KBQI

Last updated
KBQI
KBQI LOGO TN.png
Broadcast area Albuquerque metropolitan area
Frequency 107.9 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingBig I 107.9
Programming
Format Country music
Subchannels HD2: Classic country "98.1 The Bull"
Affiliations Premiere Networks
Ownership
Owner
KABQ, KABQ-FM, KPEK, KTEG, KZRR, K251AU, K265CA
History
First air date
April 27, 1979;45 years ago (April 27, 1979) (as KFMG)
Former call signs
  • KFMG (1979–1991)
  • KAMX (1991–1994)
  • KTEG (1994–2000)
Call sign meaning
AlBuQuerque Interstate (see below)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 4706
Class C
ERP 22,500 watts
HAAT 1,259 meters (4,131 ft)
Translator(s) 98.1 K251AU (Albuquerque, relays HD2)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
HD2: The Bull Listen Live
Website bigi1079.iheart.com
HD2: thebullabq.iheart.com

KBQI (107.9 FM, "Big I 107.9") is a commercial radio station in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It carries a country music format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It carries two syndicated shows on weekdays, The Bobby Bones Show in morning drive time and After Midnite with Granger Smith overnight. The studios are on Masthead Street in northeast Albuquerque.

Contents

KBQI is a Class C station with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 22,500 watts. The transmitter tower is atop Sandia Crest east of the city. KBQI broadcasts using HD Radio technology. It airs a classic country format on its HD-2 subchannel, "The Bull," which feeds FM translator K251AU at 98.1 MHz.

History

KFMG

This station signed on the air on April 27, 1979;45 years ago. The original call sign was KFMG and it aired an album oriented rock (AOR) format programmed by Frank Felix. KFMG featured a tight playlist of about 250 titles, the most popular researched songs. Felix wanted to create a more mass appeal rock sound as proven by the success of 106.7 KBPI in Denver. [2]

Rock programmer Carey Curelop later assumed program director duties. The station became the top rated station among its target audience. [3] KFMG, branded as "Rock 108", continued to be one of Albuquerque's top rock stations for much of the 1980s. [4]

In May 1985, KFMG and its AM sister station KAMX 1520 were sold to Coastal Communications for $2,125,000. [5] By the end of the 1980s, KFMG experienced declining ratings falling further behind rival KZRR "94 Rock". In 1990, it faced a new competitor, KRBL 98.5 (now KABG). KRBL edged past KFMG in the Fall 1990 Arbitron ratings. [6]

KAMX-FM

In early March 1991, KFMG flipped to a hot adult contemporary format with most of the rock airstaff let go. [7] With the switch to Hot AC, the station changed its call letters to KAMX-FM, branded as "Mix 107.9".

Mix was not be a strong performer in the market. In June 1994, Coastal Communications sold KAMX-AM-FM to Bengal Communications for $750,000. Bengal also purchased easy listening outlet KKJY 100.3 (now KPEK) for $1.5 million. [8] On October 17, 1994, KAMX-FM began stunting with a gag format made up of sound effects.

KTEG

On October 19 at 5pm, KAMX-FM switched to modern rock. [9] Meanwhile, KAMX 1520 discontinued its simulcast. [10] A month later, the FM station's call letters changed to KTEG and it branded as "107.9 The Edge, Albuquerque's New Rock Alternative." The new format quickly improved ratings for the station, putting in the top 10 while becoming the leading rock station in the market for a while. [11]

In March 1996, Bengal sold KTEG, KDZZ 1520 and KHTZ 100.3 to Trumper Communications for $7.4 million. [12] In June of that year, Trumper also purchased KZRR 94.1 and AM simulcast KZSS 610, along with classic rock outlet KLSK 104.1. [13] While KTEG's modern rock sound was unchanged, KZRR shifted to a mainstream rock format. In addition, Trumper flipped 100.3 to a modern adult contemporary format. That consequentially created fragmentation in the alternative format.

KBQI

In August 1999, Trumper sold its the Albuquerque cluster (which now included 95.1 added earlier in the year). The buyer was San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications and the price tag was $55.5 million. [14]

After entering the Albuquerque radio market, Clear Channel decided to challenge the top-rated station country station, 92.3 KRST. It launched a new country sound on 107.9 FM. In July 2000, KTEG was moved to 104.7 (recently purchased from Continental Communications) to make way for a new station on 107.9 FM, KBQI. [15]

KBQI took its branding, "Big I 107-9", from the I-40 and I-25 interchange near downtown Albuquerque that is locally known as "the Big I". At the time of the station's launch, the "Big I" was at the start of a major reconstruction project which finished in May 2002.

To kick off the country music format, former 92.3 KRST morning personalities Tony Lynn and Myles Copeland began hosting the morning shift on KBQI. This helped to make KBQI competitive with KRST, which had once dominated the country format in the Albuquerque market. Tony and Myles were the wake-up team for 11 years until they were let go in October 2011. [16] They were replaced by the syndicated Bobby Bones Show, which airs on most iHeart country stations.

HD Radio

In February 2006, the station began broadcasting in the HD Radio format. On its HD-2 digital subchannel, it launched a country variety sound.

On June 21, 2013, the HD-2 subchannel started airing a classic country music format. The classic country sound began re-broadcasting on FM translator K251AU at 98.1 FM. [17] [18]

Previous formats

call lettersformatnametime period
KFMG Album Oriented Rock Rock 1081979-1991
KAMX Hot AC Mix 107.91991-1994
KTEG Modern Rock The Edge1994-2000

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References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KBQI". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1970s/1979/RR-1979-10-19.pdf page 48
  3. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1980/BB-1980-07-26.pdf page 23
  4. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Duncan-American-Radio/Duncan-1975-1992/Albuquerque.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1985/BC-1985-05-20.pdf page 90
  6. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/90s/1991/BB-1991-02-02.pdf page 25
  7. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Music/Archive-RandR-IDX/IDX/90s/91/RR-1991-03-15-OCR-Page-0030.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  8. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-M-Street/M-Street-Journal/M-Street-1994-06.pdf page 20
  9. ↑ https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/157875154/ Sound Effects Usher In New FM Music Format
  10. ↑ Stark, Phyllis (November 5, 1994). "Vox Jox". Billboard . Vol. 106, no. 45. p. 118.
  11. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Duncan-American-Radio/Duncan-1995-Summer.pdf page 10
  12. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-03-29.pdf page 8
  13. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-M-Street/M-Street-Journal/M-Street-1996-06.pdf page 6
  14. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-M-Street/M-Street-Journal/M-Street-1999-08.pdf page 5
  15. ↑ https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-M-Street/M-Street-Journal/M-Street-2000-07.pdf page 40
  16. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-18. Retrieved 2013-06-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ↑ "Albuquerque's Classic Country on the Move". 16 June 2013.
  18. ↑ http://www.hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=70 Archived 2016-05-28 at the Wayback Machine HD Radio Guide for Albuquerque

35°12′43″N106°27′00″W / 35.212°N 106.450°W / 35.212; -106.450

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