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KIOZ (105.3 FM broadcasting, "Rock 105.3") is a commercial radio radio station that is licensed to San Diego. The station is owned by and broadcasts an active rock radio format. KIOZ's studios are located in San Diego's Serra Mesa neighborhood on the northeast side, and the transmitter is located in La Jolla.
In March 1958, the newly renamed KITT, a beautiful music-formatted station, began broadcasting on 105.3 MHz. The transmitter was located in downtown San Diego atop the Bank of America building. The station struggled financially for many years; the station was perpetually for sale, at one point for as low as $100,000. KITT was airing an Adult Contemporary format in 1978 when it went off the air due to transmitter problems, and remained so for more than a year.
When KITT returned to the air in March 1979, it adopted a Disco format. "K105" as it was branded, debuted in the April/May 1979 ratings with a 4.2 share, though the numbers quickly receded.
KCBQ-FM eventually found success as an oldies station. Owner Compass Media proceeded to rehire former program director Rich Brother Robbin, who adjusted the format to "Classic hits". In October 1995, Compass sold six stations, including KCBQ-AM-FM, to Par Broadcasting for $68 million.
The new "Rock 105.3" thrived under Jacor. KIOZ aired the syndicated program The Howard Stern Show weekday mornings after it was pulled from Mexican radio station XETRA-FM. Shannon Leader was on-air middays, B.C. and Woody hosted afternoon drive, Mikey Esparza (later of The Mikey Show) was on evenings, and Mark The Shark hosted the overnight slot. It also had controversial moments, such as the "head up your ass" billboard of the late 1990s.
In 2004, The Mikey Show replaced Howard Stern on the KIOZ lineup. This change resulted from Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia), which purchased Jacor, canceling Stern's morning show from the six Clear Channel-owned stations that carried it, owing to the "Nipplegate incident at Super Bowl XXXVIII. (Stern would move to KPLN that summer, then ultimately off terrestrial radio altogether — and thus outside FCC indecency regulation — when he moved to Sirius Satellite Radio in January 2006.) The Mikey Show itself left KIOZ in 2010 when Esparza moved to KBZT.
KIOZ was the flagship station of the San Diego Chargers football team from 2005 until their relocation after the 2016 NFL season. Staffing the microphones for pre-game shows were Eddie "The Oracle" Pappani (from KIOZ morning drive program The Show), and former NFL players Lew Bush and Jim Laslavic of San Diego's KNSD.
Replacing The Mikey Show in morning drive is a program known simply as The Show, which debuted on January 4, 2010. The show has a cast of four: Eddie, Sky, Thor and Emily. Costa, as he is referred to on-air, left the program in August 2012. After 13 years, Ashlee left on September 5, 2017. Emily, the newest member of The Show, joined on January 2, 2018.
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