105.1 FM signed on the air on February 21, 1960 as KHIQ. In the 1970s and early 1980s, that station had a "beautiful music" format and the call letters were KEWT. It was automated using the Cart-O-Matic system, popular in the late 1970s. The then rival KAER 92.5 Country music station was the only FM station competing with the AM giant KRAK featuring DJs Joey Mitchell, Racin' Rick Stewart and Big Jim Hall. Management decided to give KAER a challenge and try the Country Market with KEWT, changing the call letters to KSKK. It was a huge success. After a short while, KAER dumped the country format and started playing Adult Contemporary, which turned out to be a successful venture for them. Later, KSKK became KRAK-FM. In February 1994, KRAK and rival KNCI swapped frequencies. KNCI is known in the Sacramento region for 3 things: the annual Country in the Park Music Festival, which takes place at the Cal Expo Fairgrounds this year May 9th and 10th and stars Billy Currington and Chris Young; The Pat, Tom and Cody morning show, which recently finished 2nd in the fall ratings period for adults 25-54. Pat and Tom are actually the longest running morning radio show in Sacramento history, approaching 28 years in October. But given a choice between being impressed by that or placing their tongue on a Triple A battery for 5 seconds, most people would opt for the battery. Cody takes selfies. On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom. The merger was completed November 17, 2017. To comply with ownership limits, KNCI, KHTK, KZZO, and KYMX, as well as four stations in San Francisco, were divested to the Entercom Divestiture Trust pending their sale to a third-party, with Bonneville International assuming operations under a local marketing agreement. In August 2018, Bonneville subsequently announced its intent to acquire the eight divested stations outright for $141 million; the sale was completed on September 21, 2018.
HD channels
KNCI offers two HD Radio subchannels. Its HD2 station, known as "The Ranch," features classic country hits and a weekly country gospel music. Its HD3 channel is a simulcast of Sports Talk KHTK.
