Kiss Seattle Dead? Or Just Holding Its Breath?
• UPDATED: Just six months after iHeartMedia’s KBKS (106.1 Kiss FM)/Seattle reverted back to Top 40 from Hot AC, changes are afoot… RAMP has confirmed the departure of longtime Kiss morning host Bender, and we understand that station has pulled all of its personalities off the air and is currently airing spooky SFX between songs, along with random drops saying stuff like, “Anyone else notice it’s a bit quiet around here today? Where’d everybody go?” and “No matter what happens, thank you, Seattle.” At one point yesterday, someone stumbled upon a web page (since deleted) that bore the headline, “KISS IS DEAD.”
All of which begs the musical question: Are we leading up to an impending format flip? Or is this just some clever pre-Halloween stunting?
It was back in January 2016 when iHeartMedia pulled off a complex four-station Seattle realignment, most notably transferring the longstanding KUBE 93.3 brand over to 104.9, the former home of Active Rock KKBW (104.9 The Brew) — a signal and strategy that targeted neighboring Tacoma instead of Seattle. At the same time, KUBE’s former 93.3 home flipped to Top 40 as KPWK (Power 93.3) and KBKS transitioned to Hot AC. However, on May 3 of this year, KUBE returned to 93.3 and KBKS reverted back to Top 40… and it just might stay that way after the stunting is over….
• Bender can be reached at getbender@gmail.com. You are advised to watch this space for further details.
