KAIA (FM)

{{see also|KGBN}}

The station at 95.9 FM in Orange County, California has its origins in KEZY, which first signed on in 1959, at 1190 AM from its studios at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim with a 1,000-watt signal.{{cite magazine |title=Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada |magazine=Broadcasting Yearbook |publisher=Broadcasting Publications Inc. |page=C-15 |date=1976 }} The first voice heard on KEZY was that of canine TV star Lassie. Lassie's owner, Rudd Weatherwax, was an investor in the station and the hotel. It was first known as "K-Easy" as it broadcast an easy listening music format.{{cite web |url=http://www.socalradiohistory.com/kezyam.html |last1=Oda |first1=Alan |last2=Hilliker |first2=Jim |title=KEZY AM: THE MIGHTY 1190 |website=SoCalRadioHistory.com |access-date=June 2, 2018 }} In the late 1960s, KEZY moved its studios and offices off the Disneyland campus to a larger complex located (coincidentally) at 1190 East Ball Road in Anaheim. Accompanying the relocation was a switch to a Top 40 pop/rock format.

KEZY-FM ("96 FM KEZY") signed on April 17, 1961, with an 870-watt signal and simulcast its AM sister station.{{cite magazine |title=Directory of AM and FM Radio Stations in the U.S. |magazine=1961-62 Broadcasting Yearbook |publisher=Broadcasting Publications Inc. |page=B-14 |date=1961 }} Originally, its city of license was Anaheim and its transmitter was located in Villa Park. Since its inception, the station has hosted a number of formats, including a successful Top 40 format throughout the 1980s. In 1989, Anaheim Broadcasting Corporation sold KEZY-FM and its AM counterpart, then known as KORG, to M.L. Media Partners L.P.;{{cite magazine |title=ML Media Wins $15.1 Million Orange County Combo |page=8 |date=July 14, 1989 |magazine=Radio Business}} the new owners soon switched the format to adult contemporary. From 1993 to 1996, it was the flagship station for National Hockey League expansion team the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. In the mid-1990s, KEZY advertised with the slogan "Hits of the '80s and '90s with no rap or hard rock, 95.9 The All New KEZY"; this was intended to attract listeners uninterested in hip-hop during its rise in popularity. Air staff during this time included John Fox (previously at KFMB-FM in San Diego), Liz Pennington, April Whitney, Carolyn Hogenred, and music director Scott Free.

Starting in 1998, KEZY-FM went through a series of ownership changes. First, Jacor Communications bought the station and its AM counterpart KORG in September for $30.1 million.{{cite magazine |title=Jacor Adds Two To Golden State Stable |magazine=Radio & Records |page=6 |date=September 18, 1998 }} Then in October, Clear Channel Communications, then the largest U.S. radio broadcasting group, purchased Jacor in a $4.4 billion deal.{{cite magazine |title=More Wheeling & Dealing |magazine=Radio & Records |page=68 |date=January 15, 1999 }} During this time, the station changed its call letters to KXMX, completed the construction permit for a power increase, and branded the station with its corporate "Mix" format. New on-air personalities included Angel and Randy "Ranman" DeWitt (formerly of KHTS-FM in San Diego). The Mix briefly maintained a remote studio at The Block at Orange shopping center. This format lasted only a year; it was also the last format as a secular station.

In 2000, as part of conditions set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to approve its merger with AMFM Inc., Clear Channel sold KXMX and seven other stations to Salem Communications Corporation, a commercial radio company specializing in Christian programming.{{cite magazine |title=Spun cities |magazine=Broadcasting & Cable |page=53 |date=April 17, 2000 }} Salem changed the call letters to KFSH and flipped the station to contemporary Christian music (CCM) with the branding "The Fish" on August 25, 2000 at 6 a.m.{{cite magazine |title=Salem Catches 'The Fish' In Los Angeles |magazine=Radio & Records |page=3 |date=September 1, 2000}} This format has since been replicated at other Salem radio stations nationwide. KFSH relocated to the Salem Los Angeles studios in Glendale, about ten miles north of Downtown Los Angeles, sharing facilities with then-sister stations KXMX, KKLA-FM, KRLA, and KTIE. The Ball Road studios of the former KEZY in Anaheim, often referred to as "the dumpy little building on Ball Road" by morning DJ John Fox, were demolished in 2008; the land was absorbed into the neighboring Ganahl Lumber Yard. KFSH's city of license, however, remained Anaheim until November 2008, when it was changed to La Mirada, approximately five to six miles northwest, near the Los Angeles—Orange county line.

On January 16, 2012, KFSH-FM began airing the nationally syndicated program Delilah each weeknight.{{cite news |url=https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/101158/the-fish-los-angeles-adds-delilah-to-nights |title=The Fish/Los Angeles Adds 'Delilah' To Nights |website=All Access |publisher=All Access Music Group |date=January 17, 2012 |access-date=June 19, 2018 }} This marked the return of the request-and-dedication show to the Los Angeles area since it was last broadcast on KBIG. It also launched the CCM version of Delilah; the mainstream version of the program is delivered to affiliate stations in a secular adult contemporary music format. KFSH-FM dropped the show on April 16, 2020 and replaced it with Keep the Faith with Penny, originating from sister station WFSH-FM in Atlanta.{{cite news |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/186191/95-9-the-fish-adds-keep-the-faith-with-penny-for-nights/ |last=Venta |first=Lance |title=95.9 The Fish Adds Keep The Faith with Penny For Nights |website=RadioInsight |publisher=RadioBB Networks |date=April 16, 2020 |access-date=April 16, 2020 }}

In early 2018, KFSH-FM began RDS broadcasting, providing song artists and titles on capable devices.

File:Radio_Data_System_(RDS)_on_95.9_KFSH_La_Mirada.jpg

On December 30, 2024, Salem Media Group announced the sale of KFSH and six other Christian AC stations to Educational Media Foundation for $80 million in order to pay off the company’s debt.{{cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/290637/salem-media-group-sells-seven-stations-to-emf-repay-all-debt-with-new-investor/|title=Salem Media Group Sells Seven Stations To EMF; Repays All Debt With New Investor|publisher=RadioInsight|date=December 30, 2024|accessdate=December 30, 2024}} A few weeks later, it was announced that the station would begin airing the nationwide Air1 Christian worship network.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-17 |title=K-Love Sets Plans For Salem Acquisitions |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/292680/k-love-sets-plans-for-salem-acquisitions/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=RadioInsight |language=en-US}}

On February 1, 2025, KFSH-FM officially went off the air as "95.9 The Fish" after playing "Awesome God" by Rich Mullins. The call sign was changed to KAIA and the station now airs EMF's Air1 network.

KAIA is classified as being in the Los Angeles radio market and previously was marketed as such. However, the station's 6,000-watt signal can be heard clearly only in Orange County, its primary service area for most of its history, and south of Downtown Los Angeles. Generally, the stereo signal is unable to be received in northern Los Angeles County, including the San Fernando Valley.{{cite web |url=https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=KAIA-FM |title=KAIA-FM Radio Station Coverage Map |website=Radio-Locator.com |publisher=Theodric Technologies LLC |access-date=June 19, 2018 }} This is due to interference from KCAQ, a Class B1 station in Camarillo that operates on the same frequency and to which KAIA is short spaced. The cities that both stations are licensed to serve are {{convert|63|miles|km|sp=us}} apart,{{cite web |title=How Far is it Between Camarillo, CA, United States and La Mirada, CA, United States |url=https://www.freemaptools.com/how-far-is-it-between-camarillo_-ca_-united-states-and-la-mirada_-ca_-united-states.htm |website=Free Map Tools |access-date=May 27, 2019 }} but under FCC rules, the minimum distance between Class A and Class B1 stations operating on the same channel is {{convert|89|miles|km|sp=us}}.{{cite web |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2012-title47-vol4/pdf/CFR-2012-title47-vol4-sec73-207.pdf |title=Minimum distance separation between stations. 47 CFR § 73.207 (1) |work=GovInfo |publisher=United States Government Publishing Office |access-date=May 27, 2019 }}

{{Update|section|date=December 2021}}

From 2002-2024, KFSH-FM hosted FishFest, an annual contemporary Christian music festival held in early summer. Through 2016, the concert was held at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre in Irvine, California. With the closure of the venue in October 2016,{{cite news |url=https://www.ocregister.com/2016/11/01/gwen-stefani-closes-irvine-meadows-orange-countys-first-big-venue/ |last=Fadroski |first=Kelli Skye |title=Gwen Stefani closes Irvine Meadows, Orange County's first big venue |newspaper=Orange County Register |publisher=Southern California News Group |date=November 1, 2016 |access-date=June 18, 2018 }} the 2017 edition of FishFest was relocated to Honda Center.{{citation needed|date=December 2021}}

{{reflist}}

• {{official website |url=https://www.thefishla.com/ }}
• {{FM station data|2195|KAIA}}
• [http://www.thefishla.com/content/station-events/fishfest KFSH FishFest concert series]

{{Los Angeles Radio}}

{{Air1}}

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Category:1961 establishments in California

Category:Air1 radio stations

Category:Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States

AIA (FM)

Category:Educational Media Foundation radio stations

Category:Mass media in Orange County, California

Category:Radio stations established in 1961

AIA (FM)