Christmas Music Online Streaming

KCHZ (95.7 FM), known as "95.7 The Vibe", is a Top 40 Mainstream radio station serving the Kansas City metropolitan area from Ottawa, Kansas. The Cumulus Broadcasting outlet operates at 95.7 MHz with an ERP of 96 kW. Its transmitter is located near Linwood, Kansas.

History

KCHZ began targeting Kansas City as a Modern Rock outlet in the mid-1990s. The station was initially owned by Radio 2000, Inc. (founded & owned by "Super" Frank Copsidas), and was called "Channel Z95.7". It had several 'sister' stations, including KHTO Channel Z104.1 in Springfield, MO. In 1996, it flipped formats to Top 40/CHR, then shifting to slightly to Top 40/Rhythmic by 1998.

Disc Jockeys during the "Channel Z95.7" era from 1996-1999 included:

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• Dave Johnson- "Just Plain Dave" Mornings 5:30am-10am
• Mackenzie- Mornings 5:30am-10am
• Laurie Hill- Mornings 5:30am-10am (Replaced Mackenzie)
• Mike Bowen- "Mike Austin" Afternoons 3pm-7pm
• Howie Nunnelly- "Howie D" Nights 7pm-Midnight (Moved to Mid-Days in September 1998)
• Mike O'Reilly- Nights 7pm-Midnight (Replaced "Howie D" in September 1998, now Program Director KFMB-FM Jack 100.7)
• Matthew Creed- "Surge" Overnights 12 Midnight-5:30am ( Youngest Paid Full-Time DJ in the United States )

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The station was sold to Syncom Radio from Radio 2000 in 1999.Syncom continued to adjust the station's image, including updating its logo. It once again migrated in 2000 back to a Top 40/CHR format, followed by a return to Rhythmic in 2002, only to return to Mainstream by late 2003.

By November 2005 (and after years of confusing listeners over what direction the station was taking) the station was acquired by Cumulus Radio, and was given a complete update, with a new name, logo and format. The former Z95.7 would finally make Rhythmic Top 40 the official format by changing its moniker to 95-7 The Vibe, "The Beat Of Kansas City".

During the transition to a Rhythmic station, KCHZ switched over to an all-Christmas music, and billed itself as "Jingle 95.7", from November 1 to November 3, 2005, jumping the gun a week before KUDL or KCKC would even start broadcasting Christmas music. Following completion, "95.7 The Vibe" debuted, and Christmas music has never aired again on the station. However, they started airing Christmas music again in 2007.

The Vibe started their online streaming on October 18, 2007.

The Vibe has a few specialty shows they air during the 4th of July and New Year's. On the 4th starting at 6 am and all weekend long, they air their entire song library from A-Z. On New Year's Eve & Day, the station airs the Top 95 songs of that year. However in 2008, they only played the top 30 songs of the year due to time issues.

On January 27, 2009, The Vibe has shifted the format to include Pop hits and dropped a lot of old school and hip hop music, but is still maintaining its Rhythmic format some-what. This is gaining some criticism, as one of Kansas City's most listened to stations has almost completely lost its Rhythmic look and went back to Mainstream, just like before it transitioned to The Vibe in 2005. It is also being criticized for content limits, and for dropping Hollywood Hamilton's countdown and Sunday Night Slow Jams. Despite this, KCHZ continued to report to R&R/Nielsen BDS Rhythmic Airplay panel. This kind of direction has also sparked debate from radio message boards about stations that decided to add certain Pop and Dance tracks but stay within the Rhythmic realm.

On October 8, 2009, The Vibe has fully shifted back to a Top 40 Mainstream station, including rock songs (which they originally left out), making the shift to a pop format complete. This is part of Cumulus' plan to launch Mainstream Top 40 stations in major markets across the country. Cumulus also dismissed the entire air staff, including the morning show "Shorty and The Boyz", which has aired since the beginning of The Vibe in 2005. This has also prompted many listeners to voice outrage at Cumulus for the decision to change The Vibe.

Current Programming Lineup as of October 11, 2009

Currently, the air staff is TBA. Saturday Night Vibrations is still airing from 9 pm to Midnight.

References

1. ^ From bdsonline.com
2. ^ From Radio-info.com

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