KBEB

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KBEB
iHeartMedia, Inc.
  • (iHM Licenses, LLC)
  • History
    First air date
    February 1947 (1947-02) (as KFBK-FM at 96.9 FM)
    Former call signs
    • KFBK-FM (1947–1978)
    • KAER (1978–1991)
    • KGBY (1991–2011)
    • KFBK-FM (2011–2014)
    • KHLX (2014)
    Former frequencies
    96.9 MHz (1947–1958)
    Technical information
    Facility ID10146
    ClassB
    ERP50,000 watts
    HAAT137 meters (449 ft)
    Transmitter coordinates
    38°42′26″N 121°28′33″W / 38.70722°N 121.47583°W / 38.70722; -121.47583
    Links
    WebcastListen Live
    Website925thebreeze.iheart.com

    KBEB (92.5

    Arden Fair Mall
    .

    KBEB has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts. The transmitter is off West Delano Street in Elverta.[1] KBEB broadcasts using HD Radio technology. The HD2 digital subchannel is a simulcast of sister stations KFBK-AM-FM's news/talk format.

    History

    AM simulcast: 1947-196?

    In February 1947; 77 years ago (1947-02), the station

    McClatchy Newspapers, parent company of The Sacramento Bee.[2] On January 9, 1958, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted KFBK-FM's request to move the station to 92.5 MHz.[3] For its first two decades, it largely simulcast co-owned KFBK
    .

    Classical: 196?-1978

    In the 1960s, it began playing classical music for some hours, and eventually went all-classical.

    Beautiful music: 1978-1991

    In October 1978, KFBK-FM changed its call sign to KAER.[4] It switched to a beautiful music format, playing quarter hour sweeps of soft, instrumental cover versions of popular songs.[5]

    On July 24, 1987, McClatchy Newspapers sold KAER and KFBK to Group W Inc. for $19,001,000. The transaction closed in September.[6][7] KAER began adding more vocals to the easy listening format in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic; eventually, the instrumentals would be dropped.

    Adult contemporary: 1991–2011

    On February 26, 1991, the station began broadcasting an

    Clear Channel Communications after AMFM and Clear Channel merged. In 2000, the station briefly added a heavy number of country-based current hits, including songs by Billy Gilman, Lee Ann Womack, Lonestar, and Billy Joel. In 2001, the station re-branded itself as "Y-92.5, Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites" (resurrecting the slogan used by Group W in 1988 after dumping the KAER call letters). The station began using the "Best Mix in Denver" jingle package created for KIMN by JAM Creative Productions, including the "Y-92.5 KGBY, Sacramento" top-of-the-hour station identification
    .

    In 2002 and 2003, the weekday lineup included Paul Robbins and Phil Cowan (KGBY's morning show host since the 1980s), Mary Ellen Murphy (voice-tracked from a Clear Channel station in Grand Rapids, Michigan), and Dana Hess. Evening programming varied, including a local love songs show in early 2003 and a brief stint using John Tesh's syndicated show later that same year. On November 14, 2003, Y92.5 surprised listeners by switching to an all-Christmas music format.[10] For the next six weeks, KGBY featured to a catalog of over 300 Christmas songs ranging from staples such as Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (both songs were played once every four hours, on the hour) to unusual tracks such as "Light of the Stable" by Emmylou Harris. The station repeated the seasonal change in 2004 and 2005; in 2006, the all-Christmas format was reduced to four weeks.

    In 2004, KGBY began making several major changes. In January, the voice-tracked Murphy was dismissed in favor of local voice Lori Sacco. The station experimented with a 92-minute commercial-free block of music weekdays at 8:30 a.m.; this was in response to

    Jingles
    were also shortened to "Y-92.5 FM" from the original version, "Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites, Y-92.5 FM".

    In 2005, KGBY experimented with "Extra Wide Variety" weekends, adding hundreds of unusual songs to its playlist from Friday at 3 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m.; this was a response to the variety rock phenomenon exemplified by Jack FM. Also that year, Phil Cowan exited the station, with Paul & Phil in the Morning rebranded simply as Paul Robbins in the Morning. Accompanying this change was a new jingle package, ditching "Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites" in favor of their new slogan, "Sacramento's Best Music Mix, Y-92.5 FM". Further changes would come in early 2007, when afternoon host Dana Hess was dismissed in a cost-cutting move[11] and the station returned to its earlier practice of voice-tracking, replacing him with an automated Lyman James. James went on to host a live midday show on KRBB (B98 FM) in Wichita, Kansas while holding the position of Operations Manager for iHeartMedia (as Clear Channel was renamed in September 2014).[12]

    Through all the changes at KGBY, the station's playlist emphasized many upbeat songs, including "

    hot adult contemporary (hot AC) product.[13] The Y92 morning show ended after twenty years on the air.[14]

    News/talk: 2011–2014

    On December 1, 2011 at midnight, after playing "

    the following week.

    After two years with news/talk, Clear Channel decided to switch the frequencies of KFBK-FM and KHLX (93.1 FM) on December 26, 2013. KHLX, which previously had a classic hits format, moved to 92.5 FM while the KFBK-FM call sign and format shifted to 93.1 FM. KHLX simulcast KFBK-AM-FM on a temporary basis as Clear Channel prepared to launch a new format at 92.5 FM.[16][17]

    Country: 2014-2018

    On January 10, 2014 at 5 p.m., KHLX split from its simulcast with KFBK-FM and changed its format to country, known as "B92-5". The first song on B92-5 was "The Only Way I Know" by Jason Aldean.[18] Soon after, KHLX changed its callsign to KBEB to match its "B" branding.[17]

    On December 30, 2016, KBEB rebranded as "92.5 The Bull"; the station otherwise made no changes. The Bull launched with 92.5 hours of music commercial-free.[19]

    Adult contemporary: 2018-present

    On November 8, 2018,

    soft adult contemporary as "92.5 The Breeze" on November 12. The "Bull" format moved to K296GB on the same date, and the signals were simulcast briefly as a means of transition between formats, akin to that of the KFBK simulcast five years prior. "The Breeze" launched on November 12 at 3 p.m.[20]

    HD Radio

    KBEB broadcasts a digital HD Radio signal featuring two subchannels:

    • KBEB-HD1 is a digital simulcast of the analog signal of KBEB.
    • KBEB-HD2 broadcasts news/talk programming as a simulcast of sister station KFBK-FM (93.1 FM).

    Originally, starting in 2006, KGBY-HD2 broadcast an all-1980s music format. The following year, the station began airing the LGBT-targeted Pride Radio channel, using music from iHeartMedia's Premium Choice service.[21] Later, the subchannel switched to the Country Premium Choice service, airing that format until January 2014 when KHLX-HD2 flipped to a simulcast of news/talk-formatted KFBK-FM (93.1 FM).

    In popular culture

    In the

    Three Stooges' 1945 short feature Micro-Phonies, KGBY was the call sign
    for the fictional radio station featured.

    Images

    • KGBY studio sign.
      KGBY studio sign.
    • Paul Robbins prepares to break the banner at the start of his 92.5 miles charity run on March 29, 2007.
      Paul Robbins prepares to break the banner at the start of his 92.5 miles charity run on March 29, 2007.

    References

    1. ^ Radio-Locator.com/KBEB
    2. ^ "Directory of FM Broadcasting Stations of the United States" (PDF). Broadcasting/Telecasting 1948 Yearbook Number. Broadcasting Publications Inc. 1948. p. 288. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    3. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. January 20, 1958. p. 118. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    4. ^ "Errata" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. November 20, 1978. p. 15. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    5. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1981 page C-28, Broadcasting & Cable
    6. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. August 10, 1987. p. 71. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    7. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. October 5, 1987. p. 71. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    8. ^ "Y92 pins hope on adult contemporary; KAER changes name to shed old image", The Sacramento Bee, February 26, 1991.
    9. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. Broadcasting Publications Inc. March 18, 1991. p. 66. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    10. ^ McCabe, Kevin (December 5, 2003). "Radio Gets In The Spirit" (PDF). Radio & Records. pp. 1, 24. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    11. ^ "Dana Hess Exits KGBY". All Access. All Access Music Group. January 2, 2007. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    12. ^ "B98fm :: best VARIETY of yesterday and today".
    13. ^ Venta, Lance (December 28, 2007). "2007 Holiday Format Change Rundown". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    14. ^ "Paul Robins Talks To RadioMatthew.com". RadioMatthew.com.
    15. ^ "KFBK/Sacramento To Get FM Simulcast With Flip Of My925". All Access. All Access Music Group. November 30, 2011. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    16. ^ "KHLX Joins KFBK Simulcast". All Access. All Access Music Group. December 26, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    17. ^ a b Venta, Lance (January 10, 2014). "B92.5 Launches In Sacramento Following KFBK-FM Move To 93.1". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks.
    18. ^ "B92.5 Sacramento Debuts". Format Change Archive. RadioBB Networks. 10 January 2014. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    19. ^ Venta, Lance (December 30, 2016). "B92.5 Sacramento Relaunches as The Bull". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
    20. ^ Venta, Lance (2018-11-08). "iHeartMedia To Launch Soft AC 92.5 The Breeze Sacramento". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved 2018-11-08.
    21. ^ "My 92.5 Launching Pride Radio, Drops 1980s Music on HD".

    External links

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