KBIG (104.3 FM, 104.3 MYfm) is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Los Angeles, California and serves the Greater Los Angeles area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary format heavy on music from the 2000s to the present day. KBIG has studios located in Burbank, California and its primary transmitter is based on Mount Wilson. History Early years The original KBIG (740 AM) was founded by John H. Poole in 1952, originating from Catalina Island off the coast of California. Known as "The Catalina Island Station", Poole knew KBIG would have wide coverage of Southern California by broadcasting the station's directional signal across ocean water. KBIG was heard from Santa Barbara to San Diego, including the large audience in Los Angeles. The station became popular as it presented an island theme and scheduled music, news, and commercials on a different sequence from his competitors. "We knew if you changed stations during a commercial, you would always find music on K-BIG," Poole claimed. The KBIG call letters were selected in honor of the station's original disc jockey, Carl "Mr. Big" Bailey. The AM station was sold to religious broadcasters in 1980 and now operates as KBRT. On February 15, 1959, KBIQ officially signed on the air for the first time, and began simulcasting their AM sister station. At the time of its launch, the station aired a beautiful music format, playing lush instrumental versions of Hollywood, Broadway, and pop songs with an occasional vocal. KBIG-FM also had its staff of "KBIG Singers", who would sing the station's jingles and also record station albums to offer to listeners. Over time, the beautiful music format began to age. In 1987, the station dropped instrumentals and became a soft adult contemporary station, placing it in direct competition with KOST (103.5 FM), which had made a similar transition a few years earlier. Both stations enjoyed high ratings and were heard in many Los Angeles offices and workplaces. The "Upbeat" evolution By 1990, KBIG-FM dropped the 1960s songs and began playing more current hits. In 1992, KBIG-FM shifted to hot adult contemporary (hot AC). This lasted until 1995, when the station moved back to mainstream AC to again compete with KOST. In the 1990s, KBIG-FM aired Disco Saturday Night, a weekly show featuring disco music. In late 1996, KBIG-FM once again moved to a hot AC format. In