KSRZ

KSRZ (104.5 FM, "Star 104.5") is a commercial radio station in Omaha, Nebraska. It airs an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. The station is owned by SummitMedia, and its studios are located on Mercy Road in Omaha's Aksarben Village.

KSRZ

Omaha, Nebraska
Broadcast area	Omaha-Lincoln-Council Bluffs
Frequency	104.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	Star 104.5
Programming
Format	Adult contemporary
Subchannels	HD2: Sports (KXSP simulcast)
Ownership
Owner	SummitMedia (SM-KSRZ-FM, LLC)
Sister stations	KEZO-FM, KKCD, KQCH, KXSP
History
First air date	May 12, 1972 (1972-05-12) (as KOOO-FM)
Former call signs	KOOO-FM (1972–1979) KESY-FM (1979–1997)
Call sign meaning	K StaR Z
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	50308
Class	C0
ERP	100,000 watts
HAAT	331.7 meters (1,088 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	41°18′16″N 96°1′41″W
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	104star.com

KSRZ is a Class C0 station with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for most stations. The transmitter tower is at the Omaha master antenna farm on North 72nd Street and Crown Point.

History

Country (1972–1979)

The station signed on the air in May 12, 1972 (1972-05-12). Its original call sign was KOOO-FM, the sister station to KOOO 1420 AM (now KXCB). The two stations broadcast a country music format and were owned by Pier San of Nebraska, Inc. KOOO-FM's power was only 31,000 watts, a fraction of its current output.

Beautiful music (1979–1989)

In 1979, the station changed its call letters to KESY, to represent the word "easy." It flipped to a largely automated beautiful music format. It played quarter-hour sweeps of soft instrumental music, mostly cover versions of popular adult songs with Broadway and Hollywood show tunes. Throughout the early 1980s, KESY was used as the audio on a local Limelight Movie Channel when it signed off the air for the night.

Soft adult contemporary (1989–1998)

By the late 1980s, the audience for easy listening music was aging, so KESY added more vocals to its playlist to interest younger listeners. In 1989, KESY evolved to soft adult contemporary music. It adopted the moniker "Y 104", and used live DJs to host shows and announce songs and artists.

Adult contemporary (1998–present)

On January 9, 1998, KESY moved to the 97.7 FM frequency. After a few days of simulcasting, 104.5 FM flipped to modern adult contemporary. It played modern rock hits that are a bit softer than those heard on alternative rock stations, targeting a female audience. It began calling itself "Star 104.5", with new call letters KSRZ. The format later evolved to a more broad-based Hot AC sound.

By 2008, KSRZ repositioned to a mainstream adult contemporary format. It placed a heavy reliance on songs from the 1980s.

Journal Communications and the E. W. Scripps Company announced on July 30, 2014 that the two companies would merge to create a new broadcast company under the E. W. Scripps Company name that owned the two companies' broadcast properties, including KSRZ. The transaction was completed in 2015. Scripps exited radio in 2018; the Omaha stations went to SummitMedia in a four-market, $47 million deal completed on November 1, 2018.

External links

• Facility details for Facility ID 50308 (KSRZ) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• KSRZ in Nielsen Audio's FM station database