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KMJM-FM (104.9 FM) is an FM radio station licensed to Columbia, Illinois, airing under the branding "Majic 104.9”. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, the station airs an Urban AC format for the greater St. Louis, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Its transmitter is located in the Resurrection Cemetery in Shrewsbury, and operates from studios in St. Louis just south of Forest Park.

KMJM-FM is licensed by the FCC to broadcast in the HD digital format.

History

The 104.9 frequency originally went on the air February 15, 1964 from the basement of station owner Joseph Lepp as WCBW in Columbia, and was a typical small town radio station. In 1980, the station was sold to Continental Broadcasting, and the station became the first station in the St. Louis area with a format of Contemporary Christian Music, still with a weak 3,000-watt signal based in Columbia, but it could be heard in much of the St. Louis area. The station was called "104.9 The Bridge" at the time.

In 1993, the station was granted a major power upgrade, allowing it to move to the St. Louis Master antenna site in Shrewsbury, and upgrade from 3,000 watts to 25,000 watts, making the 104.9 frequency a full market St. Louis signal. That made the station much more valuable, as did deregulation allowing operators to own several different FM stations in a market in 1996.

In 1997, the station was sold to Jacor Broadcasting, who also owned urban powerhouse KMJM, “Majic 108”, which was then at 107.7 FM. Instead of installing a new format on the 104.9 frequency, KMJM-FM was relocated to the weaker 104.9 MHz frequency on October 20 of that year to allow its new CHR station KSLZ a better signal into the suburbs on the full 100,000-watt class C 107.7 frequency. After the move, the station rebranded as "Majic 105", which later became "Majic 104.9."

By 1999, KMJM-FM became owned by Clear Channel Communications (now known as iHeartMedia as of September 16, 2014), who also owned KATZ AM & FM. KATZ-FM aired an Urban Adult Contemporary format playing mostly slower R&B, while "Majic" played a format consisting mostly of Hip Hop/Rap and current R&B hits. The formats on the two stations would swap on April 1 of that year, with Majic adopting the Urban Adult Contemporary format from 100.3, while maintaining most of the same staff, and 100.3 was rechristened as "The Beat" with a mainstream urban format that would last until October 2009, when it flipped to Modern AC.

On November 7, 2012, at 9 a.m., KMJM-FM and its urban AC format moved to 100.3 FM (ironically, KATZ-FM's former frequency), replacing classic rock-formatted KBWX ("The Brew"). Simultaneously, the 104.9 frequency changed its format to Rhythmic CHR, branded as "Wild 104.9." KMJM-FM and KBWX also swapped call letters, which were approved on November 15. "Wild" never really caught on in the Nielsen ratings for the St. Louis market, barely ever getting above a 2.0 share during its nearly 4-year existence (the last ratings under the format had KBWX with a mere 1.6 in the September 2016 books).

On October 11, 2016, KBWX began running liners in between songs redirecting Wild listeners to KSLZ. On October 18, at Noon, after playing "2 On" by Tinashe, KBWX flipped to alternative rock as "ALT 104.9." The first song on "ALT" was "Everlong" by the Foo Fighters. The flip gave St. Louis its second Alternative outlet, as the station competed against KPNT. The flip also occurred in order to eliminate the format overlap with KMJM, which flipped from classic hip hop back to urban a little over two weeks prior. With the move, KBWX added "The Woody Show" syndicated from sister station KYSR in Los Angeles for morning drive, marking a return to the market for the show, which was on KPNT from 2009 to 2014. On October 25, 2016, KBWX changed call letters to KLLT to match the "ALT" branding.

On July 17, 2020, at 10 a.m., KLLT dropped the alternative format and brought the Urban AC format and “Majic” branding (which was airing on translator W279AQ (103.7 FM)) back to the 104.9 FM frequency. This is the fifth incarnation for the "Majic" branding in St. Louis, as it originated in 1979 on 107.7 FM, then moved to 104.9 FM in 1997, and then to 100.3 FM in 2012 before being dropped two years later. The format and “Majic” moniker was revived in May 2017 on W279AQ. The flip comes after KLLT registered a 1.0 share in the June 2020 PPM ratings for the market, well behind KPNT’s 5.6 share. KLLT and W279AQ simulcasted until July 27 at Midnight, when the latter flipped to the African-American-oriented Black Information Network. The KMJM-FM call letters would also return on July 27.

Former logos

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References

1. "Facility Technical Data for". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=19 HD Radio Guide for St. Louis
3. Majic 108 Becomes Majic 105
4. Clear Channel Performs Double Flip in St. Louis
5. "ALT 104.9 St. Louis Debuts With Woody Show In Syndication" from Radio Insight (October 18, 2016)
6. KBWX Becomes ALT 104.9
7. ALT 104.9 Flips; Brings Back Its Majic R&B

External links

• Official Website of Majic 104.9
• Facility details for Facility ID KMJM ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

38°34′23″N 90°19′30″W / 38.573°N 90.325°W / 38.573; -90.325

• HD Radio stations