Entercom has brought the “Alt” brand to another market as it has rebranded Alternative “Live 105” KITS San Francisco as “Alt 105.3“.

KITS had used the “Live 105” moniker since 1986 when the station completed its evolution from Top 40. It now joins Entercom’s recent launches in New York and Dallas with the Alt branding. No yet word on the status of the Live 105 airstaff.

KITS ranked 22nd in the San Francisco market with a 1.6 share and 23rd in the San Jose market in the November Nielsen Audio ratings.

INSTANT INSIGHT: To drop the Live name after all these years means there likely was a perception study done that showed that the station no longer was held in a positive light by potential listeners as the ratings have shown. Live 105 has made many shifts to its identity and music over the years and the time may simply have come where Entercom believed it was best to rebuild perception under a new identity.

The irony of course is that it was Entercom that owned the station when it became Live 105 in the 1980s. The station would then be sold to CBS Radio in 1997 where it was merged with 98.5 KOME taking on much of the characteristics of the latter station including Howard Stern in mornings and a harder edged music format. The music would bounce back and forth over the next two decades as well as a revolving door in mornings that would place the station in its current state.