S-F Radio: 104.5 FM Flipping To Sports

Cumulus Media Inc. Monday announced that San Francisco alternative rock radio station KFOG 104.5 will flip to a simulcast of KNBR-AM sports radio on Friday, September 6, 2019.

With the launch of KNBR-FM, sports fans will have another place to tune into KNBR’s high-profile personalities and in-depth coverage of the Bay Area’s favorite teams. The expansion of KNBR will offer listeners a stronger signal and provide a broader broadcast range for the station’s leading sports programming.

“We are excited to bring KNBR, The Sports Leader and official home of the Giants and 49ers, to a wider audience of sports listeners in the Bay Area,” said Doug Harvill, Vice President/Market Manager, Cumulus San Francisco. “It’s never easy to say goodbye to a station, and we want to thank the staff, listeners, and advertisers who together made KFOG the legendary and beloved station that so many of us in San Francisco had the opportunity to enjoy.”

The station originally signed on the air on February 4, 1960 as KBAY-FM. It aired a "good music" format, mostly instrumental easy listening with some middle of the road songs and soft pop vocals.

In 1964, the call sign switched to KFOG and the station aired a beautiful music format, again largely instrumental music, cover versions of popular songs with some Broadcway and Hollywood show tunes. Within a few years, KFOG got competition from other beautiful music stations, 960 and 98.1 KABL-AM-FM (now KNEW and KISQ) and from 96.5 KOIT, as well as San Jose-based 100.3 KBAY (now KBRG). For the next two decades, beautiful music was popular in the Bay Area. But by the early 1980s, the format was showing signs of aging.

KFOG was acquired by General Electric in 1974.

On September 16, 1982, KFOG dropped the easy listening format for a blend of album-oriented rock (AOR) and classic rock, which the station called "Timeless Rock." The first song on the new format was "Rock This Town" by The Stray Cats. The station featured a wide range of music, from the psychedelic sounds of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane to newer artists such as Prince, the Eurythmics, and the Thompson Twins.

KFOG avoided commercial-sounding bands such as Loverboy and REO Speedwagon, which were widely played on more mass-appeal AOR stations at the time. KFOG was inspired by San Francisco's freeform rock radio heritage, dating back to 94.9 KSAN, a pioneering progressive rock station (now KYLD).

In 1989, KFOG was acquired by the Susquehanna Radio Corp., along with KNBR 680 AM, for $17.5 million.  Susquehanna later merged into Cumulus Media, the current owner.

The station evolved over the years, but KFOG has aired an eclectic rock format for more than a quarter century. In the 1990s, it adjusted its playlist to an adult album alternative (AAA) sound.

KFOG 104.5 FM (7.1 Kw) Courtesy of REC Networks

On March 31, 2016, KFOG took all of its DJs off the air and began promoting an "evolution" to take place on April 20. On that day, at 6 a.m., KFOG relaunched its AAA format under the new slogan "Music Matters," and shifted its playlist to focus on songs from the 1990s to the present day. The first song under the "Music Matters" branding was "Times Like These" by Foo Fighters.

Former New York City rock DJ Bryan Schock was hired as Operations Manager/Program Director for KFOG and classic rock sister station 107.7 KSAN. Most of the KFOG airstaff, including morning host Renee Richardson, midday host Annalisa, afternoon host Bill Webster, night host Dred Scott, and weekend host Rosalie Howarth, were let go from the station in what has become known as “March Massacre” of 2016.