Adult contemporary radio station in Wichita, Kansas
KRBB
(97.9
FM
, "B98") is a
commercial
radio station
in
Wichita, Kansas
. It is owned by
iHeartMedia, Inc.
, and it broadcasts an
adult contemporary
radio format
, switching to
Christmas music
for much of November and December. KRBB carries several
nationally syndicated
shows, including "Murphy, Sam and Jodi" in morning
drive time
, "
Delilah
" in evenings, and "
Ellen K
" from
KOST
in
Los Angeles
on Saturday mornings.
KRBB's studios are located on East Douglas Avenue in Downtown Wichita. KRBB has an
effective radiated power
(ERP) of 100,000
watts
; their
transmitter
is located outside
Colwich, Kansas
. KRBB broadcasts using
HD Radio
technology; its HD2
digital subchannel
carries a
contemporary hit radio
format, known as "Kiss Radio."
History
[
edit
]
KFH-FM and KBRA
[
edit
]
On September 19, 1948, the station
signed on
the air as KFH-FM, and was located at 100.3 MHz. It is Wichita's oldest FM outlet. Like most FM stations at the time, it largely
simulcasted
its AM counterpart,
KFH
(then at 1330 AM, now at 1240 AM). In 1965, KFH-FM relocated to its current frequency. Two years later, KFH-FM broke from the AM simulcast and flipped to
progressive rock
as "Channel 97." The station was affiliated with
ABC
's American FM Radio Network.
In October 1971, KFH-FM flipped to
beautiful music
as
KBRA
. It played quarter hour sweeps of mostly soft instrumental
cover versions
of popular songs.
[1]
On July 28, 1982, KBRA adjusted its format to
soft adult contemporary
as "KB-98."
[2]
[3]
[4]
On November 6, 1984, KBRA changed its call letters to
KLZS
, and rebranded as "Class FM 98". On March 23, 1987, KLZS rebranded as "Magic 98", and tweaked its format to include more
new age music
and
smooth jazz
.
[5]
[6]
The long association with KFH-AM was discontinued in 1988, as the two stations were sold to separate owners.
B98 FM
[
edit
]
On October 12, 1989, at Noon, the station adopted its current format as "B98 FM" (which would later be renamed as simply “B98” in the late 2010s). The call sign switched to KRBB to go along with the new identity.
[7]
The station's morning show was long hosted by Brett Harris and Tracy Cassidy. Harris was released from the station in July 2012, while Cassidy was let go in May 2014.
[8]
[9]
Lukas Cox replaced Harris in September 2012, while former
Miss Kansas
Theresa Vail
joined the show as a co-host for a time before being replaced by Careth Beard.
[10]
[11]
In April 2019, Cox and Beard were let go, and were replaced by the syndicated "Murphy, Sam and Jodi", who are based at
Baton Rouge
sister station
KRVE
.
[12]
[13]
former logo
Tornado coverage
[
edit
]
KRBB, along with other iHeartRadio stations, partner with
KSNW
, the local
NBC
Network affiliate
, when
tornado
warnings are issued in the Wichita area. During an emergency, KRBB simulcasts the audio of KSNW's severe weather coverage.
[14]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Public forum",
The Wichita Eagle-Beacon
, October 17, 1971.
- ^
Bob Curtright, "No More 'Beautiful Music' for Wichita's KBRA",
The Wichita Eagle-Beacon
, May 25, 1982.
- ^
Bob Curtright, "KBRA Builds Format to Replace Stalled ABC Plan",
The Wichita Eagle-Beacon
, June 23, 1982.
- ^
Bob Curtright, "So Much for Those Ratings",
The Wichita Eagle-Beacon
, July 30, 1982.
- ^
Bob Curtright, "Name that station",
The Wichita Eagle-Beacon
, October 24, 1984.
- ^
Bob Curtright, "Rump's Music Is Geared for the Middle-Aged Set",
The Wichita Eagle-Beacon
, March 20, 1987.
- ^
Bob Curtright, "Revamped KLZS targets women",
The Wichita Eagle
, October 12, 1989.
- ^
McMillin, Molly (27 July 2012).
"Brett Harris out at B98-FM radio"
.
The Wichita Eagle
. Retrieved
3 August
2023
.
- ^
Rengers, Carrie (2 May 2014).
"Tracy Cassidy gone from B98"
.
The Wichita Eagle
. Retrieved
3 August
2023
.
- ^
"Lukas Cox Joins KRBB for Mornings"
.
- ^
"B98 is happy to welcome Theresa Vail to the B98 Morning Show!"
.
B98 Morning Show
. Retrieved
August 22,
2014
.
- ^
Carrie Rengers, "B98 'going in another direction', fires Brett Harris' successor in similar fashion",
The Wichita Eagle
, April 12, 2019.
- ^
"Wichita Pros on the Loose"
. 14 April 2019.
- ^
KSN in Wichita takes shelter during tornado
.
YouTube
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-12-11.
External links
[
edit
]
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Board of directors
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