City Bismarck, North Dakota Branding Y93 | Broadcast area Bismarck-Mandan Frequency 92.9 MHz | |
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Slogan Bismarck-Mandan's #1 Hit Music Station First air date August 15, 1966 (as KFYR-FM) | ||
KYYY (92.9 FM, "Y93") is a radio station in Bismarck, North Dakota, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. with a Top 40 (CHR) format.
iHeartMedia, Inc. also owns KFYR 550 (News/Talk), KXMR 710 (Sports), KBMR 1130 (Classic country), KQDY 94.5 (Country), and KSSS 101.5 (Active Rock) in the Bismarck-Mandan area.
History
KFYR-FM signed on in 1966, adopting a MOR format by 1969. It later flipped to a Drake "Solid Gold" oldies format during 1972. In 1975, it flipped to Top 40 (CHR) as "Y93" with the KYYY call letters (Y93's Facebook page shows the cover of a 1976 Y93 Cookbook), competing against sister station KFYR-AM's Top 40 format at the time. The station tweaked to a Hot AC format in 1996. At the time Bismarck did not have a full-fledged Top 40 (CHR) station, so Y93 gradually began adding hip-hop, rhythmic and other Top 40 hits (that are normally not played on Hot AC) to its playlist at night. Since Y93 played more Top 40 tracks at night, the station was often labeled as an Adult Top 40 station.
After KKCT 97.5 flipped from country to Top 40 (CHR) as "Hot 97.5", Y93 tweaked to a full-fledged Top 40 (CHR) format in 2004, which lasted until 2005 when it changed to an adult contemporary (AC) format playing Christmas music during the holiday season annually. Most of the current on-air personalities have been on, or with, Y93 for over a decade. After playing Christmas Music for the 2011 holiday season, Y93 tweaked its format towards a hot AC format due to a growing abundance of Bismarck stations sharing 70s and 80s music that Y93 played. On September 14, 2012, the station evolved back to its Top 40 (CHR) roots, directly competing against Hot 97.5 again. The station also replaced the John Tesh morning show (a holdover from its AC era) with Elvis Duran and the Morning Show broadcast from Z100 in New York City.