| KSLY | |
| City: | San Luis Obispo, California |
| Area: | San Luis Obispo, California |
| Branding: | K-Love |
| Frequency: | 96.1 MHz |
| Airdate: | December 1959 (as) |
| Format: | Contemporary Christian |
| Erp: | 4,500 watts |
| Haat: | 443m (1,453feet) |
| Class: | B |
| Facility Id: | 58894 |
| Former Callsigns: | KATY-FM (1959–1973) KUNA (1973–1979) KUNA-FM (1979–1980) KUNA (1980–1984) KSLY-FM (1984–2016) |
| Owner: | Educational Media Foundation |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
KSLY (96.1 FM, "K-Love") is a non-commercial radio station that is licensed to San Luis Obispo, California. Owned by Educational Media Foundation, the station carries a contemporary Christian music format from the nationally syndicated K-Love network as of October 16, 2016.
The station first signed on in December 1959 as KATY-FM, simulcasting then-sister station KATY.[1] It adopted the call sign KUNA in 1973.
In January 1976, KSLY Broadcasting Company sold KUNA and AM counterpart KSLY to a Chicago-based group for $535,000.[2] KUNA, which aired a beautiful music format, changed its call letters to KUNA-FM on January 15, 1979, then back to KUNA the following year.[3]
In February 1984, KUNA switched call signs and formats with KSLY, which aired a top 40 format.[4] The FM station, using new call letters KSLY-FM, adopted the branding "SLY 96-FM".[5]
In September 2000, Mondosphere Broadcasting Inc. sold 11 stations throughout Central California, including KSLY-FM, plus a construction permit for a twelfth station, to Clear Channel Communications for $45 million.[6] KSLY-FM dropped its longtime top 40 format in October 2005, flipping to country music and rebranding as "Cat Country 96.1".[7]
In July 2007, KSLY-FM was one of 16 stations in California and Arizona that Clear Channel sold to El Dorado Broadcasters for $40 million.[8]
On April 20, 2012, KSLY-FM dropped its Cat Country moniker and began simulcasting sister station KSNI-FM in Santa Maria. Both stations co-branded as "Sunny Country 102.5 & 96.1".[9]
In May 2016, upon closing of KSNI-FM's sale to American General Media, KSLY-FM dropped its simulcast of Sunny Country and rebranded as "96.1 SLO Country".[10] This format lasted only two months as the station went silent at the end of June.[11]
On July 15, 2016, El Dorado Broadcasters sold KSLY-FM to Educational Media Foundation for $350,000; the transaction closed in October.[12] [13] EMF then flipped the station to its Christian adult contemporary-formatted network. KSLY-FM changed its callsign to simply KSLY on December 15, 2016.