KZZP (104.7 FM ) is a United States commercial radio station licensed to Mesa, Arizona , and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area . The station airs a top 40 (CHR) format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia . Studios and offices are on East Van Buren Street in Phoenix near Sky Harbor International Airport .
52-610: The transmitter is off Road D in South Mountain Park , amid other towers for Phoenix-area FM and TV stations. KZZP has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts , broadcasting from a tower at 472 meters (1,549 ft) in height above average terrain (HAAT). KZZP is the flagship station of the syndicated Johnjay and Rich in the Morning show, starring Johnjay Van Es, Rich Berra , Kyle Unfug and Payton Whitmore. Afternoons are hosted by Suzette Rodriguez,
104-569: A Top 40 format as KZZP-AM-FM . During those days, the station was known as "104.7 KZZP." Morning host Jonathon Brandmeier , also known as Johnny B., later became a star at WLUP-FM in Chicago . While in Phoenix, his KZZP show featured prank phone calls, parody songs which Brandmeier himself usually wrote, sang and recorded, along with a cast of regular characters. When Brandmeier left for Chicago, Western Cities won an injunction to keep him off
156-460: A broadcast transmitter , a transmitter used in broadcasting , as in FM radio transmitter or television transmitter . This usage typically includes both the transmitter proper, the antenna, and often the building it is housed in. A transmitter can be a separate piece of electronic equipment, or an electrical circuit within another electronic device. A transmitter and a receiver combined in one unit
208-472: A frequency modulation (FM) transmitter, it is added by varying the radio signal's frequency slightly. Many other types of modulation are also used. The radio signal from the transmitter is applied to the antenna , which radiates the energy as radio waves. The antenna may be enclosed inside the case or attached to the outside of the transmitter, as in portable devices such as cell phones, walkie-talkies, and garage door openers . In more powerful transmitters,
260-429: A radio frequency signal which when applied to the antenna produces the radio waves, called the carrier signal . It combines the carrier with the modulation signal, a process called modulation . The information can be added to the carrier in several different ways, in different types of transmitters. In an amplitude modulation (AM) transmitter, the information is added to the radio signal by varying its amplitude . In
312-455: A Rhythmic-leaning Top 40 direction that included some dance crossovers. Although KZZP broadened to include mainstream pop songs by 2004, KZZP's playlist still leaned rhythmic, similar to many Top 40 stations in the Southwest . On September 16, 2014, Clear Channel renamed itself iHeartMedia , to bring its corporate name in line with its iHeartRadio internet platform. Around the same time as
364-644: A continuous loop of baseball highlights and promos as a "soft launch" in the weeks before its formal debut on January 1, 2009. Canada's Sun News Network employed an on-screen countdown clock graphic in the hours before its April 18, 2011, launch. Since 2017, one of ESPN 's networks has stunted as " ESPN8: The Ocho " on or near August 8 (8/8), carrying a marathon of programming featuring sporting events and competitions that are either obscure or unconventional, such as chess boxing , disc golf , dodgeball , esports , Highland games , kabaddi , lawn mower racing , mini-golf , and roller derby . The stunt pays tribute to
416-609: A couple of periods during this time. Jacor bought Nationwide's radio stations, including KZZP, in 1997. Bruce Kelly returned in September 1998 for a brief run in mornings. The new Modern AC KZZP was competing with the similarly-formatted KMXP , and would later become its sister station with the merger of Jacor and Nationwide. KMXP had the better ratings so, in February 1999, KZZP began evolving back to Mainstream Top 40 by including more rhythmic and upbeat tracks in its playlist;
468-515: A former Johnjay and Rich personality. As of January 2021, KZZP also carries the syndicated show, Tino Cochino Radio in the evenings. The station first signed on the air in 1950 as KTYL-FM . It was the FM counterpart to KTYL in Mesa (now KIHP ). The two stations simulcast their programming and were owned by Sun Valley Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Harkins Theatres , a movie theater chain. In 1953,
520-518: A high voltage spark between two conductors. Beginning in 1895, Guglielmo Marconi developed the first practical radio communication systems using these transmitters, and radio began to be used commercially around 1900. Spark transmitters could not transmit audio (sound) and instead transmitted information by radiotelegraphy : the operator tapped on a telegraph key which turned the transmitter on-and-off to produce radio wave pulses spelling out text messages in telegraphic code, usually Morse code . At
572-571: A lucrative five-year contract with the station, but was released just weeks later. Kelly sued for wrongful termination and won. Years later, Kelly went to KKFR and teamed with former WLUP Chicago DJ Maggie Brock to host "Bruce & Maggie in the Morning." On April 28, 1991, at 1 p.m., after playing " Funeral for a Friend/Love Lies Bleeding " by Elton John , KZZP began stunting with a ticking clock. Two days later, on April 30, at 3 p.m., KZZP changed to Hot Adult Contemporary , branded as "Variety 104.7." The KZZP call letters were retired for KVRY at
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#1732793887369624-475: A major programming event being held by a channel. A station may stunt by repeating the same song, playlist, or other content on a continuous loop: Occasionally a station dropping an old format will stunt with a transitional format, either containing hints towards the new format (such as songs referencing its new branding, and artists who may be included in the eventual format), or having little to do with it. This can include songs based on specific themes (such as
676-524: A major relaunch of the station (and its fledgling news department) on February 5. Nick Jr. Too , a sister to the British Nick Jr. channel, has occasionally aired long-term marathons of Peppa Pig , during which it has branded as "Nick Jr. Peppa". In a similar manner, Sky Sports has also temporarily rebranded some of its channels to devote them specifically to certain major events, such as The Ashes series in cricket (Sky Sports Ashes),
728-479: A protest, and not actually result in a major programming change. Stunts often involve a loop of a single song, or an interim format (such as the discography of a specific artist, Christmas music , or a novel theme that would not be viable as a permanent format), which may sometimes include hints towards the station's new format or branding. To a lesser extent, stunting has also been seen on television, most commonly in conjunction with April Fools' Day , or to emphasize
780-413: A radio wave. A radio transmitter is an electronic circuit which transforms electric power from a power source, a battery or mains power, into a radio frequency alternating current to apply to the antenna, and the antenna radiates the energy from this current as radio waves. The transmitter also encodes information such as an audio or video signal into the radio frequency current to be carried by
832-471: A scheduled Chowder marathon on April 1, 2009, and 14 hours of programming edited to have googly eyes on April 1, 2017. Cartoon Network's late-night block Adult Swim has held a number of their own April Fools' programming stunts , such as promoting a television premiere of Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters before its theatrical release (but displaying it in a comically-small window over regularly-scheduled programming), airings of
884-433: A single musician), or novelties that would not be viable as a permanent format. In some cases (sometimes referred to as a "wheel of formats"), a station may cycle between multiple formats during the stunt until the new, permanent format launches. The popular practice of radio stations playing all-Christmas music during the lead-up to (and occasionally the week after) Christmas Day has sometimes been used by stations as
936-424: A station—abruptly and often without advance announcement—begins to air content that is seemingly uncharacteristic compared to what is normally played. Stunting is typically used to generate publicity and audience attention for upcoming changes to a station's programming, such as new branding , format , or as a soft launch for a newly-established station. Occasionally, a stunt may be purely intended as publicity or
988-533: A television station was added, NBC affiliate KTYL-TV (now KPNX ). (The KTYL-FM call sign is now used by a station in Tyler, Texas .) In 1958, the radio stations were acquired by Greater Phoenix Broadcasting, under president Sherwood R. Gordon. The following year, the stations switched call letters to KBUZ-AM-FM , and flipped to a beautiful music format. In late 1976, the stations were sold to Southwestern Media, Inc.. On January 1, 1977, KBUZ-FM split from
1040-548: A three-day loop of Prince 's Kiss . At noon on April 23, the station relaunched as "104.7 KISS-FM." It featured an introduction from Destiny's Child , whose song Survivor was the first song played. By this time, Jacor had been merged into Clear Channel Communications. Many Top 40 stations owned by Clear Channel would later call themselves KISS-FM , regardless of their actual call sign, including KIIS-FM Los Angeles , KHKS Dallas and WXKS-FM Boston . KZZP, under Clear Channel and Program Director Tom Caloccoci, went in
1092-458: A transition period between formats. However, the ensuing format change can still occur before the end of the holiday season. Christmas music is sometimes used as a more blatant stunt format outside of the holiday season (in a similar spirit to ironic " Christmas in July " promotions). Cartoon Network has broadcast its share of stunts over the years, many on April Fools' Day . On April 1, 1997,
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#17327938873691144-586: A variety of license classes depending on use such as broadcast , marine radio , Airband , Amateur and are restricted to certain frequencies and power levels. A body called the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) allocates the frequency bands in the radio spectrum to various classes of users. In some classes, each transmitter is given a unique call sign consisting of a string of letters and numbers which must be used as an identifier in transmissions. The operator of
1196-495: Is applied to the antenna . When excited by this alternating current, the antenna radiates radio waves. Transmitters are necessary component parts of all electronic devices that communicate by radio , such as radio (audio) and television broadcasting stations, cell phones , walkie-talkies , wireless computer networks , Bluetooth enabled devices, garage door openers , two-way radios in aircraft, ships, spacecraft, radar sets and navigational beacons. The term transmitter
1248-425: Is called a transceiver . The purpose of most transmitters is radio communication of information over a distance. The information is provided to the transmitter in the form of an electronic signal called the modulation signal, such as an audio (sound) signal from a microphone, a video (TV) signal from a video camera, or in wireless networking devices, a digital signal from a computer. The transmitter generates
1300-410: Is it can often transmit more information ( data rate ) in a given bandwidth than analog, using data compression algorithms. Other advantages of digital transmission are increased noise immunity , and greater flexibility and processing power of digital signal processing integrated circuits . Stunting (broadcasting) Stunting is a type of publicity stunt in radio broadcasting , where
1352-411: Is usually limited to equipment that generates radio waves for communication purposes; or radiolocation , such as radar and navigational transmitters. Generators of radio waves for heating or industrial purposes, such as microwave ovens or diathermy equipment, are not usually called transmitters, even though they often have similar circuits. The term is popularly used more specifically to refer to
1404-486: The National Football League playoffs and Super Bowl LIII . At least three networks have used stunting-type events prior to their formal launches: G4 , for example, aired a 7 day long game of Pong before its formal debut on April 24, 2002. This stunt would later be referenced by the network's sign-off December 31, 2014, as well as in the video announcing its 2021 return. MLB Network aired
1456-774: The PDC World Darts Championship (Sky Sports Darts; in 2015, this used the Sky Sports F1 channel, since Formula One was in its off-season), and golf's Open Championship (Sky Sports The Open). In January 2019, Sky Sports Action was temporarily renamed "Sky Sports USA", with programming focusing on the National Basketball Association (coinciding with the playing of the NBA Global Games series in London ), and
1508-640: The UHF and microwave ranges, using new active devices such as the magnetron , klystron , and traveling wave tube . The invention of the transistor allowed the development in the 1960s of small portable transmitters such as wireless microphones , garage door openers and walkie-talkies . The development of the integrated circuit (IC) in the 1970s made possible the current proliferation of wireless devices , such as cell phones and Wi-Fi networks, in which integrated digital transmitters and receivers ( wireless modems ) in portable devices operate automatically, in
1560-830: The cult Tommy Wiseau film The Room , episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force and Rick and Morty redubbed by children and edited to be family-friendly ("Adult Swim Junior"), a one-off revival of Cartoon Network's former action and anime block Toonami (which later relaunched under the auspices of Adult Swim), an airing of Toonami with programs in their original Japanese audio with subtitles (including Masaaki Yuasa 's 2004 experimental film Mind Game ) rather than an English dub, and preceding an announced season 2 premiere of Smiling Friends with live action remakes of season 1 episodes using puppets . The stunts have sometimes included unannounced previews and premieres of new and existing series, such as additional episodes of Perfect Hair Forever after its supposed series finale,
1612-462: The "104.7 KZZP" name, making an attempt to capture the audience that grew up listening to the original incarnation. The first song on the relaunched KZZP was " Friday I'm in Love " by The Cure . Brandmeier made a brief return, via syndication , in mornings, in 1996, but ratings were not strong, and after six months, he was replaced with a local morning show. The station returned to #1 in the ratings for
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1664-685: The 1920s. All these early technologies were replaced by vacuum tube transmitters in the 1920s, which used the feedback oscillator invented by Edwin Armstrong and Alexander Meissner around 1912, based on the Audion ( triode ) vacuum tube invented by Lee De Forest in 1906. Vacuum tube transmitters were inexpensive and produced continuous waves , and could be easily modulated to transmit audio (sound) using amplitude modulation (AM). This made AM radio broadcasting possible, which began in about 1920. Practical frequency modulation (FM) transmission
1716-645: The AM, changed call letters to KIOG , and flipped to a syndicated soft rock format from TM Programming in Dallas called "Beautiful Rock". During this time, studios were located at the Thomas Mall in Phoenix. The station was branded as "K-104 FM." Western Cities Broadcasting purchased KIOG in January 1980, along with its co-owned AM station. On February 14, both stations went silent; on March 1, both stations changed to
1768-563: The US, these fall under Part 15 of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulations. Although they can be operated without a license, these devices still generally must be type-approved before sale. The first primitive radio transmitters (called spark gap transmitters ) were built by German physicist Heinrich Hertz in 1887 during his pioneering investigations of radio waves. These generated radio waves by
1820-495: The air in that market until his contract with KZZP had expired. In 1991, Brandmeier hosted a national late night TV show, "Johnny B. on the Loose," syndicated by Viacom . KZZP, also known as "Hitmusic 104" or "FM 104" in the 1980s, was considered one of America's leading Top 40 radio stations. It was led by Program Director Guy Zapoleon, and owned by Nationwide Communications , who bought the station in 1985. During Zapoleon's era,
1872-610: The antenna may be located on top of a building or on a separate tower, and connected to the transmitter by a feed line , that is a transmission line . Electromagnetic waves are radiated by electric charges when they are accelerated . Radio waves , electromagnetic waves of radio frequency , are generated by time-varying electric currents , consisting of electrons flowing through a metal conductor called an antenna which are changing their velocity and thus accelerating. An alternating current flowing back and forth in an antenna will create an oscillating magnetic field around
1924-461: The background, to exchange data with wireless networks . The need to conserve bandwidth in the increasingly congested radio spectrum is driving the development of new types of transmitters such as spread spectrum , trunked radio systems and cognitive radio . A related trend has been an ongoing transition from analog to digital radio transmission methods. Digital modulation can have greater spectral efficiency than analog modulation ; that
1976-419: The conductor. The alternating voltage will also charge the ends of the conductor alternately positive and negative, creating an oscillating electric field around the conductor. If the frequency of the oscillations is high enough, in the radio frequency range above about 20 kHz, the oscillating coupled electric and magnetic fields will radiate away from the antenna into space as an electromagnetic wave,
2028-482: The corporate name change, KZZP repositioned to a Mainstream Top 40 direction, along with several other leading rhythmic Top 40 stations, such as KYLD San Francisco , WBBM-FM Chicago and XHITZ San Diego . KZZP broadcasts in the HD Radio format. The main signal is a simulcast of KZZP's Top 40 programming. The HD2 subchannel formerly carried Evolution , iHeartRadio 's commercial free Dance / EDM station, and
2080-533: The network aired a stunt where it had purportedly been taken over by Screwy Squirrel , and subsequently broadcast the Screwy Squirrel cartoon "Happy-Go-Nutty" for 12 hours straight. Numerous complaints were received about this particular event, generally fielded by Cartoon Network's cable providers , who had been left in the dark about the stunt. Later April Fools' Day stunts on Cartoon Network have included an 11 hour Cow and Chicken marathon in place of
2132-421: The output frequency. Older designs used an oscillator at a lower frequency, which was multiplied by frequency multipliers to get a signal at the desired frequency. Modern designs more commonly use an oscillator at the operating frequency which is stabilized by phase locking to a very stable lower frequency reference, usually a crystal oscillator. Two radio transmitters in the same area that attempt to transmit on
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2184-400: The radio waves. When they strike the antenna of a radio receiver , the waves excite similar (but less powerful) radio frequency currents in it. The radio receiver extracts the information from the received waves. A practical radio transmitter mainly consists of the following parts: In higher frequency transmitters, in the UHF and microwave range, free running oscillators are unstable at
2236-486: The receiver, these pulses were sometimes directly recorded on paper tapes, but more common was audible reception. The pulses were audible as beeps in the receiver's earphones, which were translated back to text by an operator who knew Morse code. These spark-gap transmitters were used during the first three decades of radio (1887–1917), called the wireless telegraphy or "spark" era. Because they generated damped waves , spark transmitters were electrically "noisy". Their energy
2288-475: The same frequency will interfere with each other, causing garbled reception, so neither transmission may be received clearly. Interference with radio transmissions can not only have a large economic cost, it can be life-threatening (for example, in the case of interference with emergency communications or air traffic control ). For this reason, in most countries, use of transmitters is strictly controlled by law. Transmitters must be licensed by governments, under
2340-502: The shift was completed that April. In June 1999, KZZP rebranded as "104-7 'ZZP - Arizona's Hit Music Channel." The station made even more changes, including in its air staff and playlist. The station briefly aired Los Angeles -based Rick Dees in syndication for a few months in 2000. With all of these changes, however, KZZP was usually ranked in the mid-2 to low-3 share range of the radio market . On April 20, 2001, at 6 p.m., after playing " Higher " by Creed , KZZP began stunting with
2392-747: The station played mass appeal hits along with some adventurous dance and alternative releases. Zapoleon hired morning man Bruce Kelly from Boston in July 1985. DJs during this era include Valerie Knight, Kevin Weatherly, Jimmy Kimmel , Dave Otto, Kevin Ryder and Gene Baxter (of Kevin and Bean fame), Todd Fisher, Clarke Ingram , John Machay, Nick Sommers, Michelle Santosuosso, William "Bill Stu" Stewart, Carey Edwards, Steve Goddard, Kent Voss, William "Buddy" LaTour, Mike Elliot, John O'Rourke, Steve Grosz, Susan Karis, Dave Ryan, Laurie Michaels, Brandon Scott, and Christopher Lee. In December 1989, Bruce Kelly signed
2444-420: The third season premiere of Rick and Morty , and an unannounced world premiere of the first episode of FLCL ' s third season before its second season had even premiered in the U.S. yet. For 35 days in early-1998, Birmingham, Alabama 's CBS affiliate WBMG —which had recently been acquired by Media General —stunted during some of the timeslots of its local newscasts with a clock counting down to
2496-424: The time of the change. The first song on "Variety" was " Roll with It " by Steve Winwood . "Variety" was led by Program Director Stef Rybak and Assistant PD/Music Director Jon Zellner, who also hosted afternoon drive. On March 8, 1996, at 3 p.m., after six hours of stunting with heartbeat sound effects and clips from the television show ER , KZZP returned to Phoenix, this time featuring a Modern AC format, and
2548-512: The transmitter usually must hold a government license, such as a general radiotelephone operator license , which is obtained by passing a test demonstrating adequate technical and legal knowledge of safe radio operation. Exceptions to the above regulations allow the unlicensed use of low-power short-range transmitters in consumer products such as cell phones , cordless telephones , wireless microphones , walkie-talkies , Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices, garage door openers , and baby monitors . In
2600-440: Was invented by Edwin Armstrong in 1933, who showed that it was less vulnerable to noise and static than AM. The first FM radio station was licensed in 1937. Experimental television transmission had been conducted by radio stations since the late 1920s, but practical television broadcasting didn't begin until the late 1930s. The development of radar during World War II motivated the evolution of high frequency transmitters in
2652-436: Was its flagship outlet for the platform. Transmitter In electronics and telecommunications , a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna with the purpose of signal transmission up to a radio receiver . The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current , which
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#17327938873692704-498: Was spread over a broad band of frequencies , creating radio noise which interfered with other transmitters. Damped wave emissions were banned by international law in 1934. Two short-lived competing transmitter technologies came into use after the turn of the century, which were the first continuous wave transmitters: the arc converter ( Poulsen arc ) in 1904 and the Alexanderson alternator around 1910, which were used into
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