| KING-FM | |
| City of license | Seattle, Washington |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Seattle metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 98.1 MHz (Also on HD Radio) |
| Format | Classical |
| ERP | 57,000 watts |
| HAAT | 714 meters |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 11755 |
| Callsign meaning | King County |
| Owner | Classic Radio, Inc. |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.king.org |
KING-FM is a classical music radio station in Seattle, Washington. Its transmitter is located in Issaquah, Washington. The station is owned by a non-profit partnership of the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera and ArtsFund known as Beethoven, A Non-Profit Corporation. KING-FM was once co-owned with KING 5, but was donated to the non-profit partnership by King Broadcasting upon that company’s sale to The Providence Journal Company in 1992. Even after the sale, the radio station was long co-located with the television operation. KING-FM moved to an office building several blocks away in 1999.
History
KING-FM began broadcasting classical music in Seattle around 1948. For many decades, KING-FM was a particular source of joy and enthusiasm for KING Broadcasting co-owner Dorothy Bullitt. The station's ambitious and challenging musical programming reflected a very special enthusiasm and joy for musical arts. Listeners have fond memories of the late 1970s when KING-FM carried syndicated concert broadcasts by the Philadelphia Orchestra (usually under direction of Eugene Ormandy), the New York Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony. Many of the syndicated concert programs featured well-known instrumentalists and conductors performing works which they never recorded commercially - e.g. Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic in a highly memorable 1976 reading of Bruckner's Sixth Symphony in A major. In the mid-1970s, KING-FM's schedule also included specialized programs showcasing Quadraphonic LP recordings and historical recordings. In 1983, KING-FM was the first station in the Seattle area to utilize compact disc technology for its recordings. In 1993, KING-FM relocated its transmitter from Seattle's Queen Anne Hill to Cougar Mountain near Issaquah, Washington. This higher-altitude transmitter location provided a vast improvement in the reception quality of KING-FM's signal throughout the Puget Sound area, and the Cascades.
KING-FM was also one of the first radio stations to broadcast its programming online, becoming one of the first internet radio stations.
Related links
- KING-FM official website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for KING
- Radio Locator information on KING
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for KING
