KBZU

Last updated
KBZU
Broadcast area Little Rock (Central Arkansas)
Frequency 106.7 MHz
Branding106.7 The Buz2
Programming
Format Sports
Affiliations ESPN Radio
Ownership
Owner
  • Signal Media
  • (Signal Media of Arkansas, Inc.)
KABZ, KKPT
History
First air date
January 1, 1979(45 years ago) (1979-01-01) (as KAKI at 107.1)
Former call signs
KAKI (1979–1992)
KGKO-FM (1992–1993)
KMVK (1993–1997)
KDDK (1997–2002)
KHKN (2002–2009)
KHLR (2009–2020)
Former frequencies
107.1 MHz (1979–1993)
Technical information
Facility ID 6819
Class C2
ERP 13,000 watts
HAAT 292.7 meters (960 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 34°47′56″N92°29′53″W / 34.79889°N 92.49806°W / 34.79889; -92.49806

KBZU (106.7 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station in Little Rock, Arkansas (licensed to suburban Benton, Arkansas in the Little Rock radio market). The station airs a sports radio format and calls itself "106.7 The Buz2" [1] KBZU is owned by Signal Media of Arkansas, Inc. The station's studios and offices are located just west of downtown Little Rock, along the south shore of the Arkansas River (David D. Terry Lake). The transmitter is located on Shinall Mountain, along Two Towers Road, near the Chenal Valley neighborhood of Little Rock.

Contents

KBZU is a Class C2 FM station, with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 13,000 watts from a tower 960 feet (292.7 m) in height above average terrain (HAAT). [2]

History

Early years at 107.1

On January 1, 1979, the station signed on at 107.1 MHz as KAKI. [3] It was owned by Bridges Broadcasting and was the FM counterpart to KGKO (850 AM, now deleted). The station was a Class A, powered at only 2,500 watts, serving Benton and its adjacent towns, not the larger Little Rock market. While KGKO played oldies, KAKI was separately programmed as a country music station. By the late 1980s, KAKI switched to adult contemporary music.

In 1992, the station changed its call sign to match its AM counterpart, becoming KGKO-FM. [4] It also received a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to move to 106.7 MHz, coupled with an increase in power and tower height.

Move to 106.7

In 1993, the station was bought by the Southern Skies Corporation for $1.125 million. [5] The new owners finished moving the station to 106.7 on a new tower and relocated the studios and offices to Little Rock. The format returned to country music and the call letters were switched to KMVK, which represented "Maverick."

In 1997, the station was acquired by Clear Channel Communications, now known as iHeartMedia. [6] The station switched its call sign to KDDK and began calling itself "The Wolf." In 2002, its call letters changed again, this time to KHKN, representing the word "Kickin'."

On March 31, 2008, "The Wolf" moved to 105.1 FM (currently KMJX) and KHKN rebranded as "TOM-FM". [7] According to Phil Hunt, regional programming vice-president of Clear Channel, "We're going to call the station Tom FM after Tom Wood and his famous Brown Bagger show." [7]

Switch to gospel, rhythmic oldies

On August 17, 2009, KHKN swapped formats and call letters with KHLR (94.9 FM). The new KHLR at 106.7 FM flipped to urban contemporary gospel, branded as "Hallelujah FM."

On April 12, 2011, Clear Channel sold the station to Signal Media for $2 million. [8]

On July 19, 2011, at 6 p.m., KHLR changed its format to rhythmic oldies, branded as "Heartbeat 106.7." The first song on "Heartbeat" was "Good Times" by Chic. Although its slogan was billed as "R&B + Old School," its playlist also featured artists from the early days of the Disco/Dance and Rhythmic Pop genres.

Return to country music

On August 12, 2015 at 5 PM, after playing "Last Dance" by Donna Summer, KHLR flipped to country, branded as "106.7 The Ride". It launched with a "commercial free 10,000 song free ride," beginning with "Kick the Dust Up" by Luke Bryan. The new country format competes with former owner iHeartMedia’s country combo of KSSN and KMJX.

The Buz2

On November 13, 2020, morning host Doug Kramer, who had moved from KHKN earlier that year, announced his dismissal from the station, and announced that the rest of the airstaff, including midday host AJ Parker and afternoon host Ashley King, would exit within 30 days; he claimed this was due to financial hardships brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. [9] On December 30, Signal Media announced that the station would flip to sports talk, as a supplemental sister station to KABZ, on January 4, 2021, branded as "106.7 The Buz2", under new call sign KBZU. "The Buz2" will feature the national ESPN Radio lineup, while continuing to serve as home to Arkansas State University football, University of Arkansas-Little Rock men’s basketball and Benton High School football. [10]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WALR-FM</span> Radio station in Palmetto–Atlanta, Georgia

WALR-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Palmetto, Georgia and serving Metro Atlanta. It is owned by the Cox Media Group and airs an urban adult contemporary radio format. The studios are co-located with other Cox-owned radio stations and WSB-TV in Midtown Atlanta on West Peachtree Street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KQQL</span> Radio station in Anoka–Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota

KQQL is a commercial radio station serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market and is licensed to suburban Anoka. It plays classic hits and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on Utica Avenue South in St. Louis Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KMJX</span> Radio station in Conway–Little Rock, Arkansas

KMJX is a radio station in Little Rock, Arkansas. It has been on the air since 1967, making it one of the oldest stations to broadcast in Little Rock. The station's studios are located in West Little Rock, and the transmitter tower is located on Shinall Mountain, near the Chenal Valley neighborhood of Little Rock. KMJX has been 105.1 "The Wolf" broadcasting a classic country format since 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KHKN</span> Contemporary hit radio station in Maumelle–Little Rock, Arkansas

KHKN is an American radio station in the Little Rock, Arkansas area. The station's studios are located in West Little Rock, and the transmitter tower is located in Redfield, Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPYX</span> Classic rock radio station in Albany, New York, United States

WPYX is a commercial radio station licensed to Albany, New York, and serving the Capital District. It broadcasts a classic rock radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. WPYX also carries New York Giants football games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLLZ (FM)</span> Classic rock radio station in Detroit

WLLZ is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan. It is owned by iHeartMedia and it broadcasts a classic rock radio format, focusing mostly on active rock titles from the 1980s and 1990s. Its studios are in the Detroit suburb of Farmington Hills on Halsted Road.

KXCB is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Omaha, Nebraska, the station serves the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It is owned and operated by Steven Seline, through licensee Hickory Radio, LLC. The studios and offices are on Burt Street near North 120th Street and Dodge Road in West Omaha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDAF-FM</span> Radio station in Liberty, Missouri

WDAF-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Liberty, Missouri, and serving the Kansas City metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station airs a country music radio format, branded as "106-5 The Wolf". Studios and offices are located on Squibb Road in Mission, Kansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKSE-FM</span> Sports radio station in Broomfield–Denver, Colorado

KKSE-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Broomfield, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area and Northern Colorado. KKSE-FM airs a sports talk format branded as "Altitude Sports 92.5 FM." KKSE-FM has studios on South Colorado Boulevard in Glendale, with its transmitter located off Wheatland Road near Fort Lupton in Weld County. It is owned by Stan Kroenke's KSE Radio Ventures, which also owns sister stations KIMN, KKSE and KXKL-FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMOS</span> Radio station in Stonington, Connecticut

WMOS is a classic rock radio station that targets the Connecticut and Rhode Island coastlines from New London, Connecticut, to Wakefield, Rhode Island and it is licensed to Stonington, Connecticut. It broadcasts at 102.3 MHz with 3 kilowatts ERP from a tower located in Westerly, Rhode Island. The station is owned and operated by Cumulus Media and is "powered by Mohegan Sun," the casino in Uncasville. The Mohegan Sun casino also hosts the station's studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNBL (FM)</span> Radio station in South Bristol, New York

WNBL is a commercial FM radio station licensed to South Bristol, New York, and serving the Rochester metropolitan area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs an 80's hits radio format, known as Big 107.3. WNBL is a Class A station, operating at 650 watts. WNBL's transmitter is in South Bristol, New York, near the Bristol Mountain Ski Resort. The studios and offices are on Chestnut Street in Rochester, at Five Star Bank Plaza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFUS</span> Radio station in Gulfport, Florida

WFUS is a commercial radio station licensed to Gulfport, Florida. It airs a country music format and is one of the eight stations in the Tampa Bay radio market owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It carries The Bobby Bones Show syndicated from Nashville in morning drive time. The studios are on Feather Sound Drive in Clearwater.

KIST-FM is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Carpinteria, California and broadcasts to the Santa Barbara radio market. The station is owned by Rincon Broadcasting and airs a regional Mexican music format. The KIST-FM studios and offices are on East Cota Street in Santa Barbara. The transmitter is off West Camino Cielo, near other FM and TV towers, in the hills north of Santa Barbara. KIST-FM also uses a 70-watt translator station, K274CJ in Santa Barbara.

KOLL is a radio station licensed in Lonoke, Arkansas, broadcasting to the Little Rock, Arkansas, area. KOLL airs Regional Mexican music format. The station's studios are located in West Little Rock, and the transmitter tower is located near Pettus.

WHUK is an Adult Hits formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Crozet, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County, Virginia. WHUK is owned and operated by Monticello Media.

KABZ is a commercial FM radio station in Little Rock, Arkansas. The station is owned by Signal Media and the broadcast license is held by Signal Media of Arkansas, Inc. KABZ airs a sports radio format, known as "103.7 The Buzz." The station's studios are located on Cottondale Lane, just west of downtown along the south shore of the Arkansas River. The transmitter is located on Shinall Mountain, near the Chenal Valley neighborhood of Little Rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KAFN</span> Radio station in Benton, Arkansas

KAFN is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Benton, Arkansas, the station mainly programs local content for Saline County, along with the southern portion of the Little Rock metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWEN</span> Radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma

KWEN is a commercial radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The station is owned by Cox Media Group and airs a country music radio format. The studios and offices are on Memorial Drive in Tulsa. The transmitter is on Route 97 in Sand Springs.

KQCJ is a commercial FM radio station, licensed to Cambridge, Illinois and serving the Quad Cities radio market. Known as "Planet 93.9" the station airs an alternative rock radio format. It is operated by Fletcher M. Ford, of Regional Media, a Virden Broadcasting Corporation. KQCJ's studios and offices are located in Davenport.

WINU is a commercial radio station licensed to Altamont and serving New York's Capital District. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and airs a classic country radio format.

References

  1. ↑ "106.7 the Ride Little Rock to Flip to Sports "Buz2"".
  2. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/KBZU-FM
  3. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1981 page C-14
  4. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1993 page B-22
  5. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1994 page B-22
  6. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2005 page D-57
  7. 1 2 "KHKN (106.1 [sic] The Wolf)/Little Rock Set for Tom FM Flip" Radio Online 22 February 2008, accessed 12 January 2009
  8. ↑ "Little Rock's gospel "Hallelujah" sells for $2 million". Radio-Info.com. April 12, 2011. Archived from the original on April 17, 2011.
  9. ↑ 106.7 The Ride to Move to Jockless Presentation
  10. ↑ 106.7 The Ride Little Rock to Flip to Sports "Buz2"
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.