KZPS

KZPS

Dallas, Texas
Broadcast area	Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex
Frequency	92.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	Lone Star 92.5
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Classic Rock
Ownership
Owner	iHeartMedia, Inc. (iHM Licenses, LLC)
Sister stations	KDGE, KDMX, KEGL, KFXR, KHKS, KHVN, KKGM
History
First air date	April 1, 1948 (1948-04-01) (as KRLD-FM)
Former call signs	KRLD-FM (1948–1972) KAFM (1972–1986)
Call sign meaning	KZPower Station (former branding)
Technical information
Facility ID	6378
Class	C
ERP	100,000 watts
HAAT	508 metres (1,667 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	32°35′19″N 96°58′05″W
Links
Webcast	Listen live (via iHeartRadio) HD2:Listen live (via iHeartRadio)
Website	lonestar925.iheart.com

KZPS (92.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Dallas, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc., and airs a classic rock radio format. The studios are located along Dallas Parkway in Farmers Branch (although it has a Dallas address).

KZPS has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for FM stations. The transmitter site is off West Belt Line Road in Cedar Hill, amid the towers for other Dallas-area FM and TV stations. The station uses HD Radio technology, although it currently offers no separate digital subchannels.

History

KRLD-FM

The station first signed on the air on April 1, 1948 with the KRLD-FM call sign. (Those call letters are currently used on a sports radio station owned by Entercom, 105.3 KRLD-FM.) The original KRLD-FM initially simulcast co-owned KRLD 1080 AM. KRLD-AM-FM were owned by the Times Herald Printing Company, along with daily newspaper The Dallas Times Herald. A TV station was added the following year, KRLD-TV channel 4 (now KDFW).

KRLD-FM was one of only three 24-hour FM stations in the Dallas market in the 1960s. In the late 60s, the Federal Communications Commission began requiring AM-FM combos in large cities to offer separate programming much of the day. A progressive rock format was instituted.

Power Station Z92.5

The call letters changed to KAFM in 1972, and the station underwent a number of format changes through the 1970s and 1980s. The Dallas-Fort Worth market left without a single full mainstream Top 40 or CHR station throughout parts of the early 1980s. It wasn't until 1983 as the Top 40 format had regained in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with KAFM being known as "92½ FM" with its slogan "Maximum Hits". In 1986, it was rebranded as "Z92.5" with its slogan "Your Power Station Z92.5". Its current call sign KZPS originated from that rebrand, with the last two letters representing Power Station, a MOR format, and an adult contemporary format.

From 1971 to 1978, the station was owned by the family of former Dallas Mayor J. Erik Jonsson. It was sold to Bonneville International in the summer of 1978.

Classic Rock

1987 was a hard year for Top 40/CHR in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. During that year, 2 out of the 3 CHR (4 total stations) stations flipped to new formats. KZPS flipped to classic hits, and its nearby successor KTKS also flipped to a new format later that September. The only Mainstream Top 40 station that was left in the metroplex is KHYI, with KEGL continuing its success on being a rock-based Top 40 format, but gradually died down by the late 1980s. KZPS's classic hits format gradually transitioned to classic rock, bringing the syndicated John Boy and Billy morning show on board in 1995. The station imaging switched to "Ninety Two Five KZPS, the Classic Rock station". John Boy and Billy were later replaced by local hosts Sam "Bo" Roberts and "Long" Jim White ("Bo and Jim") in the mornings.

Evergreen Media bought the station from Bonneville International in 1997. Evergreen was later acquired by Clear Channel Communications, a forerunner of iHeartMedia. Through the years, notable disk jockeys include: Sam "Bo" Roberts and "Long" Jim White (still hosting the weekday morning sho w), Jay Philpot (middays, later in Baltimore), Jon Dillon (afternoon drive, until his release in 2012), Stubie Doak (nights), Pamela Steele (middays), Ed Budanauro (”Enerjazz” host from 1987 to 1989), Benn McGregor ("McGregor" - 1982–86 writer/producer, co-host of "Morning Drive" with Andy Barber 1984–1985), Jerry Vigil (middays, production director), Pete Thomson (afternoons), John Shomby (program director), and Paul Donovan (evenings).

Lone Star 92.5

On April 23, 2007, KZPS rebranded itself as "Lone Star 92.5". It adopted a Texas-themed classic rock/country rock hybrid format that was previously heard on 92.5-HD2. About a year later, KZPS changed back to its previous classic rock playlist, keeping the "Lonestar 92.5" branding.

KZPS-HD2

Since KZPS rebranded as "Lone Star 92.5", the classic rock format was briefly heard on 92.5-HD2. In April 2008, when KZPS returned to classic rock, 92.5-HD2 switched to an adult album alternative format branded as "The Music Summit" (previously on KDMX-HD2).

As of October 2013, it was simulcasting from iHeartRadio's "World Class Rock" network utilizing the same format as before. Since April 2015, it was renamed to "The iHeart Current" and a month later, renamed again as "iHeart Eclectic". The AAA station in May 2018 rebranded as "Eclectic Rock".

Since mid-2019, the Eclectic Rock feed was discontinued on KZPS HD2, leaving the digital subchannel with no programming replacement.

KZPS's HD2 signal has been restored, but is discontinued once again on October 2021..

External links

• KZPS official site
• Facility details for Facility ID KZPS ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• DFW Radio/TV History
• Mediaweek.com story on new Lone Star format
• DFW Radio Archives