KSVY (Washington)

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KSVY
Broadcast areaSpokane, Washington
Frequency1550 kHz
Ownership
OwnerHarold Orr dba Harold Leasing
History
First air date
September 1, 1962; 61 years ago (1962-09-01)
Last air date
July 18, 1996; 27 years ago (1996-07-18)
Former call signs
  • KDNC (1962–1974)
  • KXXR (1974–1987)
Call sign meaning
Spokane Valley
Technical information
Facility ID26178
ClassB
Power
  • 10,000 watts day
  • 2,500 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
47°36′39.6″N 117°14′27.6″W / 47.611000°N 117.241000°W / 47.611000; -117.241000

KSVY was a radio station operating at 1550 AM in Opportunity, Washington, serving Spokane. It operated from 1962 to 1996.

History[edit]

KDNC went on air September 1, 1962.[1] The station broadcast during the day at 1440 kHz and was owned by the Independent Broadcasting Corporation, with transmitter at Havana and 44th in Spokane; it aired a "golden music" format.[2] After two years in operation, KDNC moved its studios to the Davenport Hotel.[3] KDNC also spawned KDNC-FM 93.7, which signed on September 30, 1965.[4] Alexander P. Hunter of Spokane acquired KDNC-AM-FM in 1967[5] and sold it two years later to Radford Sorensen, Wayne Wakefield and Edward Kelley for US$158,813 (equivalent to $1,319,503 in 2023).[6]

KDNC became KXXR on April 15, 1974.[7] The AM station was playing country music in 1979,[8] beautiful music in 1980[9] and the Music of Your Life format in 1981.[10] The station also broadcast some sporting events; after initially agreeing to carry University of Idaho football for the 1983 season, it abruptly dropped the Vandals after one game to carry University of Notre Dame football instead.[11]

KXXR changed frequency from 1440 to 1550 kHz in January 1984 as part of a major facility change that saw the city of license change from Spokane to Opportunity, as well as a daytime power increase to 10,000 watts and the beginning of nighttime service with 2,500 watts from a new tower site. The new tower site had been approved in 1981, even though local residents feared that the construction of a radio facility close to a school would cause issues with construction crews, as had happened with KGA at another school site.[12]

Harold Orr, who had been the station's president in 1975,[4] acquired the station in 1983 after being a former creditor.[13] Orr, whose primary business ventures were 115 H&R Block tax offices in Oregon and Washington and a leasing company,[13] took the money-losing station off the air in October 1985[14]—after a six-month stint with pop music—but he retained the license.[15] When the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) told him he had to keep the station on the air 72 hours a week to keep the license active, he responded by bringing in former general manager Dick Wright to put together a team of young announcers to run the station 12 hours a day, 6 days a week, beginning in September 1987.[15] The new KSVY did not play commercials, clinging instead to a mix of big band music and oldies, all while remaining up for sale.[15] In 1990,[16] the format shifted to classical music, interrupted by sports broadcasts (including the return of Idaho football) which subsidized the remainder of the operation.[13]

Closure[edit]

At noon on July 18, 1996, vandals broke in and caused $32,000 (equivalent to about $62,000 in 2023) in damage to the station's equipment, an act that turned out to be the end of KSVY.[17] The station never resumed operations, though Orr paid for years to keep the tower beacons lit until the facility was finally dismantled in 2005.[13] The license was officially canceled by the FCC on April 14, 1999.[18]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Opening Slated by Radio Station". Spokane Daily Chronicle. August 31, 1962. p. A-3. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  2. ^ "KDNC "Cadence" Means Golden Music". The Spokesman-Review. September 2, 1962. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "KDNC Plans New Studio". The Spokesman-Review. April 4, 1964. p. 7. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  4. ^ a b "KXXR" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook 1975. 1975. p. C-205. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  5. ^ "Local Man Buys Station KDNC". The Spokesman-Review. October 19, 1967. p. 6. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  6. ^ "FCC Approves Station Switch". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. June 14, 1969. p. 10. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  7. ^ FCC History Cards for KSVY
  8. ^ "Spokane Radio". The Spokesman-Review. January 15, 1979. p. 13. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  9. ^ "Spokane Radio". The Spokesman-Review. March 25, 1980. p. 15. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  10. ^ "Radio". The Spokesman-Review. March 2, 1981. p. 15. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "Locally..." September 16, 1983. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  12. ^ "County OKs disputed land plans". Spokesman-Review. March 18, 1981. p. A6. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  13. ^ a b c d "Moist memories linger at defunct AM radio station". Spokesman-Review. February 6, 2006. pp. A6, A7. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  14. ^ Sowa, Tom (February 23, 1986). "Whatever happened to AM radio?". The Spokesman-Review. pp. E12, E9. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  15. ^ a b c Sowa, Tom (November 20, 1988). "Radio Free Opportunity". The Spokesman-Review. p. C10. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  16. ^ Kershner, Jim (August 12, 1990). "Classical music has full-time home on AM radio dial". Spokesman-Review. p. 39. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  17. ^ Kershner, Jim (August 11, 1996). "Wynonna plans an Arena show". The Spokesman-Review. p. E3. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  18. ^ "Washington This Week" (PDF). M Street Journal. April 28, 1999. p. 4. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
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