KFBG (FM)

KFBG (100.7 FM, "100.7 Big FM") is a commercial radio station that is licensed to San Diego, California, and broadcasts an adult hits format. The station is owned by Local Media San Diego. It shares studios with LMSD's other stations in the Sorrento Valley section of San Diego, and its transmitter is atop Mount Soledad in La Jolla.

For the airport in Fort Bragg, North Carolina with the ICAO code KFBG, see Simmons Army Airfield.
KFBG
CitySan Diego, California
Broadcast areaSan Diego–Tijuana
Frequency100.7 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding100.7 Big FM
SloganThink Big San Diego.
We Play Anything
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatAdult hits
SubchannelsHD2: KRDC simulcast (Stunting)
Ownership
OwnerLocal Media San Diego
(Local Media San Diego Acquisition, LLC)
XETRA-FM, XHITZ-FM, XHRM-FM
History
First air date
September 21, 1959 (1959-09-21)
Former call signs
KFMB-FM (1959–2020)
Call sign meaning
BiG
Technical information
Facility ID42117
ClassB
ERP30,000 watts
HAAT189 meters (620 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
32.838°N 117.250°W / 32.838; -117.250
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitebigfmsd.com

History as KFMB-FM

Early history (1959–1974)

A sister station to existing AM station KFMB under the ownership of Transcontinent Television Corporation, the station signed on as KFMB-FM on 100.7 FM on September 21, 1959, initially with a jazz format.[1][2] A previous KFMB-FM station signed on in April 1947 and broadcast until 1950 on 101.5 MHz.[3][4][5] By the summer of 1960, KFMB-FM transitioned to beautiful music, which the station described as the "golden sound of refined musical fare."[6][7] In 1964, Transcontinent sold the KFMB/KFMB-FM/KFMB-TV cluster to Midwest Television, a company controlled by the Meyer family and based in Champaign, Illinois at the time.[8] In the late 1960s, the format was called "Music only for a woman"; station manager Eddie "Ed" Peters bought the rights to syndicate the format. Soon after, Peters left and started his own jingle company, Peters Productions, which syndicated the format on reel-to-reel tape to over 100 stations during the 1960s and 1970s, changing the name of the format to "Music just for the two of us".

As B-100 (1975–1994)

Following the trend of FM radio stations taking on top 40 formats in the early 1970s, KFMB program director Bobby Rich and station manager Paul Palmer decided to launch a top 40 station on KFMB-FM to challenge market leader KCBQ (1170 AM).[9] Rich wanted to change the call letters to something with a "Q" in them to become "the FM Q", but the owners refused to break up the KFMB/KFMB-FM/KFMB-TV matched set of call signs.[9] In March 1975, KFMB-FM became "B-100" with the slogan "Better Boogie"; Southern California radio writer Richard Wagoner described the new station as a "high-energy screamer [that] went straight for the jugular."[9] In the fall 1977 Arbitron ratings, KFMB-FM became the first FM station to be no. 1 in a major media market.[7][9]

B-100's on-air staff during its first two years included "Shotgun" Tom Kelly, Kenny "Beaver Cleaver" Levine, and Bobby Rich under his on air name "Dr. Boogie".[7] Later, some DJs left to launch top 40 outlet KTNQ (Ten-Q) in Los Angeles.[9]

B-100 had major success in the 1980s, reinventing itself as one of the nation's first ever hot adult contemporary (hot AC) stations. It melded top 40 hits (omitting some teen-oriented songs) with an adult delivery by its high-profile air staff. The day started with The B-100 Morning Zoo starring Bobby Rich, Scott Kenyon, Pat Gaffey, and Frank Anthony — collectively known as "The Rich Brothers". Other personalities from this era included Gary Kelley, Gene Knight (who is now heard on KXSN), Danny Romero (who eventually landed at KABC-TV in Los Angeles), Ellen K. Thomas, and John Fox.

Jeff and Jer became the new morning drive hosts at B-100 in 1991, but would leave in April 1993 for KKLQ-FM. Replacing them were John Landers and Jools Brandt, followed by Larry Himmel, who had also succeeded "Shotgun" Tom Kelly in mornings on B-100 in 1979. After Jeff and Jer departed, the station's ratings began to decline.

Star 100.7 (1994–2005)

On May 16, 1994, Midwest Television announced that KFMB-FM would change formats. After the announcement, the station began a 3-week stunt dubbed "The Great Radio Experiment", where the station tested formats such as all-1970s hits, country, all-Elvis, modern rock, "party songs", an "MTV"-style top 40 format, classic rock, all-Motown, and children's music, each lasting for a day, and allowed listeners to vote for the new format.[10] On June 6 at midnight, KFMB-FM relaunched as "Star 100.7" and retained the hot AC format, though with a more current and upbeat focus than B-100.[11]

Star 100.7 was a personality-oriented station, with an initial air staff made up of Shawn Ireland and Donna Davis in mornings, Kim Morrison in middays, Dave Smiley in afternoons, Dominica in evenings, and China More in overnights. Later on, the station's air staff consisted of Jeff and Jer (who returned in May 1997) in mornings, Anita Rush in middays, XHRM-FM morning hosts Jagger and Kristi in afternoons (after they left for KMYI in 2002, they would be replaced with Gregg Simms, Jen Sewell and Sara Kiani), and Ricky Lopez at nights (who would later be replaced with a repeat of Jeff and Jer dubbed Jeff and Jer Primetime). The station also aired the Bob and Sheri syndicated morning drive show in the early morning hours for a brief period in late 2004 and early 2005 (the show broadcasts from Charlotte, North Carolina in the Eastern Time Zone).

100.7 Jack FM (2005–2015)
Logo as "100.7 Jack FM"

"Star 100.7" continued until April 6, 2005 at 9:55 a.m., when the station began stunting with a five-minute ticking clock and a mysterious voice saying "closer...closer", which ended with an alarm going off and a female announcer saying "Bye Star". At that point, "Jack FM" and its adult hits format was introduced with R.E.M.'s "It's The End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)."[12] Jeff and Jer left KFMB-FM in August 2005 and moved across town to KMYI (94.1 FM), now known as "Star 94.1". On August 2, 2010, KFMB-FM became home to the former longtime KGB-FM morning show, Dave, Shelly and Chainsaw, often abbreviated The DSC.

On August 2, 2013, KFMB-FM began restricting access to its online stream to listeners within the city of San Diego proper.[13] This move by program director Mike O'Reilly drew the ire of fans who live outside the city limits, including the large U.S. military community stationed locally and overseas. O'Reilly explained his rationale, citing a new Arbitron policy on how online listening is measured:

Our radio industry is continually adapting to changing metrics, which are sometimes out of our control within our competitive landscape. I understand your frustration and I can assure you this decision to restrict our streaming efforts to San Diego was based on multiple factors including the licensing issues outlined on our website. In addition, radio stations that do not 100% simulcast their signals online are essentially competing with themselves. Technically they are considered two separate radio stations in the way they are rated. By restricting our signal to San Diego only, our online stream and our air signal at 100.7FM will be considered one unified station.

— Mike O'Reilly, KFMB-FM program director

KFMB-FM achieved this effect by restricting the signal based on the IP address of the mobile phone on which a listener streamed the station. However, fans within the city of San Diego were prevented from hearing the station as well. In addition, the station charged for access to its local morning radio show on podcast in September 2013.[13]

In January 2014, KFMB-FM evolved from the adult hits format by adding more current and recent hits, dropping most songs recorded before 2000 other than those by established modern rock artists such as Green Day, INXS, and U2. In April 2014, Mediabase added KFMB-FM to its hot AC panel, reflecting its shift from adult hits to a modern rock-leaning hot AC format.[14]

Morning shows on Jack: Monique and the Man; The DSC

Typically, Jack FM stations do not have disc jockeys. However, in September 2005, KFMB-FM conducted a nationwide search for morning show talent, with the winner receiving a $1-million, five-year contract. The station chose Hispanic comedian Monique Marvez and former Star 100.7 DJs Greg and Sara. The show was called Monique and the Man; Greg was the 'Man' and Sara was a co-host. The show started on January 23, 2006 and ended in 2009. KFMB-FM had no morning show until Dave, Shelly and Chainsaw took over on August 2, 2010. The show, previously on KGB-FM, helped boost the station's morning ratings.

100.7 KFM-BFM, purchase by Tegna (2015–2018)

On October 6, 2015, Midwest Television announced that it had entered into a joint operating agreement with Local Media San Diego LLC, which operates three stations licensed to Tijuana but broadcasting in English for the San Diego media market: XETRA-FM (91.1 FM), XHITZ-FM (90.3 FM), and XHRM-FM (92.5 FM). The five stations formed an entity known as SDLocal, which was intended to "preserve the local ownership and operation of San Diego's top-rated radio stations".[15]

Logo as 100.7 KFM-BFM.

On November 17, 2015, KFMB-FM began airing an all-Christmas music format for the holiday season as "Jack Frost". On December 8, Garrett Michaels, formerly program director at XETRA-FM, was named to the same position at KFMB-FM.[16] With the announcement, there were possible hints of an upcoming format change. While Dave, Shelly and Chainsaw was usually ranked in first place among morning-drive programs, particularly among listeners 25–54 years old, KFMB-FM overall was ranked #17 in the December 2015 Nielsen Audio ratings report for the San Diego market.[17][18] On December 26, 2015 at 10 a.m., after playing "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)" by the Ramones, KFMB-FM began stunting with a "Wheel of Formats" — consisting of all-AC/DC, all-Bob Marley, all-1980s hits, all-Van Halen, outlaw country, soft adult contemporary, all-glam metal, all-blues, and adult standards — branded simply as "100.7", with each new format starting every day at 10 a.m. The stunt lasted until January 4, when the station settled on a mainstream rock format consisting of a mix of classic rock and 1970s/1980s new wave hits. This was branded as "100.7 KFM-BFM", a nod to how the station referred to its call letters in the 1980s. The first song on KFM-BFM was "The Spirit of Radio" by Rush.[19][20][21]

Midwest Television and Local Media San Diego ended the SDLocal joint operating agreement at the end of 2016.[22]

In October 2017, San Diego television station KUSI-TV reported that KFMB/KFMB-FM/KFMB-TV were being offered for sale by Midwest Television.[23] On December 18, 2017, Tegna, Inc. announced it would purchase the KFMB stations for $325 million;[24] the deal marked Tegna's re-entry into radio, as predecessor Gannett Company had sold its previous radio group to Evergreen Media in 1997.[25] The sale was completed on February 15, 2018.[26]

The last edition of Dave, Shelly and Chainsaw aired July 19, 2018. The hosts' contracts were set to expire at the end of the month, but KFMB-FM failed to reach new deals with hosts Dave Rickards and Cookie "Chainsaw" Randolph. Shelly Dunn had announced her retirement from radio the previous week.[27]

100.7 San Diego, sale to LMSD (2018–2020)
Logo as "100.7 San Diego"

In December 2018, KFMB-FM flipped back to adult hits as "100.7 San Diego".[28] In January 2019, it was announced that Chris Cantore (coming from KBZT) would begin hosting mornings.[29]

On December 30, 2019, Tegna reached an agreement to sell KFMB and KFMB-FM to Local Media San Diego for $5 million, putting them back under common control with its three Mexican-licensed stations. The deal broke up the KFMB station cluster after 60 years and did not include the rights to the KFMB call letters.[30] Local Media entered into a 10-year lease of the transmitter site on Mount Soledad as part of the sale. On January 28, 2020, ahead of the closure, it was announced that the entire airstaff would be exiting on February 7, 2020, which was when they expected the sale to be closed.[31] However, it was later revealed that their staff would remain in place through at least February 14; regulatory approval of the sale faced delays due to several factors, including the required publication of public notices of the proposal being delayed due to an "inadvertent scheduling oversight".[31][32] The sale was ultimately approved on March 12, 2020, and was completed on March 17, 2020; while KFMB was immediately divested to iHeartMedia, no immediate changes were disclosed for KFMB-FM, other than a planned relocation to LMSD's Sorrento Valley studios.[33]

History as KFBG (2020–present)

On April 6, 2020, the station's call sign was changed to KFBG.[34] On April 13, 2020, at noon, the station rebranded as "100.7 Big FM", featuring what it said was "a bigger music library", but no on-air staff, as the station will remain jockless. The first song on Big FM was "We Will Rock You" by Queen.[35] The studios also relocated to Sorrento Valley.

References
  1. 1973 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). Washington, DC: Broadcasting Publications. 1973. p. B-26. Retrieved April 6, 2020 – via AmericanRadioHistory.com.
  2. "Media reports" (PDF), Broadcasting, 57 (7): 69, August 17, 1959, retrieved April 7, 2020 – via AmericanRadioHistory.com
  3. "Telefile: KFMB-TV Enjoys One-Outlet Market With Unique L.A. Tie-In" (PDF), Broadcasting-Telecasting, 39 (2), pp. 56–57, July 10, 1950, retrieved April 7, 2020 – via AmericanRadioHistory.com
  4. 1951 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). p. 94.
  5. 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook (PDF). pp. 88, 288.
  6. "A Creole style wake" (PDF). Broadcasting. 59 (2): 98. July 11, 1960. Retrieved April 7, 2020 – via AmericanRadioHistory.com.
  7. "100.7 KFM-BFM". KFMB Interactive. Archived from the original on April 21, 2017. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  8. "Transcontinent sale: last of its kind?." Broadcasting, February 24, 1964, pp. 27-28.
  9. Wagoner, Richard (February 19, 2020). "Radio: How this one station made the move to No. 1". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  10. "'San Diego's Great Radio Experiment' Begins!" (PDF). Radio & Records. May 13, 1994. p. 15. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  11. "BDS: Far From Reality" (PDF). Radio & Records. June 10, 1994. p. 14. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  12. Jacobson, Adam (April 15, 2005). "KFMB-FM Says 'Bye, Star'" (PDF). Radio & Records. pp. 1, 14. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  13. Venta, Lance (August 8, 2013). "Local Radio Behind A Paywall". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  14. "Mediabase Announces Panel Changes". All Access. All Access Music Group. April 22, 2014.
  15. "Local Media, KFMB Stations announce joint-operating agreement". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  16. Venta, Lance (December 8, 2015). "Garrett Michaels Named PD Of KFMB-FM San Diego; Format Change Hinted". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  17. http://ratings.radio-online.com/cgi-bin/rol.exe/arb063
  18. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/dec/10/blurt-you-dont-know-jack/
  19. "Wheel of Formats Kills Off Jack-FM San Diego". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. January 4, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  20. http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2015/dec/26/blurt-goodbye-bieber-hello-acdc/
  21. "Jack Becomes 100.7 KFM-BFM". Format Change Archive.
  22. "KFMB-A, KFMB-F (100.7 KFM-BFM)/San Diego, Local Media San Diego To End Joint Operating Agreement". AllAccess. All Access Music Group. September 28, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  23. "KFMB-TV Sale". KUSI. Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  24. Eggerton, John (December 18, 2017). "Tegna Buying KFMB TV and Radio Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  25. Venta, Lance (December 18, 2017). "TEGNA Acquires KFMB Stations From Midwest Television". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  26. Miller, Mark K. "Tegna Completes KFMB San Diego Purchase". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  27. Venta, Lance (July 22, 2018). "Dave, Shelly & Chainsaw Exit 100.7 KFM-BFM San Diego". RadioInsight. RadioBB Networks. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  28. "KFM-BFM Rebrands As 100.7 San Diego". RadioInsight. 2018-12-06. Retrieved 2018-12-08.
  29. "Chris Cantore owns the mornings on 100.7 San Diego". 100.7SD Official Webpage. Tegna Radio. Retrieved April 19, 2019.
  30. Venta, Lance (December 30, 2019). "Local Media San Diego Acquires KFMB AM/FM". RadioInsight. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  31. "KFMB San Diego Staffers Gain Extra Week Before Exits". RadioInsight. 2020-02-07. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  32. "Domain Insight 2/23: What's Next For KFMB AM/FM?". RadioInsight. 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  33. Venta, Lance (March 17, 2020). "Local Media San Diego Closes KFMB AM/FM Purchase; Sells 760 To iHeartMedia". RadioInsight. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  34. "KFMB-F (100.7 BIG-FM)/San Diego Has Big New Call Letters". All Access. April 23, 2020. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  35. Venta, Lance (April 13, 2020). "Big-FM Debuts In San Diego". RadioInsight. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
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