KEXC

KEXC

Simulcast of KEXP-FM, Seattle
Alameda, California United States
Broadcast area	San Francisco Bay Area
Frequency	92.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	KEXP Bay Area
Programming
Format	Alternative/indie/eclectic/hip hop/classic hip hop
Affiliations	NPR (music licensing)
Ownership
Owner	Friends of KEXP
History
First air date	August 1, 1959 (1959-08-01)
Former call signs	KJAZ (1959–1994) KJAZ-FM (1994–1995) KZSF (1995–1998) KZSF-FM (1998–1999) KXJO (1999–2002) KPTI (2002–2004) KBTB (May–October 2004) KNGY (2004–2009) KREV (2009–2024)
Call sign meaning	Derived from KEXP
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	36029
Class	A
ERP	790 watts
HAAT	289 meters (948 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	37°45′19.0″N 122°27′10.0″W / 37.755278°N 122.452778°W / 37.755278; -122.452778
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	kexp.org/bayarea/

KEXC (92.7 FM) is a non-commercial radio station serving the San Francisco Bay Area, licensed to Alameda, California, United States. It is owned by the non-profit entity Friends of KEXP, an affiliate of the University of Washington, and broadcasts an AAA format specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys as "KEXP Bay Area", a near-total simulcast of Seattle, Washington–licensed KEXP-FM. The station's transmitter is located on Sutro Tower.

The station began broadcasting as KJAZ on August 1, 1959. It was founded by Pat Henry as an all-jazz station and broadcast from studios first in Berkeley and later in Alameda. The small, independent outlet became the only all-jazz station in the Bay Area. A challenge to its broadcast license, begun in 1974, led to a designation for hearing in 1978. To avoid the hearing, Henry attempted a distress sale to the San Francisco–based Mabuhay Corporation; the deal fell through, and it was later revealed that Mabuhay was a front for pro-Ferdinand Marcos interests in the United States. In 1981, the station was sold to Oakland mayor Lionel Wilson and Alameda real estate developer Ron Cowan, who became sole owner in 1983. The station briefly prospered and became profitable in the late 1980s, but as non-commercial competition in the form of KCSM grew in popularity and the economy worsened, Cowan became unable to continue investing in the station.

Despite an effort by listeners that raised more than $1 million in pursuit of keeping KJAZ a jazz station, Cowan sold it to Z-Spanish Radio Network. After 35 years of jazz, the station switched to Z-Spanish's satellite-programmed "La Z" Spanish-language hit radio format as KZSF on August 1, 1994. This continued for four years until Z-Spanish sold the station to Jacor (soon purchased itself by Clear Channel Communications), which renamed the station KXJO and used it and KFJO in Walnut Creek to simulcast San Jose rock station KSJO as the "92-Rock Network". Radio industry consolidation led to two sales of the station in 2000 and the purchase of KXJO by Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS). In 2002, SBS relaunched the station as dance music–focused "92.7 The Party", its only English-language radio station in the continental U.S. The station was quickly divested to Three Point Media, which used a briefly popular and controversial hip-hop format known as KBTB "Power 92.7" to boost ratings and revenue before selling to Flying Bear Media. Under Flying Bear, the station became KNGY "Energy 92.7", a dance music station catering to the Bay Area's gay community.

After Flying Bear Media was faced with financial difficulties, its lender, Wells Fargo, sold the station to Ed Stolz in 2009. The Energy format was discontinued and replaced by mainstream contemporary hits as KREV, branded "92.7 Rev FM". A copyright royalty lawsuit that Stolz lost in 2018 spiraled into court-appointed receivership in 2020; for nine months, the receiver contracted with Christian broadcaster VCY America to provide programming for KREV and other Stolz-owned stations and arranged a sale to VCY America. This was scrapped in early 2022 after a bankruptcy court ordered possession and control of the station returned to Stolz; the station was off the air for much of 2022 before returning with dance and later hip-hop music. Ultimately, Stolz was unable to formulate a reorganization plan, and a bankruptcy auction of his stations was set. Friends of KEXP, the owner of Seattle station KEXP-FM, won the auction for KREV and launched a near-complete simulcast of its programming in the Bay Area as KEXC on March 19, 2024.