KFNC
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Branding | ESPN 97.5/92.5 |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Sports |
Affiliations | ESPN Radio Houston Dynamo FC Sugar Land Space Cowboys Texas A&M Sports Network |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
KGOW | |
History | |
First air date | March 1, 1948Beaumont, Texas) | (as 99.5 KRIC
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | FM News Channel (previous format) |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 52407 |
Class | 97.5: C 92.5: D |
ERP | 97.5: 100,000 watts 92.5: 30 watts |
HAAT | 97.5: 596 m (1,955 ft) 92.5: 304 m (997 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 29°41′52″N 94°24′9″W / 29.69778°N 94.40250°W |
Translator(s) | 92.5 K223CW (Houston) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | espn975.com |
KFNC (97.5
KFNC has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the highest permitted for non-grandfathered FM stations. The transmitter is off Route 124 in Anahuac, Texas.[1] A 2,000 watt booster, KFNC-FM-1, had its transmitter off West Baker Road in Baytown, but has since been powered down, its license returned, and subsequently deleted.[2]
History
From 99.5 KRIC through "KD 97"
On March 1, 1948, the station began broadcasting on 99.5 MHz as KRIC and continued on that frequency through the early 1950s.
Interference to
The KRIC call sign was changed to KAYD several years later to match its then AM counterpart 1450 KAYC. As KAYD, 97.5 was the long-time FM country music outlet in the Golden Triangle, going by the branding "KD 97".
In December 2001, a new 2,000-foot tower was built near Winnie, Texas so that the station could target the more lucrative Houston radio market.
It was as at this point that the country format of "KD 97" was moved to
As KRWP
On January 3, 2002, the station officially began targeting the Houston market by flipping to an
The station, renamed KRWP (PoWeR spelled backwards) had modest success in the early months of 2002. However, it faced stiff competition from longtime Houston
KRWP later skewed to an
Switch to rock
In late 2004, there were plans for KRWP to switch frequencies to 103.7 FM, or otherwise launch a simulcast with another station with the objective of providing better coverage in Houston. At the same time, Houston's heritage album-oriented rock (AOR) station, 101.1 KLOL, dumped its rock format after 34 years, flipping to a Hurban (Hispanic Urban) format.[4]
On January 27, 2005, under new management, KRWP switched to an AOR format, switching its call sign to KIOL as "Rock 97.5." The format change was headed by former KLOL personality Jim Pruett and program director Pat Fant, in response to the outcry from misplaced KLOL listeners. The first song played on "Rock 97.5" was "
KIOL moves to 103.7; FM Newschannel debuts
103.7 signed back on the air May 23, 2005, after being purchased by Cumulus Media, and subsequently moved its transmitting site from Willis to Devers, including a major facility upgrade to full Class C status. Cumulus began simulcasting "Rock 97.5" KIOL on the new 103.7 KUST signal for testing purposes and to familiarize listeners with the new frequency. The simulcast lasted for the next 8 days.
On May 31, 2005, at 6 a.m., 97.5 KIOL broke the simulcast and launched Houston's third attempt at an FM news/talk station, as KFNC "FM News Channel 97-5." (102.1 KLYX—now KMJQ—was the first in 1975 as an affiliate of
Sports format
KFNC went through format tweaks and house cleaning, and the "FM News Channel" moniker was dropped around spring of 2006. The station became "Supertalk 97.5." However, the station's ratings failed to keep the talk format afloat. KFNC switched to its current sports radio format, officially launching in mid-January 2007. KFNC's on-air branding, ESPN 97.5 The Ticket, was similar to that of a co-owned AM sports station in Dallas, KTCK. KFNC affiliated with ESPN Radio, which previously heard on Clear Channel's KBME 790 AM. KBME affiliated with Fox Sports Radio.
In 2007, Cumulus Media moved KFNC to its new Houston headquarters, along with sister station 103.7 KIOL in the Chase Building at 9801 Westheimer Road in Houston. That facility already housed 104.1 KRBE since the mid-1980s.
As part of a prepackaged bankruptcy filing, the lenders took over the license of four Cumulus Media Partners stations; two in the Kansas City metro area (KCHZ and KMJK) and the two rimshot signals in the Houston metro, KHJK and KFNC, in November 2011. Station broker Larry Patrick emerged as the majority owner of the stations and set out to sell the stations to recover the value for the lenders. While Cumulus lost the licenses in bankruptcy, it continued to program the stations under a Local marketing agreement (LMA).
Cumulus had the opportunity to buy the stations back, but ultimately the highest bidder for KFNC was David Gow, owner of sports-formatted
KFNC HD-2/K231CN; "Sports Map 94.1"
On October 1, 2017, relay translator K231CN Houston, Texas, allegedly moved from KODA's HD-3 subchannel to the new KFNC HD-2, though there has never been any evidence that KFNC has actually operated an HD2 signal. With the change, the former "SB Nation" format of 1560 KGOW also moved from the AM facility to 97.5 HD-2 & 94.1, and re-imaged as "SportsMap 94.1". Sports Map 94.1 is currently owned by Gow Media, LLC, a company named after and controlled by David Gow. K231CN was the
KFNC HD-2/K231CN is the
On January 31, 2019, K231CN switched from sports to Spanish Christian, branded as "Radio Luz."[7]
KFNC-FM1 booster
On June 22, 2018, Gow Media was granted an on-channel FM booster for KFNC, assigned the call letters KFNC-FM-1, powered at 2,000 watts, elevated at 171 meters
Callsign & moniker history
- KRIC - 03/01/1948
- KAYD -
- KAYD-FM - 10/06/1995 (KD 97)
- KKTT - 01/01/2002 (Power 97-5)
- KRWP - 01/18/2002 (Power 97-5)
- KIOL - 01/26/2005 (Rock 97.5)
- KFNC - 05/31/2005 (FM News Channel 97.5, Supertalk 97.5, ESPN 97.5 The Ticket)
Programming
On weekday's, The Bench with John Granato & Lance Zierlein starts off the day from 7-10am. The Del Olaleye Show is on from 10am-12pm. Paul Gallant and Joe George host from 12-3pm. The Killer B’s with Joel Blank & Jeremy Branham is on from 3-6pm. ESPN Radio is broadcast overnights and weekends.[8]
References
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/KFNC
- ^ FCC.gov/KFNC
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2002/RR-2002-01-11.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2004/RR-2004-11-19.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2005/RR-2005-02-04.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2005/RR-2005-06-03.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Sportsmap Goes Off the Map in Houston Radioinsight - February 1, 2019
- ^ Staff, B. S. M. (9 August 2021). "ESPN 97.5 Adds New Voices, New Shows To Help Write Its Next Chapter". barrettsportsmedia.com. Barrett Media. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
External links
- Official website
- KFNC in the FCC FM station database
- KFNC in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- K223CW in the FCC FM station database
- K223CW at FCCdata.org