KEXC (92.7 FM) is a non-commercial radio station serving the San Francisco Bay Area, licensed to Alameda, California, United States.

In 1981, the station was sold to Oakland mayor Lionel Wilson and Alameda real estate developer Ron Cowan, who later became sole owner in 1983.

Despite an effort by listeners that raised more than $1 million in pursuit of keeping KJAZ a jazz station, Cowan sold it to Z-Spanish Radio Network.

After 35 years of jazz, the station switched to Z-Spanish's satellite-programmed "La Z" Spanish-language hit radio format and was renamed to KZSF on August 1, 1994.

Friends of KEXP, the owner of Seattle station KEXP-FM, won the auction for KREV and launched a near-complete simulcast of its programming in the Bay Area as KEXC on March 19, 2024.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted a construction permit to Patrick Henry and Dave Larsen on December 10, 1958, for a new radio station to be built on 92.7 MHz in Alameda.

[19] With its own telephone lines connecting its Alameda studios to San Francisco, it aired live such events as the last performance of the Modern Jazz Quartet and concerts featuring such names as Stanley Turrentine, Morgana King, Horace Silver, and Milt Jackson.

In the Berkeley Daily Gazette, for instance, Gordon Laddue highlighted the station's unique programming and noted its full-day tribute to Duke Ellington upon his death earlier that year.

COM, seeking to foreclose on that possibility, proposed the transfer of KJAZ to a non-profit corporation that would be Black-controlled; this became a moot point when the proceeding was remanded by the court, setting in motion the designation of a hearing.

[26] Believing that Henry wanted to sell after the matter was settled, a group known as the San Francisco Bay Area Jazz Foundation formed; notable members included Clint Eastwood and Orrin Keepnews.

He cited Mabuhay's connections to the Philippine Bank of California, which had been funded by the Marcos government, as well as Malabed's use of consulate license plates and publication of a pro-Marcos newspaper.

When Marcos was deposed in February 1986, he fled to the United States, where officials seized documents that implicated the use of Mabuhay as a funnel for donations to pro-Marcos politicians in the U.S.[39] Mabuhay also provided funding for attempts coordinated by the Philippine government to crush dissident, including the 1981 murders of Seattle cannery workers Silme Domingo and Gene Viernes, who were leading an anti-Marcos effort with their union.

[40] In December 1979, Ron Cowan, a real estate developer with projects in Alameda and elsewhere, and Lionel Wilson, the mayor of Oakland, formed KJAZ Inc. to buy the station from Henry.

[44] Cowan professionalized the formerly mom-and-pop operation, cited by Billboard magazine as "one of the most respected radio stations in the country",[45] with full-time sales representatives to replace the heavy use of barter agreements with advertisers under Henry,[18] as well as new back-office procedures and employee benefits.

[56] The next year, Cowan took out a bank loan to finance a project to turn KJAZ into a satellite-distributed, national service, much as WFMT in Chicago had done with classical music.

[59] University of California president Jack Peltason ordered an investigation into whether Cowan's friendship with regent Ronald Brady had influenced UCSF's decision to lease space in Harbor Bay Isle.

[60][61] UC officials were found to have attended lavish parties thrown by Cowan, in part to woo university projects, while ignoring rules against accepting gifts.

He noted that the station's central coverage area would likely appeal to broadcasters programming in languages other than English, stating, "My guess is KJAZ will go Spanish or Asian.

[73] The fundraising drive to save KJAZ fell short, and on June 30, Cowan announced that the station would be taken over by Z-Spanish Radio Network and change formats on August 1, 1994.

[87] Clear Channel then merged with AMFM, Inc., in 2000; the combination had too many San Francisco–area radio stations, and KXJO was earmarked for divestiture to Rodriguez Communications in March 2000.

[90] KXJO continued simulcasting KSJO under a lease agreement between SBS and Clear Channel until May 11, 2002, when it adopted a dance music format known as "The Party" and changed its call sign to KPTI.

[94] Citing its status as a non-strategic asset geographically and in format within SBS, the company sold the station in a deal announced in October 2003 to Three Point Media—owned by Bruce Buzil and Chris Devine—for $30 million.

Shortly after Three Point became the licensee in September 2004, it agreed to sell KBTB to Flying Bear Media, a company run by former Infinity Broadcasting sales manager Joe Bayliss and backed by Alta Communications and Tailwind Capital, and fired the entire airstaff.

[94] Flying Bear took control on September 22; after a ten-day stunt designed to put distance between it and the hip-hop format, whose loss upset some listeners, the station relaunched as dance music–formatted "Energy 92.7" on October 2.

Unable to renegotiate new terms,[101] Wells Fargo sold the station to Golden State Broadcasting,[102] a company controlled by Ed Stolz, for $6.5 million.

[111] Bernal denied a petition from Stolz to end the receivership in March 2021, and VCY America began a local marketing agreement to program KREV, KFRH, and KRCK-FM, paying $5,000 a month for operational control of the three outlets.

[119] During the same week that KREV began broadcasting "The Hustle", the bankruptcy court approved Carmel's plan to conduct an auction of the Stolz stations, with VCY America offering a $4.5 million stalking horse bid for all of them.

[120] The bankruptcy auction was held on October 23, 2023; KREV was won by Friends of KEXP, the owner of Seattle non-commercial station KEXP-FM, with a bid of $3.75 million.

[121] The CEO of KEXP, Ethan Raup, cited a large streaming audience in the Bay Area and the opportunity to introduce a "low-barrier" listening method there.

[127] Days before the switch, KREV dropped "The Hustle" and began stunting, airing a two-hour sound collage of solfeggio frequencies, shortwave radio static, ambient music and classic Bay Area radio jingles, among other soundbites and song excerpts, for a 72-hour period; this was replaced on March 18 with a mix of music from Bay Area artists.