KBEE

KBEE, branded as B98.7, is a commercial FM radio station in Salt Lake City, Utah, broadcasting at 98.7 MHz.[1] It is one of the oldest FM stations in the Western United States, tracing its history to 1947. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and it airs an adult contemporary radio format.[2] KBEE's studios are located in South Salt Lake (behind the I-15/I-80 interchange). The station is also broadcast on HD radio.[3]

KBEE
CitySalt Lake City, Utah
Broadcast areaSalt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah
Frequency98.7 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingB98.7
SloganToday's Hits And Yesterday's Favorites
Programming
FormatAdult Contemporary
Ownership
OwnerCumulus Media
(Radio License Holding CBC, LLC)
KBER, KENZ, KHTB, KKAT, KUBL-FM
History
First air date
1947 (as KDYL-FM)
Former call signs
KDYL-FM (1947-1959)
KCPX-FM (1959-1993)
KVRI (1993-1995)
Call sign meaning
K Bee
Technical information
Facility ID53497
ClassC
ERP40,000 watts
HAAT894 meters (2933 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°36′30″N 112°09′34″W
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websiteb987.com

History

Early Years

In 1947, the station first signed on as KDYL-FM.[4] It was the sister station to KDYL, one of the first AM radio stations in Utah, which went on the air in 1922. KDYL-FM mostly simulcast its AM counterpart through its early years. The owner, Sidney S. Fox, is considered a pioneer in Utah broadcasting history. Two years later, in 1949, he put Salt Lake City's first TV station on the air, Channel 4 KDYL-TV (now KTVX).[5]

Top 40 Era

In 1953, Fox sold KDYL-AM-FM-TV to publisher Time-Life Corporation for $2.1 million. In 1959, the stations were purchased by Columbia Pictures and the radio station call letters were changed to KCPX-FM and KCPX-AM. The two stations carried a Top 40 format that was very popular in the Salt Lake City area. During this time, the stations competed heavily for listeners with crosstown rival 1280 KNAK (now KZNS).[6]

In 1967, the Federal Communications Commission required FM stations in medium to large cities to be programmed separately from their AM sister stations for most of the day. KCPX-FM switched to an album rock format, while 1320 KCPX continued as a Top 40 station. In the 1980s, when AM 1320 left the Top 40 format, KCPX-FM picked up its CHR format, first known as HitRadio 99 KCPX, and then as Power 99. Columbia Pictures, which had just been acquired by The Coca-Cola Company, sold KCPX and KCPX-FM to Price Broadcasting in 1982.[7][8] (The TV station had been sold to separate owners in 1975.)

AC/Hot AC era

KCPX-FM's Top 40/CHR format would last until October 4, 1990, when the station flipped to adult contemporary as "K98.7".[9] In December 1992, KCPX shifted to hot adult contemporary as Variety 98.7, KVRI. In May 1995, after Citadel Broadcasting bought the station, the station rebranded as "B98.7" and adopted the KBEE call letters.[10] The station's music focus has varied slightly over the past decade, leaning towards a more Modern AC direction for a time. However, in 2002, the station returned to its roots as an AC station as "B98.7."

Over the seventeen-year period from 1985 to 2002, the station saw 18 different morning teams.[11] The long-time "Fisher, Todd, and Erin" morning team on a competing station KISN 97 broke up in August 2001.[12] Citadel Broadcasting poached Todd and Erin Collard to host a new morning show, though a no-compete clause in the married couple's previous contract kept the pair off the air from October 2001 to February 14, 2002.

In 2010, the station evolved to adult top 40.

Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[13] By February 2012, the station reverted to mainstream AC. On July 3, 2013, KBEE again moved to adult top 40.[14] On March 6, 2015, KBEE returned to adult contemporary.[15]

Utah Jazz

For several years in the early 2000s, KBEE simulcast the games of the Utah Jazz basketball team, also carried on co-owned sports radio 1320 KFNZ. The Jazz are now heard on 1280 KZNS and 97.5 KZNS-FM.

Signal

From atop Nelson Peak, 10 miles (16 km) west of West Jordan, Utah, the station has an effective radiated power of 40,000 watts, which makes KBEE audible throughout most of north central Utah, including all of the Wasatch Front. The station has a height above average terrain of 894 metres (2,933 ft). KBEE also operates two translator stations, 92.3 K222CM in Heber City[16] and 95.3 K237AL in Park City.[17]

History of Call Letters

The call letters KBEE-FM were previously assigned to a station in Modesto, California. That station began broadcasting April 3, 1948, on 103.3 MHz. It was owned by the McClatchy Company, which publishes the Modesto Bee newspaper, from where it got its call letters.[18]

Former logos

References
  1. "KBEE Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. "KBEE Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  3. "HD Radio Station Guide". HD Radio. iBiquity.
  4. Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-215
  5. "Utah Broadcasting History by Tim Larson and Robert K. Avery, retrieved 4-7-2017". uen.org. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  6. Wharton, Tom (September 15, 2015). "Whatever happened to ... KNAK and KCPX?". The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  7. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 22, 1982. p. 50. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  8. "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 22, 1982. p. 72. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  10. http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1995/RR-1995-05-26.pdf
  11. "Morning DJs adding stability to KBEE". DeseretNews.com. 2002-08-16. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
  12. "KISN's morning radio trio splits up". DeseretNews.com. 2001-08-10. Retrieved 2017-08-08.
  13. "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  14. "B98.7 Salt Lake City Shifts To Adult CHR - RadioInsight". radioinsight.com. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  15. "KBEE Salt Lake City Returns To AC - RadioInsight". radioinsight.com. 6 March 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  16. "K222CM-FM 92.3 MHz - Heber City, UT". radio-locator.com. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  17. "K237AL-FM 95.3 MHz - Park City, Etc., UT". radio-locator.com. Retrieved 9 April 2018.
  18. "McClatchy Firm Starts KBEE (FM) at Modesto" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 5, 1948. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
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