northeast of Stockton. In the Fall of 1950, studio facilities would be moved to the Beyer Lane transmitter site, presumably as a cost-cutting measure.