KEGL

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Coordinates: 32°35′20″N 96°58′05″W / 32.589°N 96.968°W / 32.589; -96.968
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KEGL
FCC
Facility ID18114
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT508 meters (1,667 ft)
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Website971thefreak.iheart.com

KEGL (97.1

Farmers Branch
, although it has a Dallas address.

KEGL has an

subchannel carries the active rock
format formerly broadcast on the main signal.

History

Rock/Top 40 era

The station

signed on the air on June 7, 1959. In its early years, it used several call signs, beginning with KFJZ-FM, then KWXI, then back to KFJZ-FM. When it was KWXI, it used the moniker "Quicksie," borrowed from WQXI Atlanta
. As KFJZ-FM, it called itself "Z97, The Texas Music Star" and "Texas FM 97."

In 1981, it took the call letters KEGL. It was one of three

album rock stations in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex throughout most of the 1980s. Robert Jones, known on air as "Christopher Haze", became the program director of the station in August 1980, and changed the call letters and imaging of the station as "Eagle 97" on January 20, 1981. Within a short period of time, the station aired a hybrid Rock and Top 40 format known as "Rock 40." The original morning show was "The Rude Awakening Morning Show", consisting of Billy Hayes, Rose Wright and "The Rude Moose" (a character voiced by Hayes).[2]

Future

WBCN), Russ Martin
(who hosted a late Sunday night talk program), and Martha Martinez reported news during Stevens and Pruett's program.

David "

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as an on-air stunt.[3]
: 30-A 

Through most of the 1980s, the station was owned by Sandusky, a newspaper company. The studios were located in the

Fort Worth under the original KFJZ-FM and KWXI tenures, then at 5915 West Pioneer Parkway in Arlington
during the second incarnation of KFJZ.)

CHR/Rock era

Responding to

CHR, KEGL changed to a rock-leaning Top 40/CHR format on September 12, 1984, and altered its moniker Eagle 97 KEGL to All Hit 97.1 KEGL, The Eagle. KEGL's Program Director at the time was Joel Folger. In early 1986, KEGL began adding a minimum amount of mainstream pop titles. Later into the third part of the decade, the station also added a minimum amount of upbeat rhythmic titles in addition to the main rock material the station was known for. However, KEGL would shift back to a rock-lean in 1989, but would return to mainstream Top 40/CHR the following year in 1990; during this time, KEGL competed with KHYI
("Y95").

On June 15, 1992, KEGL Program Director Donna Fadal decided to make changes to the station. After being jockless for most of the summer (and stunting with weeks of Eagles songs), KEGL changed to active rock, while retaining the "Eagle" branding. KEGL also hired former Z Rock jock Madd Maxx Hammer for afternoons.[4]: 35-A [5]

The first active rock era

KEGL was a Howard Stern affiliate from September 8, 1992, to July 26, 1997. This ended when he criticized the new ownership, Nationwide, an insurance company, on the air. In August 1997, Russ Martin took over the morning show. Within six months, "The Russ Martin Show" had returned the morning program to its No. 1 ranking in the Adults 25–54 and Men 25–54 demographics. In late 1999, Jacor, which had bought the Nationwide Communications chain of stations in mid-1997, was bought by iHeartMedia (then known as Clear Channel Communications). Martin quit KEGL on March 15, 2000, after co-host Rich Berra had been hired and Martin did not like him. In addition, Martin had been offered to host mornings on Infinity Broadcasting's KLLI.

Another controversial show that aired on KEGL was Kramer and Twitch (hosted by Keith Kramer and Tony "Twitch" Longo) in evenings, who had started on KEGL's sister station KDMX, but were moved to the rock formatted KEGL because they were more suited for that genre. In 2001, a prank was aired on the show stating that Britney Spears was dead in an accident, to the horror of her fans. The phony report, which made it around the world in less than 24 hours (being reported on Australian news reports), also falsely stated that her then-boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, was critically injured in the wreck. Trouble followed, including hundreds of calls to local law enforcement agencies,[6] and Kramer and Twitch were fired from KEGL. Both would go their separate ways as they ventured into other markets.

97.1 The Eagle logo used from 2000 to 2004

One week later, some motorists in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex were outraged over a billboard promoting the station that was entitled "Highway to Hell", a reference to the AC/DC song of the same name. The billboard, which was erected on a major Dallas thoroughfare, featured Satan giving a lethal injection to Oklahoma City bombing suspect Timothy McVeigh, who was executed just days before the billboard went up.[7]

At one point during this time period, a DJ allegedly fed a rabbit to a snake on the air.[8]: 4 

As Sunny and La Preciosa (2004–2007)

A decision was made to eliminate the rock format on KEGL as Clear Channel also owned similarly formatted

Classic Country
station.) Mornings were hosted by former rock-formatted jock "Fast" Eddie Coyle; he was later teamed with Anna Deharo. Other jocks included Stacey James, Jeff Thomas, Dave Mason, and Steve Knoll.

On August 25, 2005, KEGL became "La Preciosa", a Spanish-language oldies format.[11] "Sunny" morning show co-host Anna Deharo was held over for the new format. With several other Spanish stations in the market, "La Preciosa" did not live up to expectations.

The Eagle returns

"La Preciosa" dropped its Spanish format and began stunting with a commercial-free Christmas music format at midnight on December 1, 2007.[12] Clear Channel announced that KEGL would return to an English-language format after the holiday season, but kept the new format secret to keep listeners guessing. At 10 a.m. on December 18, 2007, "The Eagle" was relaunched, with the first song on the revived format being "Flying High Again" by Ozzy Osbourne.[13][14] On January 7 and 8, 2008, KEGL simulcasted The Lex and Terry Show from KDGE. On January 9, The Lex and Terry Show moved its flagship station from "The Edge" to KEGL. Former mid-day host Chris Ryan was brought on as afternoon drive host and program director. Former KEGL jock Cindy Scull was rehired in 2008 to host a live weekend shift.

KEGL lost a competitor when Cumulus Media's KDBN (now WBAP-FM) flipped to adult album alternative on April 27, 2009. In response to the flip of KDBN, KEGL adjusted its format to mainstream rock, with a heavy emphasis on rock music from its 1980s heyday.

On January 8, 2010, KEGL briefly changed its name to "97.1 The Bird", replacing the Eagle name as a stunt. The change was made just before the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Wild Card playoffs, and the station did not want to be associated with the Eagles name. The station reverted to "97.1 The Eagle" the next day.

On January 20, 2010, station management announced that morning show hosts

Lex & Terry would be replaced beginning January 21. Cindy Scull, who had held the evening shift on the station, was moved to mornings "on an interim basis" while the morning show underwent retooling that would "involve playing more music".[15] The station also added Saturday morning programming with John Clay Wolfe
at this time.

On July 1, 2010, KEGL announced the return of The Russ Martin Show. The show began airing on July 12, 2010, in the 6 am – 10 a.m. time slot.[16] On September 26, 2011, KEGL rearranged the lineup to move The Russ Martin Show to the afternoon shift, while mid-day host Cindy Scull moved to mornings. Chris Ryan, the previous afternoon shift host, moved to middays.[17]

On May 7, 2012, KEGL moved Sixx Sense with Nikki Sixx from evenings to mornings, while the previous morning show hosted by Cindy Scull moved to evenings. The rest of the KEGL lineup remained unchanged.[18] On May 6, 2013, the station's lineup reverted to its previous lineup from mornings to evenings, with Cindy Scull returning to mornings, Russ Martin on afternoon drive time, and Sixx Sense back to evenings.

On November 17, 2016, after sister station

mainstream AC, KEGL began incorporating more alternative artists into its playlist normally not played on active rock stations. They included Imagine Dragons and Twenty One Pilots.[19] As a result, this left KEGL as the lone mainstream rock station in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market, until the alternative format returned to the market a year later when KVIL flipped to an alternative format.[20]

On August 23, 2021, multiple reports indicated that KEGL would become the new flagship station of the

KESN for 20 years.[21]

Hot Talk and Sports as The Freak

On September 25, 2022, it was reported that KEGL would soon drop the "Eagle" branding and rock format and relaunch as a hybrid

hot talk and sports station as "97.1 The Freak". The Dallas Mavericks play-by-play and afternoon hosts Ben and Skin would remain with the station. The remainder of the new format's lineup would feature hosts formerly employed by the market's existing sports stations, including Mike Rhyner (he would come out of retirement to join the station after abruptly retiring from KTCK, having been one of the founding hosts of their format, in January 2020; the branding of the format is based on his longtime on-air nickname), as well as fellow former KTCK hosts Julie Dobbs and Jeff Cavanaugh, formerly of KRLD-FM.[22]

Ahead of the move, "Eagle" late afternoon hosts Dan O'Malley and Alfie Coy (and, by extension, their show "The Treehouse"), as well as Dallas Region President Kelly Kibler, were let go, and KEGL/KZPS Program Director Don Davis had resigned earlier in the month. The change also comes due to the station's poor rating performance, with KEGL being ranked 28th in the Dallas-Fort Worth market with a 1.3 share in the August 2022 PPM rating report.[23]

On September 30, at 2 pm, midday host Alan Ayo signed off the music portion of the "Eagle" format, with the final songs played being "

Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers on October 3.[22]

The shift to "The Freak" took place on October 3 at 3 pm. Weekday local hosts include Jeff Cavanaugh, Kevin 'KT' Turner, Julie Dobbs, Matt Cather, Ben Rogers, Jeff "Skin", Krystina "K-Ray" Ray, Mike Rhyner, Mike Sirois and Michael 'Grubes' Gruber. Later, the station added another KTCK personality, Danny "Dingu" Balis. Other programs and hosts include "The News Junkie" (from

Orlando sister station WTKS), "Mansplaining" with Pugs Moran and Dr. Robert Schwartz, Debbie Sexxton, and SportsMap Network programming.[22][24] The station would add broadcasts North Texas Mean Green football starting in the 2023 season.[25]

Play-by-play

HD Radio

KEGL-HD2

The station's HD2 subchannel (

soft adult contemporary
format formerly on KEGL's HD3 spot. In May 2022, KEGL-HD2's signal was silenced with no programming replacement.

On September 30, 2022, KEGL's HD2 was reactivated to carry a continuation of the station's former active rock format as "97.1 HD2 the Eagle".

KEGL-HD3

Sometime in late 2018, KEGL launched an HD3 subchannel, carrying iHeartRadio's "The Breeze" format of soft adult contemporary music. "The Breeze" later moved to KEGL's HD2 subchannel, leaving KEGL-HD3 with no programming replacement.

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KEGL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Kenny, Steve (September 1981). "Broadcast Battleground". D Magazine. Dallas, TX. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  3. ISSN 1553-846X
    . Ralph E. Humphries, who identified himself to airport security as a radio personiliaty for KEGL-FM (97.1) was taken into custody about 9 a.m. He was carrying a leather breifcase with a toy gun, knife and hand grenades inside, said airport spokesman Joe Dealey Jr.
  4. ISSN 1553-846X
    . By noon, most of the on-air staff, including the popular "Fast Eddie" Coyle and longtime morning man Dave "Kidd" Kraddick had been fired. Then, KEGL shifted to automatic pilot, repeating the Eagles' Hotel California throughout as an attention grabber.
  5. Dallas Morning News
    . June 21, 1992.
  6. ^ "Britney death hoax fools fans". BBC News. June 14, 2001. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  7. OCLC 1117842729. Archived from the original
    on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  8. OCLC 855784829
    .
  9. OCLC 815648421. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022 – via World Radio History.
  10. ^ 97.1 The Eagle KEGL Becomes Sunny 97.1 (Audio). 18 May 2004. Archived from the original on 7 November 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022 – via Format Change Archive.
  11. Dallas Morning News
    . August 27, 2005.
  12. ^ KEGL 97.1 FM Flipping away from La Preciosa (Audio) (in Mexican Spanish and American English). 1 December 2007. Retrieved 14 March 2022 – via YouTube.
  13. Dallas Morning News
    . December 19, 2007.
  14. ^ 97.1 The Eagle Returns (Audio). 18 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2022 – via Format Change Archive.
  15. OCLC 7095491. Archived
    from the original on May 16, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  16. ^ "The Russ Martin Show". KEGL-FM. 10 June 2011. Archived from the original on 13 June 2011. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  17. ^ "KEGL Morning Man Russ Martin Moving To Afternoons, Lineup Schuffled". All Access Music Group. 22 September 2011. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  18. ^ "KEGL Moves Sixx Sense With Nikki Sixx To Mornings". All Access Music Group. 2 May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  19. ^ Venta, Lance (17 November 2016). "KDGE Dallas Drops Alternative After 27 Years; Flips To AC Star 102.1". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  20. ^ Venta, Lance (17 November 2017). "And Now Entercom Launches Alt 103.7 Dallas". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  21. ^ Venta, Lance (24 September 2021). "Dallas Mavericks Make Move To KEGL Official". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 14 March 2022.
  22. ^ a b c "iHeartMedia Dallas Launches 97.1 The Freak". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
  23. ^ "KEGL/KZPS PD Don Davis Resigns & Treehouse Comes Undone - RadioInsight".
  24. ^ "One of Dallas' last rock stations KEGL The Eagle flips to sports talk radio". CultureMap Dallas. Retrieved October 3, 2022.
  25. ^ "UNT Football Joins The Freak - RadioInsight". June 14, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  26. ^ Listen live (via TuneIn)
  27. ^ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=10 Archived November 23, 2015, at the Wayback Machine HD Radio Guide for Dallas-Ft. Worth

External links

32°35′20″N 96°58′05″W / 32.589°N 96.968°W / 32.589; -96.968

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