Denver has never been a CHR-friendly town. After the loss of KPKE and Y-108, Denver was left with two rimshot CHR/Rhythmic stations and a Modern AC. Meanwhile, KWMX-FM 107.5 “Mix 107.5” was beginning to slump in the ratings. KOSI 101.1 had beaten them in the adult demographic, so in early 1996 they switched to a CHR/Alternative hybrid and changed their name to “107-5 The Mix.” This format didn’t really take off either, due to the high profile of another station, KALC 105.9 “Alice 106.” In early July 1996, the morning show at KWMX was let go. On August 9th, the station began interrupting music with a robotic “Testing 123…” Finally, on August 10th, The Mix gave way to stunting, as 107.5 began to play the audio tracks to “Star Wars” and “Herbie.” Every few minutes, a robotic voice would come on the air saying “Today at five on 107.5. Be here. We think you’ll like it.” At 5:00 pm, the stunting ended, and “K-Hits 107.5” debuted. While still heavy on the Alternative cuts, the station was definitely going for the CHR audience.
Unfortunately, it never took off. The station was poorly promoted and poorly programmed. In January of 1997, Jefferson-Pilot moved the calls and format of its newly acquired station KQKS (KS-104) to the 107.5 spot, thus putting an end to “K-Hits 107.5” and marking the start of “KS- 107-5.”
