KING-FM

KING-FM (98.1 FM; "Classical King FM") is a classical music radio station in Seattle, Washington. Its transmitter is located in Issaquah, Washington. 
The station is owned by a non-profit partnership of the Seattle Symphony, the Seattle Opera and ArtsFund known as Beethoven, A Non-Profit Corporation.
KING-FM was once co-owned with KING (1090 AM, now KPTK) and KING-TV (channel 5), but was donated to the non-profit partnership by King Broadcasting upon that company’s sale to The Providence Journal Company in 1992. Even after the sale, the radio station was long co-located with the television operation. KING-FM moved to an office building several blocks away in 1999.
==History==
KING-FM began broadcasting classical music in Seattle around 1948. For many decades, KING-FM was a particular source of joy and enthusiasm for King Broadcasting co-owner Dorothy Stimson Bullitt. The station's ambitious and challenging musical programming reflected a very special enthusiasm and joy for musical arts. 
Listeners have fond memories of the late 1970s when KING-FM carried syndicated concert broadcasts by the Philadelphia Orchestra (usually under direction of Eugene Ormandy), the New York Philharmonic, and the Boston Symphony. Many of the syndicated concert programs featured well-known instrumentalists and conductors performing works which they never recorded commercially - e.g. Leonard Bernstein conducting the New York Philharmonic in a highly memorable 1976 reading of Bruckner's Sixth Symphony in A major. 
In the mid-1970s, KING-FM's schedule also included specialized programs showcasing Quadraphonic LP recordings and historical recordings. In 1983, KING-FM was the first station in the Seattle area to utilize compact disc technology for its recordings.
In 1993, KING-FM relocated its transmitter from Seattle's Queen Anne Hill to Cougar Mountain near Issaquah, Washington. This higher-altitude transmitter location provided a vast improvement in the reception quality of KING-FM's signal throughout the Puget Sound area, and the Cascades.
KING-FM was also one of the first radio stations to broadcast its programming online, becoming one of the first internet radio stations.
Although KING-FM is owned by a non-profit entity, the station has continued to operate on a commercial basis. However, on March 23, 2010, KING-FM announced that it would transition to a public radio station in July 2011, citing reduced advertising revenue. Successful fundraising efforts led the station to announce on April 7, 2011 that the transition will instead take place on May 2, two months ahead of schedule. 
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ING-FM
Category:Classical music radio stations in the United States