KGHM (AM)

Last updated
KGHM
KGHM 1340TheGame logo.png
Broadcast area Oklahoma City Metroplex
Frequency 1340 kHz
Branding1340 The Game
Programming
Format Sports
Affiliations Fox Sports Radio
Oklahoma City Dodgers
Ownership
Owner
KJYO, KOKQ, KTOK, KTST, KXXY-FM
History
First air date
 1922 (as KGCB)
Former call signs
KGCB (1922-1930s)
KOCY (1930s-1983)
KXXY (1983–1984)
KCNN (1984–1985)
KXXY (1985–1996)
KEBC (1996–2010)
Technical information
Facility ID 58388
Class C
Power 1,000 watts
Links
Webcast Listen Live
Website 1340thegame.iheart.com

KGHM (1340 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Midwest City, Oklahoma, and serving the Oklahoma City Metroplex. It is among a cluster of stations in the market owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KGHM carries the syndicated Fox Sports Radio Network and also airs local high school and college sports.

Contents

KGHM's transmitter is located blocks from the Oklahoma State Capitol. It broadcasts at 1,000 watts around the clock using a non-directional antenna. The studios and offices were located in the 50 Penn Place building on the Northwest side, in early 2022 iHeartMedia Oklahoma City moved KGHM along with sister stations KTOK, KJYO, KTST, KREF-FM, KXXY-FM to new state of the art studios located at 6525 N Meridian Ave further up the road on the Northwest side just a few miles west from their former studio home in the 50 Penn Place building.

History

KGCB/KOCY

The station first signed on the air in 1922, making it among the first radio stations in Oklahoma City. [1] It started as KGCB, a church-owned station. It was purchased in the late 1930s by Matthew Bonebrake - a former OPUBCO and WKY radio sales manager - who changed the call letters to KOCY.

KOCY was a Mutual Broadcasting System network affiliate during the 1940s and early 1950s. It became Oklahoma City's first full-time Top 40 station in the mid-1950s. It was also the first radio station in the country to offer "News Every Hour - On the Hour".

After WKY and KOMA also switched to Top 40, with more powerful transmitters, KOCY management realized the station couldn't compete with the two new Top 40 outlets. KOCY had a "funeral" for its Top 40 format, by giving away records in a coffin. It then switched to a middle of the road (MOR) format of popular adult music.

Urban music

In the mid-1990s, KEBC aired an Urban Contemporary format in the evenings and overnights as "The Groove 1340".

In 2000, Clear Channel Communications went into an agreement with Perry Broadcasting to broadcast KVSP and its Urban format on KEBC from 7 p.m.-7 a.m. as "The Power Jammin' Network" after KVSP signed off at sunset. Between 7 a.m.-7 p.m., KGHM aired Regional Mexican programming directed at Oklahoma City's Mexican-American community.

The agreement between Clear Channel and Perry Broadcasting discontinued when Perry purchased KRPT in Anadarko, Oklahoma and upgraded the station to target Oklahoma City, then moved KVSP's Urban format to the FM dial. The Regional Mexican format was ended as the station switched to a Talk radio format.

"Keeping Everybody Country"

KEBC's call letters were previously used for KEBC, later a property also owned by Clear Channel. The station's slogan, "Keeping Everybody Country." Ironically, KEBC's competitor at the time, KXXY-FM, simulcast their FM signal at 1340 AM.

The call letters KEBC stood for Electronic Broadcasting Company which was the original ownership of KEBC. KEBC originally had its offices and transmitter at the "Rambling Ranchstyle studios" in Southeast OKC before moving to 31st and Western to studio space owned by Ralph Tyler.

Mounting debt to Tyler for rent and other financial obligation created a situation where Tyler became controlling owner of KEBC radio. After Ralph Tyler's controlling ownership of KEBC, the slogan "Keep Everybody Country" was formed on a suggestion from a friend of Ralph's.

Sports radio

As a time brokered Spanish (days) and Urban (nights) station in the early to mid 2000s, starting in early 2005, KGHM simulcast some programming of sister station KTOK along with some original shows. In January 2007, Clear Channel flipped the station to "Fox Sports Radio 1340." It later became "1340 The Game," making it the fourth all-sports station in Oklahoma City.

Former Dallas Cowboys and (Oklahoma RedHawks 2003 season only under KEBC.) play-by-play broadcaster David Garrett was KGHM's sports director. Garrett had worked as sports director for co-owned KTOK (and WKY, under lease management to Clear Channel) in the late 1980s. Garrett also hosted an afternoon sports talk show on KGHM from January 2007 to early 2008 and returned to hosting in late spring/early summer of 2008. Garrett was also did play-by-play for some on the Oklahoma City High School Football games that aired on KGHM as well. In the Spring 2013, the KGHM and KTOK's sports director job went to Randy Renner, a former long time field News reporter for Oklahoma City CBS affiliate KWTV-TV.

In mid-March 2003, following the sale of the Blazers primary radio home and then sister station WKY to Citadel Broadcasting, it was announced that then KEBC would carry the Oklahoma City Blazers hockey games for the remainder of the 2002-2003 Central Hockey League season and playoffs, KEBC also aired the Blazers radio talk show "Strictly Hockey Blazers Style", a one hour weekly talk show that aired live every Monday night throughout the Blazers season and playoffs from the location of an Oklahoma City area restaurant. It featured interviews with players, coach's, trainers and team staff, it was hosted by longtime Blazers play-by-play broadcaster John Brooks (1992–2005, 2005-2009 semi retired.) and was later co-hosted along with Brooks by longtime fill-in (And later full-time.) play-by-play broadcaster Jim Byers (2000-2005 fill-in, 2005-2009 full-time).

KEBC carried the Blazers again for the 2003–2004 season. In 2006 following a two-year absence, the Blazers returned to 1340 AM along with the Oklahoma City RedHawks baseball team after WKY (under Citadel Broadcasting ownership) flipped from News/Talk to Spanish. The Blazers stayed on 1340 AM until the team folded in July 2009 after 17 seasons. Whenever there were scheduling or programming conflicts with the primary radio home of the Barons (KXXY), KGHM carried selected games of the Oklahoma City Barons Hockey team from 2010-2011 thru the 2014–2015 seasons, when the team was disbanded. KOCY was also the station that carried the games of the original Oklahoma City Blazers hockey franchise in the original Central Hockey League from the late 1960s and through the late 1970s.

For a time, local sports talk shows were simulcast with KREF, also a Fox Sports Radio affiliate, in Norman. For several years, KGHM also carried University of Central Oklahoma Broncos Football and Men's and Women's Basketball games. Along with sister station KXXY, KGHM also airs select Oklahoma State University Cowboys football games with local Oklahoma high school football games on Friday and Saturday nights. Some Oklahoma high school basketball games are also aired.

Friday Night Finals, a weekly two hour show of statewide high school football scores and highlights, aired on Friday nights. Game Day Saturday, a look at college football games, specifically University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State football was on the weekend schedule.

Since 2003, and again from 2006-present, KGHM has carried the games of the Oklahoma City Dodgers Triple-A West Minor League baseball team affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, while some select games (Those conflicting with college football also broadcast on KGHM (AM) 1340 The Game.) are broadcast on FM sister station KREF-FM 94.7 the REF. Starting with the 2015 Major League Baseball season, the station (along with sister station KTOK) began carrying some games as part of the Los Angeles Dodgers radio network. In late 2018, KGHM's affiliation with the Los Angeles Dodgers radio network expired and was not renewed, ending sixteen years of professional baseball airing on both stations.

From 2008-2016, KGHM also carried games as part of the National Football League Dallas Cowboys radio network.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oklahoma City Baseball Club</span> Minor League Baseball team

The Oklahoma City Baseball Club is a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They are located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and play their home games at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark, which opened in 1998 in the city's Bricktown district.

As of 2011, the Oklahoma City metropolitan area is the 44th-largest media market in the United States, as ranked by Nielsen Media Research, with 712,630 television households and 1.2 million people aged 12+. The following is a summary of broadcast and print media in Oklahoma City:

WKY is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, owned by Cumulus Media. It is the oldest radio station in Oklahoma and among the oldest in the nation. WKY airs a sports format which is simulcast with its sister station WWLS-FM. The studios and offices are in northwest Oklahoma City.

KOKC is a commercial AM radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is locally owned by the Tyler Media Group and airs a talk radio format. The studios and offices are located on East Britton Road in Northeast Oklahoma City. It is central Oklahoma's primary entry point station for the Emergency Alert System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KOMA (FM)</span> Radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

KOMA is a classic hits formatted FM radio station serving the Oklahoma City area owned by Tyler Media, a locally-based, family-owned company controlled by brothers Ty and Tony Tyler. The station's studios are located in Northeast Oklahoma City with a transmitter site located a mile east from the studio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTOK</span> Radio station in Oklahoma City

KTOK is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City and airs a news/talk format. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., and licensed as iHM Licenses, LLC. KTOK and its sister stations, KGHM, KJYO, KOKQ, KTST and KXXY-FM, have offices and state of the art studios at 6525 North Meridian Avenue on the Northwest side of Oklahoma City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KJYO</span> Contemporary hit radio station in Oklahoma City

KJYO, known as "KJ103", is a top 40 (CHR) radio station serving the Oklahoma City area owned by iHeartMedia. Its transmitter is in Northeast Oklahoma City, and studios were located in the 50 Penn Place building on the Northwest side, in early 2022 iHeartMedia Oklahoma City moved KJYO along with sister stations KGHM, KTOK, KTST, KXXY-FM, KREF-FM, to new state of the art studios located at 6525 N Meridian Ave further up the road on the Northwest side just a few miles west from their former studio home in the 50 Penn Place building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRXO-FM</span> Radio station in Oklahoma City

KRXO-FM is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. It is owned by Ty and Tony Tyler's Tyler Media, L.L.C., and it carries a sports radio format. The studios are on East Britton Road the northeast side of Oklahoma City. KRXO-FM is one of two Tyler Media stations in Oklahoma City that air a sports format, the other being KEBC. KRXO-FM has mostly Oklahoma-based sports shows with VSiN programming heard late nights and weekends.

KXXY-FM is a commercial radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It airs a classic country radio format. In its logo, the station omits one of the two Xs in its call sign, calling itself "KXY".

KTST is a country music station serving the Oklahoma City area and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its transmitter is located in Northeast Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and the studios and offices were located in the 50 Penn Place building on the Northwest side, in early 2022 iHeartMedia Oklahoma City moved KTST-FM along with sister stations KGHM, KTOK, KJYO, KXXY-FM, KREF-FM, to new state of the art studios located at 6525 N Meridian Ave further up the road on the Northwest side just a few miles west from their former studio home in the 50 Penn Place building.

KVSP is a mainstream urban radio station serving Central Oklahoma, Licensed to Anadarko and owned by the locally based Perry Broadcasting. Its studios are located at Perry Plaza II in the Eastside district of Oklahoma City and its transmitter is located in Alfalfa, Oklahoma. The tower the transmitter antenna is located on is the tallest structure in the state of Oklahoma, although Oklahoma City itself is in the "distant" area of the coverage area, according to Radio-Locator.com.. This is due to the 103.5 frequency being one space away from the 103.7 frequency in Okemah, making it difficult to properly cover the market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSSP</span> Sports radio station in Milwaukee

WSSP is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owned by Audacy, Inc. It airs a sports radio format known as "1250 AM The Fan." Most of its programs are from CBS Sports Radio and the BetQL Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWLS-FM</span> Radio station in The Village, Oklahoma

WWLS-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to The Village, Oklahoma, and serving the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a sports radio format, calling itself "The Sports Animal." Local hosts are heard weekday mornings, afternoons and evenings, as well as weekends. WWLS-FM is the flagship station for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the National Basketball Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KWPN (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Oklahoma City

KWPN is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Moore, Oklahoma, and serving the Oklahoma City metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a sports format. While Cumulus owns three sports stations in Oklahoma City, WWLS-FM and WKY have mostly local shows on weekdays, while KWPN carries mostly syndicated programming from ESPN Radio. The studios and offices are on NW 64th Street in Northwest Oklahoma City.

KEBC is a commercial radio station licensed to Del City, Oklahoma, and serving the Oklahoma City Metroplex. It is owned by the Tyler Media Group and airs a sports format. The station's studios are on East Britton Road in Northeast Oklahoma City. Tyler Media owns two sports stations in Oklahoma City. Most programming on KEBC comes from the Vegas Stats & Information Network, while 107.7 KRXO-FM has mostly Oklahoma-based sports shows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRMP</span> Radio station in Oklahoma City

KRMP is an urban adult contemporary radio station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The station is owned by The Perry Broadcasting Company. The station's studios are located at Perry Plaza II in the Eastside district of Northeast Oklahoma City, and the transmitter site is in the southeast side of the city. KRMP broadcasts by day at 1,000 watts using a non-directional antenna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBGN (AM)</span> Oldies AM music station in Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S.

WBGN is an oldies formatted radio station licensed to Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. The station is currently owned by Forever Communications, Inc. as part of a conglomerate with Glasgow–licensed country music station WLYE-FM, Auburn–licensed country station WBVR-FM, and Smiths Grove–licensed Top 40/CHR station WUHU. All four stations share studios on Scottsville Road in southern Bowling Green, and its transmitter is located off Church Avenue in the northern part of the city.

KOKQ is a commercial radio station located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. KOKQ airs a classic rock format branded as "Q94.7". Owned by iHeartMedia, its transmitter is located in Northeast Oklahoma City, and studios were located in the 50 Penn Place building on the Northwest side until, in early 2022, iHeartMedia Oklahoma City moved KOKQ along with sister stations KGHM, KJYO, KTOK, KTST, KXXY-FM to new state of the art studios located at 6525 N Meridian Ave further up the road on the Northwest side just a few miles west from their former studio home in the 50 Penn Place building.

KOCY-LD is a low-power television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with the Spanish-language Estrella TV network. It is owned by locally based Tyler Media Group alongside Woodward-licensed Univision affiliate KUOK and Shawnee-licensed Telemundo affiliate KTUZ-TV. The three stations share studios near Southeast 51st Street and Shields Boulevard in southern Oklahoma City, where KOCY-LD's transmitter is also located.

Dave Garrett is a former American sportscaster. He was the play-by-play announcer for the New Orleans Saints, Dallas Cowboys, and Westwood One radio coverage of the National Football League through 2001.

References

35°29′58″N97°30′33″W / 35.49944°N 97.50917°W / 35.49944; -97.50917

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.