KBME (AM)

Last updated
KBME
KBME Sportstalk.png
Broadcast area Greater Houston
Frequency 790 kHz
BrandingSportstalk 790
Programming
Language(s) English
Format Sports radio
Network Fox Sports Radio
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KQBT, KODA, KPRC, KTBZ-FM, KTRH, KXYZ
History
First air date
1944(80 years ago) (1944)
Former call signs
KTHT (1944–70)
KULF (1970–82)
KKBQ (1982–98)
Former frequencies
1230kHz (1944–51)
Call sign meaning
The Best Music Ever Made
(Former slogan during the adult standards format era)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 23082
Class B
Power 5,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
 29°54′54″N95°27′42″W / 29.91500°N 95.46167°W / 29.91500; -95.46167
Repeater(s) 94.5  KTBZ-FMHD2 (Houston)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live (via iHeartRadio)
Website sportstalk790.iheart.com

KBME (790 kHz) is a sports-talk AM radio station in the Houston, Texas metropolitan area. It is currently owned by iHeartMedia. The station airs local sports-talk and carries nationally syndicated Fox Sports Radio programming. KBME is also the flagship radio station for the Houston Rockets, Houston Astros and Texas Longhorns. The station's studios are located along the West Loop Freeway in the city's Uptown district. The transmitter site is located at what is now the southwest corner of Fallbrook Drive and T.C. Jester Boulevard, near Greenspoint in unincorporated Harris County.

Contents

History

Early years

The station first went on the air as KTHT in 1944. It moved from 1230 kHz to the current 790 kHz in 1948. The frequency switch allowed KNUZ (now KCOH) to sign on at 1230 kHz. During the 1960s, KTHT was known as "Demand Radio 79", playing pop music.

In August 1970, it became adult contemporary KULF, hosting radio personalities such as Stevens and Pruett. Stevens and Pruett had formerly been on KILT as the last Hudson and Harrigan team before KILT's switch to country. S&P brought to KULF their "Not ready for Drive time Players", and their daily short production of "Star Trots" (modeled after Star Trek: The Motion Picture ) with Captain James T. Shmirk, his trusted Lt. Bones, and their weird little robot, ACDC.

In June 1982, Gannett Publishing, through its broadcast subsidiary, bought the station, announced to the employees that were left (S&P had left for KEGL in the Dallas-Fort Worth market before the sale), on what was called "Black Friday" (July 2), that everyone was fired as of the following Monday, and relaunched it as top 40 station KKBQ ("79Q") on the 2nd.

Program director John Lander hosted the morning show, called the "Q-Zoo", and took the station to the top of the Houston ratings after one rating period - a feat unheard of for an AM music station in the 1980s. KKBQ would add an FM simulcast on 92.9 FM on December 29, 1982. KKBQ was among the first AM stations in the city to broadcast in AM stereo, originally using the Kahn ISB system, and then later switching to the Motorola C-QUAM system.

Programming on KKBQ and KKBQ-FM ("93Q") simulcasted until January 16, 1998, when the AM station became the adult standards-formatted "Star 790 KBME" (for "Best Music Ever", although a joke among employees was "Keep Bringing Me Ex-Lax"). [2] [3]

The Sports Animal

KMBE's logo as "ESPN 790, The Sports Animal" Kbmeam.png
KMBE's logo as "ESPN 790, The Sports Animal"

On January 1, 2005, the station flipped to an all sports station, as "790 ESPN Radio, the Sports Animal." [4] [5] Houston sports talk legend Charlie Pallilo helped launch the new sports station and remained with the station for almost 12 years. The ESPN affiliation lasted until January 2007, when the network moved its programming to Cumulus Media-owned KFNC/97.5. At that point, KBME's sports talk programming shifted to a mix of local shows and programs from Fox Sports Radio, including the launch in late 2009 of "Matt & Adam in the Morning," a morning show hosted by Matt Jackson and Adam Wexler, who both moved over from KILT. [6] "Matt & Adam" became "The Big Show" in fall 2011, when Lance Zierlein joined Jackson and Wexler. Previous hosts on KBME include Brad Davies, Carl Dukes, Ted Deluca, John Lopez, David Dalati, Tom Franklin.

During Hurricane Katrina's aftermath, The Sports Animal was an affiliate of United Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans, originating from WWL-AM, and parent company Clear Channel's New Orleans radio stations. The Sports Animal simulcasted their aftermath coverage as a public service to those who may have evacuated to the Houston area, and continued to do so until November 2005. [7]

Live sports programming

KBME is the flagship station for Houston Rockets basketball, Houston Astros baseball, and Houston Cougars football and basketball. It is the Houston affiliate for Texas A&M Aggies football, basketball. KBME also features live national sports broadcasts from Westwood One and Sports USA Radio Network.

Beginning with the 2012-2013 season, KBME became flagship station to the NBA's Houston Rockets, with iHeartMedia (then known as Clear Channel Communications) acquiring the team's radio rights from CBS Radio-owned KILT. [8] In April 2013, KBME became the flagship station to Major League Baseball's Houston Astros, with broadcasts moving from sister station KTRH. [9] For an interim period, games were simulcast on both stations. Prior to the move, KBME aired select Astros spring training games.

Astros coverage is also livestreamed on iHeartRadio; however due to MLB rules, it is blacked out beyond the station's coverage area.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNDE</span> Radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana

WNDE is a commercial radio station in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is owned by iHeartMedia with the broadcast license held by iHM Licenses, LLC. WNDE broadcasts a sports radio format, with some afternoon talk programs, including The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KSIX (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Corpus Christi, Texas

KSIX is a radio station broadcasting a local sports format featuring two local shows as well as The Dan Patrick Show, The Jim Rome Show, and night and weekend programing from SportsMap. KSIX also airs programming from Westwood One. Licensed to Corpus Christi, Texas, the station is owned by Gregory Herrman, through licensee Dynamic Media, LLC. The station is also simulcast on 95.1 FM and 96.1 FM in Corpus Christi.

KILT-FM is a commercial radio station in Houston, Texas. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a country music radio format. The studios and offices are in Greenway Plaza in Southwest Houston. KILT-FM serves as a co-flagship radio station of the Houston Texans Football team, along with co-owned KILT.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KIKK</span> Radio station in Pasadena, Texas, United States

KIKK is a daytime-only station, licensed to Pasadena, Texas, which broadcasts a sports gambling format under ownership of Audacy, Inc. Its studios are located in the Greenway Plaza district of Houston, and its transmitter is located in Pasadena. While it only broadcasts during daytime hours at 250 watts, KIKK's low frequency gives the station a large coverage area, stretching from Flatonia, Texas to the west, and past Lake Charles, Louisiana to the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTRH</span> News/talk radio station in Houston

KTRH is a commercial radio station licensed to Houston, Texas. It airs a news/talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios are along the West Loop Freeway (I-610) in the city's Uptown district. The transmitter site, a four-tower array, is in unincorporated Liberty County, off Cox Road in Dayton. KTRH is one of the oldest radio stations in the United States, first licensed to Austin on April 22, 1922. Programming is also heard on co-owned KODA's HD 2 subchannel at 99.1MHz, and on the iHeartRadio platform. KTRH is Southeast Texas' primary entry point station for the Emergency Alert System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KLIF (AM)</span> Radio station in Dallas, Texas

KLIF is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Dallas, Texas. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a news/talk format to the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The studios are in the Victory Park district in Dallas, just north of downtown.

WTNY is a commercial AM radio station in Watertown, New York. The station airs a talk radio format and is owned by the Stephens Media Group. The studios and offices are on Mullin Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KPRC (AM)</span> Radio station in Houston, Texas

KPRC is a broadcast radio station in the United States licensed to Houston, Texas, KPRC has a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia. KPRC broadcasts mostly conservative talk radio shows and originates Walton & Johnson and The Jesse Kelly Show and most hours begin with Fox News Radio. Additionally, KPRC broadcasts University of Houston sports.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNTH</span> Radio station in Houston, Texas

KNTH is a conservative talk radio station serving the Houston, Texas metropolitan area. It is owned by Salem Media Group. KNTH's transmitter site is located in Northwest Harris County and its studios are located in Sharpstown district in Southwest Houston. KNTH relays its programming on to an FM relay translator, purchased from Armida Saille, on 103.3 FM from a transmit site near Farm to Market Road 1960 and T.C. Jester Boulevard in Bammel Village. This translator originally operated in Kingsville, Texas before moving to Houston.

KLAT is a commercial radio station in Houston, Texas. It is owned by Latino Media Network; under a local marketing agreement, it was programmed by former owner TelevisaUnivision's Uforia Audio Network until 2024, and airs a Spanish-language sports radio format from the TUDN Radio Network. The station serves as the Spanish language flagship radio station of the Houston Astros baseball team and the Houston Rockets basketball team and also airs Houston Dynamo FC soccer games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KILT (AM)</span> Radio station in Houston, Texas

KILT is a commercial AM radio station in Houston, Texas. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and carries a sports radio format. KILT shares its call sign with its sister station KILT-FM, which airs a country music radio format. Its studios are located in the Greenway Plaza district.

KJOZ is a radio station, paired with 3 FM relay translators. Licensed to Conroe, Texas, KJOZ primarily serves the northern Houston, Texas metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Regional Mexican format.

KFNC is a commercial radio station licensed to Mont Belvieu, Texas. KFNC is paired with a translator, K223CW, licensed to Houston. The facilities serve the Greater Houston and Golden Triangle areas of southeast Texas. The station is owned by David Gow, through licensee Gow Media, LLC, with studios and offices in Uptown Houston one block from The Galleria. KFNC is a network affiliate of ESPN Radio, carried late nights and weekends. Local sports shows are heard weekdays from 7 a.m. to midnight and on weekend mornings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KNST</span> News/talk radio station in Tucson, Arizona

KNST is a commercial radio station in Tucson, Arizona, airing a news/talk radio format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and serves Greater Tucson, including the suburbs of Marana, Oro Valley, Green Valley, Sahuarita, Sierra Vista, and Vail. KNST's studios and offices are on Oracle Road, north of Downtown Tucson.

WSGW is a commercial AM radio station in Saginaw, Michigan, owned by Alpha Media. It simulcasts a news/talk radio format with sister station 100.5 WSGW-FM. The two stations identify themselves as "100.5 and 790 Newsradio WSGW." The studios are on Tittabawassee Road.

KCOH is a commercial radio station in Houston, Texas that airs an urban talk/urban contemporary format. It is a return to the heritage format that aired in Houston from 1953 to 2013 on 1430 KCOH, moving to this facility after 1430 was sold. KCOH returned to the legendary music format on March 14, 2019, while KCOH officially relaunched on Monday April 15, 2019 as "1230 KCOH, The Source", featuring many of the long-time KCOH shows from the original station, and the return of such legendary KCOH personalities as Don Sam and Ralph Cooper.

KKAM, branded as "Talk 103.9 and 1340", is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk/sports format. Licensed to Lubbock, Texas, United States. The station is currently owned by Townsquare Media. Its studios are located in south Lubbock, and its transmitter is in Klapp Park southwest of downtown.

Lance Zierlein is a sports analyst and commentator. He has hosted sports talk shows on KILT 610, KBME 790, KGOW 1560 AM, and KFNC 97.5 FM in Houston, Texas.

KULF was an AM daytimer radio station, paired with an FM relay translator, based in Bellville, Texas. Licensed to Bellville, Texas, United States, it served the Victoria and Houston regional area. The station was last owned by James Su, through licensee Trade Route Media, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Houston Astros Radio Network</span> Official radio network of MLBs Houston Astros

The Houston Astros Radio Network is an American broadcast network of radio affiliates in operation since 1962 that broadcast coverage of the Houston Astros before, during, and after that team's games. Radio content is broadcast in both the English and Spanish languages. It consists of 26 stations that span across three states with its English flagship station as KBME and its Spanish flagship station as K231CE, both in Houston. In addition to its affiliates, Houston Astros Radio Network content can be listened to on satellite radio via Sirius XM Radio and online using both MLB.tv and Sirius XM Internet Radio.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KBME". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ Louis B. Parks, "New AM station for older set", The Houston Chronicle , January 23, 1998.
  3. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1998/RR-1998-07-31.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  4. ↑ David Barron, "KBME to join all-sports radio ranks; Format change will give KILT a competitor", The Houston Chronicle , October 26, 2004.
  5. ↑ "Street Talk" (PDF). R&R. October 19, 2004. Retrieved September 2, 2024.
  6. ↑ 610's Wexler and Jackson moving to 790 sports radio, Houston Chronicle
  7. ↑ http://tophour.com/audio/New%20Orleans%20LA/fm0957_2005-09_wtkl_ccuomo_urbno.mp3 (mentions KBME during ID)
  8. ↑ "Rockets shift radio allegiance from KILT to KBME," from Houston Chronicle, 6/27/2012
  9. ↑ "Astros switch radio flagship to KBME," from Houston Chronicle, 2/5/2013
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.