KRLD-FM (105.3
FM, "105.3 The Fan") is a
sports talk radio station serving the
Dallas/
Fort Worth, Texas, Metroplex. KRLD-FM is owned by
CBS Radio. 105.3's HD-2 subchannel simulcasts KRLD 1080 and plays sports programming. 105.3 HD-3 plays Fox Sports Radio.
History
KSFM/KSPD/The Sound Of Success
105.3 FM went on the air in January 1958 with a
classical format as
KSFM. In 1960, the station went dark and then resurfaced with an automated
Beautiful Music format as
KPSD, only to go dark again by the end of the year. Century Broadcasting purchased the dark KPSD in 1962 and returned it to the air as
KMAP, "The Sound of Success," featuring classical music and later Broadway show tunes. In 1968, Century sold KMAP to Dawson Communications, who changed the call letters to
KXXK and the format to
MOR music.
Coax/Cozy 105.3/Young Country
KXXK became
KOAX ("Coax") in 1971. Through the 1970s and into the early 1980s, Beautiful Music KOAX was one of the most popular FM stations in Dallas/Fort Worth, consistently scoring top 10 ratings. By 1985, its ratings were down, and KOAX changed calls to
KQZY ("Cozy 105.3") that year, evolving the format from Beautiful Music to
Soft AC. KQZY changed format to Hot AC as "Star 105.3" in September 1989, taking the new calls
KRSR the following summer featuring personalities Bob Nelson, John McCarty, Teri Richardson, Mike Sheppard, Scott Carpenter (PD) and later added Stoobie Doak. Ratings remained low, and in January 1992 Alliance Broadcasting based in Walnut Creek California launched the very first "Young Country" station on 105.3 with the station temporarily taking the calls
KRRM before becoming
KYNG in February. The format younger sounding country music and created "Morning Shows" all day that highlighted listener calls, tons of requests and fun jock talk. It was all a part of owner Alliance's "Young Country" concept.
Live 105.3/Free FM
After being acquired by Infinity Broadcasting (now CBS Radio) KYNG changed format from country music to a combination of
Hot Talk and
Active Rock music in March 2000. Three years later, in March 2003, the station took the new calls
KLLI, the "Live 105.3" name and the slogan "The Alternative Talk Station". In late 2005 as part of the station's change in morning shows (due to
Howard Stern leaving
CBS Radio to go to
Sirius Satellite Radio in early 2006), KLLI dropped the "Alternative Talk Station" slogan and started using the CBS Radio nationwide slogan for FM Talk, "
Free FM". In May 2007 (as part of CBS Radio's phasing out of the Free FM name and slogan) KLLI dropped the "Free FM" slogan and was again simply known as "Live 105.3."
105.3 The Fan
On December 8, 2008, KLLI switched to a sports talk format branded as "105.3 The Fan." This change was not a complete overhaul as some hosts, notably morning host Jagger and some of his morning crew, survived the shift while others, including
Russ Martin, were not retained. On December 12, 2008, the call sign was changed to KRLD-FM to match sister station
KRLD (AM).
Airstaff
The station's current lineup () is as follows
*Morning Show (5am-9am): Jagger & Barsky - Chris Jagger, Paul Barsky & Jasmine Sadry
Late Mornings (9am-11am): Newy Scruggs
Mid-Days (11am-3pm): Rage featuring Greggo & Richie - Gregg "Greggo" Williams & Richie Witt
Afternoon Drive (3pm-7pm): G-Bags featuring Gavin & Gregg - Gavin Dawson & Gregg Henson
Evenings (7pm-11pm): Arnie Spanier
Late Nights (11pm-1am): TBA
Overnights (1am-5:30am): The J.T The Brick Show - JT The Brick
Sports
NASCAR
KRLD-FM is the flagship station for Texas Motor Speedway and carries
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing.
Texas Rangers
Starting with the 2009 season, the station is the weekday home for
Texas Rangers baseball games. As per
the Feb 2009 press release, only weekday games will be on this station. Weekend games will remain on
KRLD 1080 AM, where Texas Rangers games have been since 1995.
Dallas Cowboys
Also starting in 2009, KRLD-FM became the new flagship station for the
Dallas Cowboys NFL team, resurrecting the long association the Cowboys had with KRLD-AM in the 1970s and 1980s. It features regular appearances by team owner
Jerry Jones and coach
Wade Phillips.
References
External links
KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan official website
DFW Radio Archives
Mike Shannon's Dallas-Fort Worth Radio and TV History
Category:Talk radio stations
Category:Sports radio stations in the United States
Category:Radio stations established in 1958
RLD-FM
