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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

KSNI
KSNI-FM (102.5 FM, "Sunny Country 102.5") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Santa Maria, California, United States and serves the Santa Maria—Lompoc, California area. The station is owned by American General Media and broadcasts a country music format.

History

KSMA-FM

The station was first signed on in 1960 as KSMA-FM by James M. Hagerman and John I. Groom. It simulcast the full service format of its AM sister station KSMA (1240 AM), airing a mix of news, sports, and middle of the road music. Stereophonic sound broadcasts began in 1970.

In January 1980, Hagerman and Nona M. Groom sold KSMA-AM and FM to Bayliss Broadcasting Company for $1.4 million. The company was owned by John Bayliss, who resigned from his position as president of Gannett Company's radio division to manage the Santa Maria stations. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved the sale on May 12.

KSNI-FM

Upon the change in ownership, Bayliss ended KSMA-FM's simulcast of KSMA after two decades and programmed it separately as a beautiful music outlet. The FM station changed its call sign to KSNI-FM in August 1980. The format lasted only three years as the station flipped to country music in 1983, adopting the branding "Sunny Country".

On March 1, 1989, the transmitters for KSNI-FM and three other stations in Santa Maria were knocked off the air due to acts of vandalism. Around 1 a.m., two males, ages 18 and 15, broke into the transmitters' circuit breakers and switched them off; the signals were restored within an hour. That same day at 9:14 p.m., the towers fell as guy wires supporting the structures had been severed. Total damage was estimated to be $100,000.

In August 1999, Bayliss Broadcasting sold KSNI-FM and KSMA to Fresno, California-based Mondosphere Broadcasting for $3.75 million. The new owner took possession of the combo on September 30.

KSNI-FM changed hands twice in the 2000s. In September 2000, Mondosphere sold 11 stations throughout Central California, including KSNI-FM, plus a construction permit for a twelfth station, to Clear Channel Communications for $45 million. In July 2007, KSNI-FM was one of 16 stations in California and Arizona which Clear Channel sold to El Dorado Broadcasters for $40 million.

During the week of January 18, 2010, a storm in the Santa Maria area triggered a power outage that knocked KSNI-FM and several other stations off the air. The station resumed broadcasting under generator power after two hours of silence.

From April 2012 to April 2016, KSNI-FM was simulcast on sister station KSLY-FM (96.1 FM) in the adjacent San Luis Obispo market. The two stations co-branded as "Sunny Country 102.5 & 96.1".

In early 2016, El Dorado began selling off its stations on the Central Coast of California. KSNI-FM and KSMA constituted the first of these divestments as, on February 26, American General Media purchased the pair for $1.5 million. The close of the transaction in April ended the simulcast of Sunny Country on KSLY-FM, which remained with El Dorado and launched a competing country format.

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KSNI-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the U.S." (PDF). 1961-1962 Broadcasting Yearbook. Broadcasting Publications Inc. 1961. p. B-25. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  3. ^ "Where three-dollar spots are top rate" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. July 14, 1969. pp. 54–58. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  4. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. April 13, 1970. p. 91. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  5. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. January 28, 1980. p. 91. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  6. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. June 2, 1980. p. 64. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  7. ^ "Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada" (PDF). Broadcasting/Cable Yearbook. Broadcasting Publications Inc. 1981. p. C-32. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  8. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. August 18, 1980. p. 86. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  9. ^ "Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada" (PDF). Broadcasting/Cable Yearbook. Broadcasting Publications Inc. 1984. p. B-37. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  10. ^ "Tower-Trashing Teens Terrorize Santa Maria" (PDF). Radio & Records. March 10, 1989. pp. 1, 34. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  11. ^ "In Brief" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. March 6, 1989. p. 88. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  12. ^ Saxe, Frank (September 3, 1999). "Station Swaps To Herald Y2K?" (PDF). Billboard Country Airplay Monitor. BPI Communications Inc. p. 8. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  13. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. R.R. Bowker. September 6, 1999. p. 64. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  14. ^ "Directory of Radio Stations in the U.S." (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook. New Providence, New Jersey: R.R. Bowker. 2001. p. D-64. ISBN 0-8352-4111-4. Retrieved July 25, 2018.
  15. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting & Cable. R.R. Bowker. September 18, 2000. p. 39. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  16. ^ "Price For 16 AZ, CA Clear Channel Stations: $40 Million". All Access. All Access Music Group. July 11, 2007. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  17. ^ Ramos, Julian J. (January 23, 2010). "Week's stormy weather causes local radio silence". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved July 22, 2018.
  18. ^ Venta, Lance (April 20, 2012). "Sunny Country Doubles In California". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  19. ^ Venta, Lance (March 3, 2016). "El Dorado Sells Again In Santa Maria". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  20. ^ Venta, Lance (May 18, 2016). "El Dorado Continues Sell-Off With KXFM Divestment". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  21. ^ Venta, Lance (May 1, 2016). "Ownership Change Leads To Country Split On California Coast". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved July 26, 2018.

34°50′10″N 120°24′11″W / 34.836°N 120.403°W / 34.836; -120.403

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