Bay Area Radio Stations
Spring 1966

This listing of San Francisco Bay Area radio stations — as excerpted in a KYA Radio sales department promotional brochure — shows a medium on the edge of transition, with the AM dial still dominant as FM bides its time, still the bailiwick of a select group of hi-fi enthusiasts interested in better sound quality.

At this time, Don Sherwood and KSFO are still market leaders, KFRC has yet to evolve into "The Big 610" under the direction of Bill Drake, KNBR and KCBS are still network-owned "full service" music and news powerhouses, while their ABC counterpart, KGO, is on the air from 5:30 in the morning until one o'clock at night with its "news and conversation" format.

On the FM side, independent KMPX is mere months away from the arrival of an all-night disc jockey named Larry Miller, the first voice in the station's move toward the underground FM radio revolution; Tom Donahue will come aboard shortly thereafter to speed the process along. KPEN, at 101.3 on the dial, is the leader on the local FM band, attracting listeners who are drawn to the station's audio fidelity and the innovations being rolled out by James Gabbert, Gary Gielow and Terry Smith; the station would later become K-101.

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SOURCE: Bay Area Radio Museum Collection, courtesy of Johnny Holliday.
 

RELATED EXHIBITS:

• Radio Response Ratings, March 26, 1966