City Nampa, Idaho Frequency 580 kHz | Branding 580 KIDO First air date May 17, 1920 | |
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Broadcast area Boise metropolitan area Slogan "Idaho's First Radio Station" | ||
KIDO (580 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Nampa, Idaho, it serves the Boise metropolitan area. The station is owned and operated by Townsquare Media.
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KIDO's studios are currently located at 827 E Park Blvd. in Boise, in the same building as co-owned 630 KFXD, 103.3 KSAS-FM, 104.3 KAWO, 105.9 KCIX, and 107.9 KXLT-FM. The transmitter is located on West Amity Road in Meridian, Idaho. KIDO operates at 5000 watts around the clock. By day, the signal is non-directional but at night, to protect other stations on 580 kHz, KIDO uses a directional signal.
Programming
KIDO has a local wake up program, with nationally syndicated talk shows the rest of the day. Weekdays start at 5 a.m. with Kevin Miller in The Morning featuring local news and interviews. At 9 a.m. Glenn Beck is heard, followed by Dave Ramsey at noon. At 3 p.m., it's Sean Hannity followed by Alex Jones at 7 p.m. and Ground Zero with Clyde Lewis at 9 p.m. Beginning at 11 p.m. and running all night, it's Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.
Weekends feature shows on money, real estate, gardening, firearms, farming and ranching. Computer expert Kim Komando and Somewhere in Time with Art Bell are heard. Some weekday shows are repeated and paid brokered programming also airs.
History
KIDO calls itself "Idaho's First Radio Station." It traces its history to 1917 when a Boise High School teacher wanted to teach students Morse code for World War I. The station was granted an experimental license on May 17, 1920 and later used the call letters "KFAU" and "KFXD." It became "KIDO" on November 11, 1928. The station studios were located underneath the stage at the high school. The station later moved to studios and offices on the 5th floor of the Owyee Plaza Hotel.
After using several call signs over the years, the station was once again assigned the KIDO call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on August 14, 2002.
For 2011, KIDO announced it would become an affiliate for the BYU Cougars Sports Network.
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would purchase Peak Broadcasting's stations, including KIDO. The deal is part of Cumulus Media's acquisition of Dial Global; Townsquare will swap Peak's Fresno, California stations to Cumulus for its stations in Dubuque, Iowa and Poughkeepsie, New York, and Peak, Townsquare, and Dial Global are all controlled by Oaktree Capital Management. The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.