KFBK (AM)
kHz | |
Branding | News 93.1 KFBK |
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Programming | |
Format | News–talk |
Affiliations | |
Ownership | |
Owner |
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History | |
First air date | September 17, 1922 |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 10145 |
Class | A |
Power | 50,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 38°50′54.00″N 121°28′58.00″W / 38.8483333°N 121.4827778°W |
Repeater(s) |
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Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | kfbk |
KFBK (1530
KFBK 1530 is a
Programming
iHeart owns three talk stations in the
Weekends feature shows on money, health, the outdoors, guns, car repair and travel, some of which are paid brokered programming. Some weekday shows are repeated on weekends. ABC News Radio begins most hours nights and weekends.
History
Earlier activities
According to official government records, KFBK's first license was granted in August 1922.[5] However, the station has in some cases included as part of its history an earlier Sacramento station, KVQ, which began broadcasting in February 1922.[6]
KVQ received its initial license, as Sacramento's first broadcasting station, on December 9, 1921, issued to J. C. Hobrecht.
Early history
KFBK was first licensed, as the city's second broadcasting station, on August 16, 1922, to the Kimball-Upson Company,[16] and initially was operated in conjunction with the Bee's primary competitor, the Sacramento Union. The call letters were sequentially assigned from an alphabetic list maintained by the Department of Commerce, which regulated radio in the United States at this time. KFBK began test transmissions in early September,[17] and made its formal debut broadcast on September 17, 1922.[18]
Initially there was only a single wavelength, 360 meters (833 kHz), available for radio station "entertainment" broadcasts,[19] which required stations in various regions to develop timesharing agreements assigning operating hours. As of November 1, 1922, there were seven "Inland Stations" sharing time on 360 meters, with KFBK allocated 6:00 to 6:30 P.M. daily except Sunday, plus 8:00 to 9:00 P.M. Thursdays and 8:00 to 10:00 P.M. Sundays.[20]
In May 1923 the Department of Commerce greatly expanded the number of broadcasting station frequencies,[21] and later that year KFBK was assigned unlimited use of 1060 kHz.[22] A series of reassignments followed, until November 11, 1928, when, under the provisions of Commerce's General Order 40, the station was assigned to a low-powered "Local" frequency, 1310 kHz.[23]
As was true with most stations in the early 1920s, KFBK was initially operated without advertising, and was primarily used for publicity purposes. The Sacramento Union eventually ended its close association with the station. In 1925 the Sacramento Bee saw this as an opportunity to re-enter the broadcasting field which it had left nearly three years earlier when it had shut down KVQ, but now on a commercial basis. Effective September 1, 1925, the
In early 1929, ownership of KFBK was transferred from Kimball-Upson to the James McClatchy Company.[26] McClatchy later acquired additional radio stations in the region, including KBEE in Modesto and KMJ in Fresno. From 1964 to 1978, KFBK was a sister station to Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto TV station KOVR. The cluster of KFBK, KBEE and KOVR was possible because Sacramento and Modesto, then as now, are separate radio markets.
In 1936 KFBK was granted permission to make a major upgrade, going from 100 watts on 1310 kHz to 5,000 watts on the "High Powered Regional" frequency of 1490 kHz, which had previously been exclusively assigned to WCKY in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1937 KFBK increased power again, to 10,000 watts. In March 1941, under the provisions of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement, KFBK and WCKY shifted to 1530 kHz, a frequency designated as a "Clear Channel" assignment, with both stations now classified as "Class I-B".[27] On October 2, 1948, KFBK increased its power to 50,000 watts, concurrent with the installation of a directional antenna to limit its signal toward WCKY.[28]
1950s and 1960s
As television took over network programming, KFBK reinvented itself as a news, information, sports, and entertainment station. Because of its strong signal and location in the heart of the
The talk of the town
In the 1970s, with less network programming available, KFBK began programming talk shows as part of their broadcast day, promoting them as "The Talk of the Town". After a brief trial as an
KFBK begins FM simulcasting
KFBK-FM began simulcasting KFBK on December 1, 2011, at 92.5 FM, the former home of KGBY. This was mainly to fill in areas east of Sacramento where the AM signal is weaker at night due to the need to protect WCKY (Cincinnati, OH). Beginning December 26, 2013, KFBK briefly operated a trimulcast, adding 93.1 FM, the former home of "Classic 93.1" (KHLX); this ended a week later when KGBY adopted a country music format as KBEB.
Ownership changes
KFBK was acquired by Chancellor Media in 1997.
Prominent staff members
During the 1980s, KFBK employed
Limbaugh's local replacement,
A number of other KFBK alumni have gained national prominence. Former KFBK news reporter/anchor Laura Ingle is a featured reporter on
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KFBK". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "NewsRadio KFBK Contact Info: Number, Address, Advertising & More". NewsRadio KFBK.
- ^ "KFBK-AM 1530 kHz - Sacramento, CA". radio-locator.com.
- ^ "Tower Site of the Week: KFBK 1530, Sacramento, California" by Scott Fybush, October 28, 2005 (Fybush.com)
- ^ "Date First Licensed", FCC History Cards for KFBK (FCC.gov).
- ^ "Radio stations 40 or more years old in 1962" (KFBK entry), Broadcasting, May 14, 1962, pages 123-124.
- ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, January 3, 1922, page 2. Limited Commercial license, serial number 250, issued for a one year period to J. C. Hobrecht for operation of KVQ on 360 meters (833 kHz).
- ^ "Victor Artists Will Give Bee Radio Concert To-day", Sacramento Bee, February 2, 1922, page 1.
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, September 1, 1922, page 7.
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, November 1, 1922, page 7.
- ^ "KVQ Quits Broadcasting Field In Interest Of Fans", Sacramento Bee, December 20, 1922, page 1.
- ^ "Strike out all particulars", Radio Service Bulletin, February 1, 1923, page 7.
- ^ "Five Radio Stations Give Service to Sister State", Sacramento Bee, February 3, 1932, page A-Five.
- ^ "The Bee Pioneered Radio in Superior California", Sacramento Bee, April 24, 1937, page 3-R.
- ^ "Opening Concert" (Kimball-Upson Company advertisement), Sacramento Bee, September 16, 1922, page 13.
- ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, September 1, 1922, page 3.
- ^ "KFBK Ready For Test; Tune Up And Listen", Sacramento Union, September 2, 1922, page 1.
- ^ "KFBK in Rare Tune For Sunday Night's Big Radio Concert", Sacramento Union, September 16, 1922, page 8.
- ^ "Amendments to Regulations", Radio Service Bulletin, January 3, 1922, page 10.
- ^ "Central California Broadcasting Schedule---Effective Nov. 1, '22" ("Inland Stations" section), Radio magazine, December 1922, page 36.
- ^ "Radio Conference Recommendations: New Wave Lengths", Radio Age, May 1923, pages 11-12.
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, September 1, 1923, page 9.
- ^ "Broadcasting Stations, Alphabetically By Call Signals, Effective November 11, 1928" Commercial and Government Radio Stations of the U.S. (June 30, 1928), page 167
- ^ "Sacramento Bee Calling, Hello, Hello" (chapter 2), Sacramento on the Air: How the McClatchy Family Revolutionized West Coast Broadcasting by Annette Kassis, 2015.
- ^ "To-night Marks Entry Of The Bee-Kimball-Upson Radio Station On Broadcast Circles of The State", Sacramento Bee, September 5, 1925, page 1.
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, January 31, 1929, page 7.
- ^ "United States Assignments", Arrangement between the United States of America, Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico, comprising recommendations of the North American Regional Radio-Engineering Meeting (supplemental to North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement [NARBA], Habana, 1937), page 1443.
- ^ "KFBK (advertisement)" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 4, 1948. p. 2. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
- ^ "KFBK" (advertisement), Broadcasting, May 30, 1960, page 33.
- ^ "New CBS stations", Broadcasting, December 28, 1959, page 48.
- ^ a b "History of the Airwaves: Sacramento Radio Voices". tangentsunset.com.
- ^ Information from the Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-58
External links
- KFBK official website
- KFBK in the FCC AM station database
- KFBK in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for KFBK (covering 1927-1980) (FCC.gov)
- Live web broadcast
Further reading
- Sacramento on the Air: How the McClatchy Family Revolutionized West Coast Broadcasting by Annette Kassis, 2015.