1985

KKDA-FM scored its very first victory in the Summer book, and became only the fifth different station to sit at the top of the DFW ratings since 1973.  This was only the beginning of an impressive resurgence with morning show "fly jock" Tom Joyner at the helm.   Joyner had established himself at KKDA AM from 1972 to 1978, before heading to a more lucrative offer in Chicago.  He returned to Dallas at KKDA-FM in 1983 and helped build K104 into a dominant force in the 80s.  Another lucrative job offer from Chicago in 1985 led to his emergence as the "flyjock" - doing a morning show on K104, then flying to Chicago to do an afternoon show, then back home to Dallas at night.  Joyner kept up this grueling schedule, along with his ratings, for eight years.

K104 and KVIL owned the top two spots throughout the year.  KVIL's AM-FM simulcast ceased during the Fall book, with a short-lived experiment that had the 1150 frequency changing call letters to KVIX, while carrying a format similar to that on the FM.  The experiment lasted less than nine months.

The top 40 arena became very crowded in 1985.  KEGL "The Eagle" reclaimed the lead and was flying high, with three top 5 finishes and an all-time high 6.7 share, after switching from a rock-based version to a more mainstream approach in September 1984.  KAFM had defeated The Eagle the year before, but was now starting to struggle - and a third top 40 entry didn’t help matters.  September 1984 also saw the debut of KTKS as "Kiss 106", with its own adult-leaning version of top 40.   The first incarnation of “Kiss” on this frequency, KTKS' strong showing in the winter book forced KAFM into the unenviable position of being the third of three top 40s.

 

©2002 Arbitron Inc. 

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