KKNW

KKNW (1150 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format licensed to serve the Seattle, Washington, USA area. The station is currently owned by Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. and features a variety of talk and call-in shows where the host pays the station for the air time, known in the radio industry as "brokered time." Shows range from personal growth, health, psychology and pet care to Chinese and Russian language shows. Nationally syndicated programs hosted by family financial adviser Clark Howard and "Overnight America" with Jon Grayson are heard overnight. A transmitter site for the station is in Mercer Slough Nature Park in Bellevue. KKNW's studios are also located in Bellevue in a separate location.

History

KKNW first began in 1927 as KRSC, whose call letters stood for Kelvinator Radio Sales Corporation. It became KAYO in 1950 and was a country music radio station in the 1970s and was a competitor to KMPS (now KKOL) and KQIN (now KGNW). In 1979, the station flipped to a News/Talk format before returning to country in 1981. In 1982, the station flipped to adult contemporary and became known as KSPL. KSPL changed call letters to KGNW on September 24, 1984. On January 1, 1987, KGNW moved to its current home at 820 AM while 1150 AM would simulcast the AAA format of KEZX-FM (now KLCK). In 1989, KEZX-AM began branding itself as "Business Radio 1150", which aired Business/Talk programming, and would later evolve into a general News/Talk format. On January 13, 1999, the station flipped to Classic R&B as KSRB. The programming was predominantly satellite-fed through ABC Radio's The Touch. On June 1, 2001, at 6 AM, the station flipped to all-news as "NewsChannel 1150", and changed call letters to KKNW, which carried the audio portion of CNN Headline News. In the mid-2000s, the station shifted its programming to an "alternative talk" format featuring mostly local shows.