New Sacramento radio station begins broadcasts, entering meme mode with Rebecca Black
The upper end of Sacramento’s FM radio band is under new ownership and started broadcasting this week with a trio of 24-hour meme loops.
KSTE-FM, now branded as “The New 107.9,” played “Star Wars” theme music all day Wednesday for the informal celebration marked each May 4; the 1982 single “Cinco de Mayo” by funk band War to celebrate Thursday’s holiday; and appeared to be looping Rebecca Black’s “Friday” on Friday.
iHeartMedia owns the station after buying the broadcasting rights to 107.9 FM for $6.1 million in a July 2021 auction by the Federal Communications Commission.
It is not yet clear what type of regular programming the station plans to offer. The New 107.9 website is mostly bare, with few details available except contact information for potential advertisers to reach the station.
Sacramento’s 107.9 frequency previously operated as KDND, owned by Entercom Communications and branded as 107.9 The End, which carried Top 40 hits. KDND shut down in February 2017.
The 24-hour loops this week on 107.9 are part of a common radio broadcast technique known as “stunting,” in which new or sometimes existing stations air unusual content as a publicity stunt.
Some looping stunts are intended as a hint toward the genre or nature of future programming. Other times, they are simply designed to drum up mystery and anticipation before regular programming begins or resumes.
iHeartMedia operates six other Sacramento-area radio stations: KFBK News Radio, on 93.1 FM and 1530 AM; 92.5 The Breeze, a mix and variety music station on 92.5 FM; V101, a hip hop and R&B station on 101.1 FM; 93.7 The River, a classic rock station on 93.7 FM; Talk 650 KSTE, on 650 AM; and 107.1 The Bull, a country music station on 107.1 FM.
The New 107.9 broadcasts from an existing iHeartMedia tower in Elverta.
