After 35 days of various stunt formats, iHeartMedia debuted 90s/2000s Hits “Kiss 107.9” KSTE-FM Sacramento at noon today.

The new brand is positioning as “The Best Variety From the 90s and 2000s” under Program Director Eric Rosado. The new lineup will feature KHTS-FM San Diego afternoon hsot Chino in mornings from 6-10am, WKTU New York’s Wendy Wild from 10am to 3pm, former KUBE Seattle morning hosts Strawberry and Lizette Love from 3-7pm, and KHTS morning host Frankie V at night.

The new format takes on Bonneville Hot AC “Now 100.5” KZZO currently tied for ninth with a 3.2 share in the April 2022 Nielsen Audio Ratings, while flanking sister Rhythmic Hot AC “V101” KHYL.

The first hour of Kiss 107.9 featured:

• Black Eyed Peas – Let’s Get It Started
• Katy Perry – California Girls
• Eminem – Lose Yourself
• Pink – Get The Party Started
• LMFAO – Party Rock Anthem
• Britney Spears – Oops!…I Did It Again
• 2Pac – California Love
• Backstreet Boys – I Want It That Way
• Sia – Cheap Thrills
• Usher ft. Lil’ Jon and Ludacris – Yeah
• Spice Girls – Wannabe
• Bruno Mars – Locked Out Of Heaven
• Christina Aguilera – Genie In A Bottle
• Linkin Park – Numb
• Fugees – Killing Me Softly
• Lady Gaga – Poker Face

Sacramento, CA – June 8, 2022 – iHeartMedia Sacramento is proud to reignite one of Northern California’s largest Radio Stations with the debut of the new KISS 107.9, The Best Variety From The ‘90s and 2000s, effective immediately.

KISS 107.9 will restore all the musical memories of Sacramento’s diverse music lovers who ever attended live concerts at the old Arco Arena or Raley Field, or went to Outdoor Amphitheater events in Wheatland. The music from the ‘90s and 2000s launched some of the most iconic artists over the past 30 years, and whether you heard them on the radio, saw them on-stage for your first concert, or watched their MTV videos, there is no denying the incredible excitement for this era of music and pop culture. Listeners of Northern California will now find these iconic artists on the New KISS 107.9.

KISS 107.9 will play pop, rock and rhythm of the ‘90s and 2000s, including artists like Lady Gaga, 2Pac, Black Eyed Peas, Fun., The Weeknd, Eminem, P!nk, Usher, Coldplay, Britney Spears, No Doubt, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, and many more. all week long and others. Plus, the station will have commercial free weekends and a weekday air talent line-up:

Chino 6-10 a.m.
Wendy Wild 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Strawberry & Lizette 3 p.m. – 7 p.m.
Frankie V 7 p.m. – Midnight

“It’s been such an honor to help build, launch, and now lead Sacramento’s New KISS 107.9,” said Eric Rosado, KISS 107.9 Program Director. “A brand just like Northern California that is different, inclusive, a total vibe, and looks and sounds like Sacramento. We’ve seen it the past few years that the strength of the ‘90s/2000s nostalgia is alive and well from music to fashion, so this will be a very fun station! Also, this Northern Cali product is extremely excited to be back home to familiar territory.”

“The music and the artists from the ‘90s and the ‘00s are iconic, while the inherent diversity in both aligns perfectly with Sacramento’s demographic makeup,” said Sara McClure, Market President of iHeartMedia Sacramento. “And that’s why we are so excited to launch the new KISS 107.9 — It’ll rekindle the fun and great memories of the music that has meant so much to Sacramento listeners!”

KISS 107.9 (KSTE-FM) will broadcast on 107.9 FM over 50,000 Watts and heard throughout the greater Sacramento Valley area and nationwide on the free iHeartRadio App.

Update 6/3:On the one month anniversary of the start of stunting ahead of launch, iHeartMedia’s “The New 107.9” KSTE-FM Sacramento is now promoting it will debut its permanent identity on Wednesday, June 8 at 12pm.

KSTE-FM has gone through multiple round of stunting over the past month including blocks of looping similar themed songs over and over, clips of people’s smart speakers “listening to them”, people sending messages through the iHeartRadio app’s talkback feature, and daily formats for people to “vote” for the new format.

We have reported on multiple rounds of domain registrations made for KSTE-FM since shortly after the auction last August.

Recapping the various stunts so far:

• Wednesday, May 4 launched with a loop of the theme from Star Wars
• Thursday, May 5 brought WAR’s “Cinco de Mayo”
• Friday, May 6 featured Rebecca Black’s “Friday”
• Saturday, May 7 featured Chicago’s “Saturday In The Park”
• Sunday, May 8 featured an hour-long loop of songs about mothers for Mother’s Day including songs such as Three Dog Night “Mama Told Me Not To Come”, Boyz II Men “A Song For Mama”, ABBA “Mamma Mia”, Fountains of Wayne “Stacy’s Mom”, Carrie Underwood “Mama’s Song”, Loggins and Messina “Your Mama Don’t Dance”, and The Shirelles “Mama Said”
• Monday, May 9 featured The Bangles “Manic Monday”
• Tuesday, May 10 through Sunday, May 15 featured clips of people talking themed around smart speakers listening
• Monday, May 16 through Wednesday, May 18 used clips promoting the iHeartRadio app’s “Talkback” feature.
• Thursday, May 19 featured Christmas Music
• Friday, May 20 featured music from iHeart’s LBGTQ+ targeted “Pride Radio“
• Saturday, May 21 utilized a Top 40 playlist
• Sunday, May 22 featured Christian AC
• Monday, May 23 featured 90s Alternative Rock
• Tuesday, May 24 featured Spanish Pop Hits
• Wednesday, May 25 was Classic Country
• Thursday, May 26 focused on 1990s Dance Music
• Friday, May 27 was “Throwback Jams” of mostly 90s Classic Hip Hop
• Saturday, May 28 played Yacht Rock
• Sunday, May 29 featured 80s Hits
• Monday, May 30 moved to 90s Hits
• Tuesday, May 31 featured 2000s Hits
• Wednesday, June 1 brought Country
• Thursday, June 2 was “Pop Hits”, albeit different from the Top 40 from May 21
• Friday, June 3 through Wednesday, June 8 featured “The Biggest Party Songs of the Past 25 years”.

Update 5/16: After six days of the smart speaker listening back part of the pre-launch stunt, iHeartMedia’s 107.9 KSTE-FM Sacramento has moved on to another new phase.

KSTE-FM is now promoting the recently launched “Talkback” feature on the iHeartRadio app featuring listeners leaving messages and song requests. Clips heard include people making suggestions for the new format, a guy giving Sacramento history lessons, and statements about current events.

Update 5/10: After six days of looping one or a group of songs, the stunting on iHeartMedia’s 107.9 KSTE-FM Sacramento moves in a completely different direction.

The station is acting today as if its monitoring people’s smart speakers and airing their recordings with gaps of silence in between. Sweepers are emphasizing “listening” such as “Listening with anticipation, The New 107.9” and “Listening so closely you can almost feel it”. A brief edited clip removing the longer silence gaps in-between is attached.

Original Report 5/4: After Entercom surrendered the license for 107.9 KDND Sacramento in February 2017 rather than risk having its license renewal hearing hold up the then-pending acquisition of CBS Radio, iHeartMedia has brought the allocation back on the air for the first time since.

iHeart, which won the rights to what is currently 107.9 KSTE-FM Sacramento in FCC Auction 109 last summer for $6,146,000, resumed operations today with a May 4 oriented loop of the Star Wars theme.