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Broadcast area | San Francisco Bay Area |
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Frequency | 560 kHz |
Branding | Talk Radio 560 KSFO |
Programming | |
Format | Talk |
Network | Fox News Radio |
Affiliations | Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks Westwood One |
Ownership | |
Owner |
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KGO, KNBR, KNBR-FM, KSAN, KTCT | |
History | |
First air date | August 1, 1925 | (as KTAB)
Former call signs | KTAB (1925–1935) |
Former frequencies | 1390 kHz (1925) 1250 kHz (1925–1926) 990 kHz (1926–1927) 1070 kHz (1927–1928) 1280 kHz (1928) 550 kHz (1928–1929) |
Call sign meaning | Dual meaning: San Francisco airport code for San Francisco International Airport |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 34472 |
Class | B |
Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°44′44.00″N 122°22′40.00″W / 37.7455556°N 122.3777778°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | www |
KSFO (560 AM) is a commercial radio station in San Francisco, California. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a talk radio format. The station's studios and offices are on Battery Street in San Francisco, along with five other Bay Area Cumulus stations.
KSFO began broadcasting in 1925 as a station licensed to Oakland with call sign KTAB, on a frequency of 1390 kHz. Owned by a Baptist church in Oakland, KTAB had a religious-focused format in its first year before changing to a commercial, non-religious format. After several frequency changes, the station moved to its current 560 kHz frequency in 1929 and became KSFO in 1935, re-licensed to San Francisco. KSFO joined the CBS Radio network in 1937.
In 1956, KSFO was purchased by Golden West Broadcasters, a company co-owned by Gene Autry and Bob Reynolds. Golden West programmed a full service format for KSFO featuring popular music, news, and sports, with a popular jingle "The Sound of the City". Golden West sold KSFO to King Broadcasting Company in 1983, after which KSFO became an pop standards station. Then in 1986, KSFO shifted its music format to reflect 1950s to 1970s oldies, before becoming a simulcast of KYA-FM in 1987. Sold again to First Broadcasting Company in 1992, KSFO had a combined oldies and sports talk format before changing to a full-time talk radio format in 1993.
Capital Cities/ABC Inc. bought KSFO in 1995 and shifted its programming to emphasize conservative talk radio; KSFO would become one of the most popular stations in San Francisco in the late 1990s. Among KSFO's talk show hosts were Michael Savage, whose show The Savage Nation would later run in national syndication from 1999 to 2020. Other local hosts included Geoff Metcalf, Melanie Morgan, and Brian Sussman. Throughout its history, KSFO has also broadcast local sports teams, including Stanford Cardinal football, San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Giants, Oakland Athletics, Oakland Raiders, and California Golden Bears men's basketball.