History
"Alice" launched in early 1997 at the 100.9 frequency (replacing a country formatted station) where KMXW currently broadcasts. In 1998, the two stations swapped frequencies, which gave the station a broadcast antenna atop Slide Mountain and improved coverage to include the Lake Tahoe and Carson City areas.
Alice's growth was initially sluggish after moving to the 96.5 frequency as longtime Howard Stern fans in the Tahoe area were angry that they could no longer hear Stern on KRZQ's 100.9 frequency (with a tower on the valley floor). But the original Alice concept of a pop/alternative format designed to flank Hot AC KNEV (Magic 95.5) and CHR KWNZ (K-Wins 97.3) built a solid following on a diet of Matchbox 20, Third Eye Blind, Sugar Ray, etc. The original position statement was "Modern Hits." Longtime KWNZ morning show host "Wild" Bill Cody was hired to host mornings. The pop/alternative audience didn't gravitate to Cody's CHR stunts, and the station moved in a different direction in 1998 while transiting to the 96.5 frequency.
The station attracted fans with a playful attitude not typically heard on Hot AC radio at the time - including giving away a divorce on Independence Day (Reno is the divorce capital), conducting a displaced Bunny Ranch "working girls" job fair, hosting an Elaine Dance contest during the final episode of Seinfeld, looking for Nevada's best looking "Wookie" before the Star Wars Episode I premiere and bringing street side speed dating to Reno. It also played alternative rock songs that did not fit the hot AC format such as Weezer's Troublemaker in the playlist despite being on the playlist of KRZQ-FM (now KMXW).
When the pop/alternative format began to fade nationally, KLCA moved more toward a pure pop/hits approach leading to today's positioning statement: "#1 for Today's New Music." However, Mediabase moved KLCA to the contemporary hit radio panel, although still generally an adult top 40 (according to the Nielsen BDS reports) despite KWNZ & KWYL continuing the contemporary hit radio trend. The last official day for Nielsen BDS reports as a hot adult contemporary for the station was on July 19, 2011. After that, the shift to contemporary hit radio completed, overlapping slightly for a month with its sister station KWNZ, which became adult hits after this. Two months later, the hot adult contemporary format resurfaced on KMXW, replacing alternative rock station KRZQ-FM.
Read more about this topic: KLCA
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