and sometimes being more adventurous with new music. For many years, the station went without meaningful competition. Many of the personalities spent a long time at the station, including a couple who were on the air the day the format started in 1974, and the day it ended in 1997. Great American Broadcasting (later Citicasters) bought the station in 1987. KYYS, for a time, competed with KSAS, KKCI or KXXR (all located at 106.5 FM, now the current incarnation of WDAF-FM). However, in April 1992, KRVK flipped from adult contemporary to active rock as KQRC. This began the end of KY's long dominance in the ratings, as KQRC took away many listeners with new hard and modern rock that KYYS generally ignored. When KY finally started playing acts such as Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chili Peppers, it was too late, and their ratings never recovered. The station also tended to avoid playing Metallica and similar heavy metal bands. By 1997, KYYS leaned very heavily on new music, playing as much of it as they could from artists like Dave Matthews Band, The Wallflowers, Sheryl Crow, and Collective Soul. However, this could not prevent the inevitable from happening. The Zone In September 1996, after the passage of the sweeping Telecommunications Act of 1996, Citicasters merged with Jacor Communications. In June 1997, KYYS was sold off to American Radio Systems, and then to Westinghouse/CBS in September (their AM sister station, WDAF, would be sold to Entercom in October). On September 19, 1997, at 12:01 a.m., KYYS flipped to modern adult contemporary, branded as "102.1 The Zone". The first song on "The Zone" was "A Change Would Do You Good" by Sheryl Crow. KYYS' staff barely had a chance to set up the final hour of music and to say goodbye to listeners; in addition, the airstaff was let go barely an hour before the change. (In fact, the official goodbye came a week after the format change, when KYYS staff members held a midday interview simulcast on KQRC and KCFX, which were then owned by the same company.) On January 16, 1998, the station's call letters changed to KOZN. The station's ratings plummeted even further, as the station's playlist sounded quite similar to sister station KMXV, which airs a Top 40/CHR format that, at the time, leaned heavily on alternative rock. In addition, KYYS was revived on former adult contemporary station