KUPL

Last updated

KUPL
Broadcast area Portland metropolitan area
Frequency 98.7 MHz
Branding98-7 The Bull
Programming
Format Country
Affiliations Premiere Networks
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
June 6, 1948 (as KPOJ-FM)
Former call signs
  • KPOJ-FM (1948–1968)
  • KPOK-FM (1968–1973)
  • KUPL-FM (1973–2010)
Former frequencies
  • 98.7 MHz (1948–1964)
  • 98.5 MHz (1964–1997)
Call sign meaning
Couple; Portland
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 4114
Class C1
ERP 25,000 watts
HAAT 502 meters (1,647 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
45°30′58″N122°43′59″W / 45.51611°N 122.73306°W / 45.51611; -122.73306
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website www.987thebull.com OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

KUPL (98.7 FM) is a commercial radio station in Portland, Oregon. The station is owned by Connoisseur Media and airs a country music radio format, known as "98.7 The Bull".

Contents

KUPL's studios and offices are located in Downtown Portland on SW 5th Avenue. [2] The transmitter is in Portland's West Hills, on SW Barnes Road. [3]

History

KPOJ-FM/KPOK-FM

On June 6, 1948, the station signed on as KPOJ-FM at 98.7 MHz. [4] It was owned and operated by The Oregon Journal . [5] It was powered at 44,000 watts and mostly simulcast co-owned KPOJ (1330 AM), a network affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System and the Don Lee Network.

KPOJ-FM moved one spot lower on the FM dial, to 98.5 MHz, on March 27, 1964. On August 15, 1968, KPOJ-FM changed its call sign to KPOK-FM. It played oldies and called itself "The Golden Sound". On June 18, 1973, KPOK-FM changed its format from oldies to beautiful music as "98-FM". On July 11, 1973, the call letters switched to KUPL-FM while AM 1330 aired country music, also using the KUPL call sign. The beautiful music on 98.5 lasted more than a decade. [6]

Switch to country

In 1982, KUPL-AM-FM were acquired by Scripps Howard Broadcasting. [7] On March 16, 1984, after 10 years as an easy listening station, KUPL-FM dropped the format and joined its AM counterpart as a country music station. KUPL AM had also previously broadcast easy listening since the late 1970s. In 1981, KUPL AM became a "Music of Your Life" affiliate, continuing with an easy listening format until 1984. The moniker for KUPL-FM was "K98, Continuous Hit Country". Later the station would be known as "Couple 98" by pronouncing the call letters KUPL. [8]

In 1995, the AM station was sold for $2 million to Crawford Broadcasting, who switched it to a Christian radio format as KKPZ. [9] The following year, KUPL-FM changed hands again, to American Radio Systems. [10]

On September 4, 1997, KUPL-FM moved back from 98.5 MHz to 98.7 MHz, its original frequency. Over the course of the next decade the station would rebrand various times including 98.7 KUPL and New Country 98-7 KUPL. In 1998, KUPL-FM was acquired by CBS Radio. [11]

Sale to Alpha Media

In August 2009, CBS sold its Portland cluster to newly formed Alpha Media. [12] Radio vet Scott Mahalick was hired to program KUPL-FM. [13] On September 16, 2010, the "-FM" suffix was removed from the station's callsign.

In March 2011, the station began using the slogan "98-7 KUPL, #1 For The Most New Country". On January 10, 2013, at midnight, the station dropped the "98-7 KUPL" branding for "98-7 The Bull." [14] It only uses the actual callsign during legal station identifications.

Alpha Media merged with Connoisseur Media on September 4, 2025. [15]

See also

References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for KUPL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "Contact 98.7 The Bull". 987thebull.com. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  3. Radio-Locator.com/KUPL-FM
  4. Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 250
  5. "New FM Operation Open As KALE Changes to KPOJ" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 14, 1948. Retrieved December 18, 2014.
  6. "KUPL-FM ad, 1983". YouTube. January 13, 2024.
  7. Broadcasting Yearbook 1984 page B-233
  8. "98.7 KUPL Big Money Jukebox TV spot 2006". YouTube.
  9. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2005 page D-429
  10. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1998 page D-364
  11. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 page D-368
  12. CBS Radio Sells Portland Station Group to Alpha Broadcasting - Oregon Media Central (released August 7, 2009)
  13. CBS Radio Sells Portland Station Group to Alpha Broadcasting - Oregon Media Central (released August 7, 2009)
  14. "KUPL Portland Gets Bullish – RadioInsight".
  15. Venta, Lance (September 4, 2025). "Introducing The New Connoisseur Media". RadioInsight. Retrieved September 8, 2025.