 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "KBEA-FM" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(March 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
 | |
| Broadcast area | Quad Cities -Iowa City -Cedar Rapids |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 99.7MHz |
| Branding | B-100 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Top 40 (CHR) |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks,Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KIIK-FM,KJOC,WXLP | |
| History | |
First air date | January 21, 1949 (76 years ago) (1949-01-21) |
Former call signs |
|
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 13666 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 265 meters (869 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | b100quadcities |
KBEA-FM (99.7MHz, "B100") is acommercialradio stationlicensed toMuscatine, Iowa, and serving theQuad Cities,Iowa City andCedar Rapids. It is owned byTownsquare Media and it airs atop 40 (CHR)radio format. The studios are on North Brady Street inDavenport, withsister stationsKJOC,WXLP, andKIIK-FM.[2] In mornings, KBEA-FM carries thenationally syndicatedBrooke and Jeffery show fromPremiere Networks.
KBEA-FM is aClass C1 FM station. It has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the maximum for most stations. Thetransmittertower is on 335th Street at Taylor Avenue inWilton, Iowa.[3]
The stationsigned on the air in January 21, 1949.[4] Its originalcall sign was KWPC-FM, asister station toKWPC860 AM. Because the AM station was adaytimer, required to go off the air at night, KWPC-FM was able to continue programming after sunset. The stationssimulcast most of the week and were owned by the Muscatine Broadcasting Company, with studios at Mulberry and Houser Streets.
By the 1960s, the stations stopped simulcasting. KWPC-FM aired anautomatedbeautiful music format, playing instrumentalcover versions of popular adult songs, along withBroadway andHollywoodshow tunes.
As the beautiful music format began to age, the station took steps to make adjustments. In 1970, the station's call letters changed to KFMH, buteasy listening music, a mix of instrumentals and soft vocals, continued on the frequency for three more years.
In June 1973, KFMH underwent a major format change. "Captain" Steve Bridges (adisc jockey who had worked atKSTT in Davenport) came in as program director (he later became a part-owner). The station began playingalternative rock, which had gained popularity on theWest Coast among young radio listeners.
KFMH ("99 Plus" and "The Real FM" was how it was commonly known) soon gained a devoted, loyal audience, as the station played lesser-known and local artists in a variety of genres, includingalbum rock,modern rock,jazz,blues andR&B. KFMH's disc jockeys included Andy Hammer, Kerry Peace, Lisa Catalona, Beth McBride, Chris Carson, Borderline Bob, Sean Tracy, Phil and Tom Maicke, Mary of the Heartland, Bob Just Bob, Dirty Judy, Jim Hunter, Roberto Nache, John Obvious, and Captain Steve played album cuts from popular artists. The station was known for pushing the envelope at times, but it also would change programming at a moment's notice (such as when word spread about the shooting death ofJohn Lennon in 1980).
In 1981, John Flambo became the new owner and immediately removed the one-and-a-half-hour farm report morning show and replaced it with Andy Hammer and a format matching the rest of the day. "The Plus" became a pioneer on the FM radio dial with Kerry Peace hosting “Off the Beat n’ Track” presenting, alternative andpunk rock not heard anywhere else.
The 1980s ended with many changes to the station; during this time, Kerry Peace left to become a record rep. In March 1990, KFMH began transmitting from its current 1,000-foot tower in Wilton, Iowa, powered at 100,000 watts. In 1993, KFMH's studios moved to Davenport, where it continued its alternative format for a year.
It ended its run at 3 p.m. on March 1, 1994, with the song "Your Move...I've Seen All Good People" byYes, the song that began the rock format on June 4, 1973. On the night it signed off, about 500 people showed up outside the station to protest. Mercury Broadcasting inquired about moving the format to itsWKBF1270 AM, but the proposal never materialized.
In 2013, 19 years to the hour KFMH went off the air, "99 Plus KFMH" returned as an Internet-only station, with the original DJs Captain Steve, Tom Maicke, Jim Hunter, Roberto, and Mary of the Heartland. New DJs include Tommy Lang, Bill Klutho, and Patrick O'Leary. You can listen once again to Rock, Blues, Jazz, Reggae, and Alternative. 99pluskfmh.com is available on the TuneIn app, Simple Radio by Streema, and Sonos.
On March 16, 1994, the 99.7 MHz frequency was sold to New York-based Connoisseur Communications. Connoisseur changed the call letters to KBOB and its format tocountry music. The station became a competitor to theQuad Cities' country leader, 103.7WLLR-FM. These changes outraged many loyal KFMH listeners, who feared there would no longer be a radio outlet for "alternative" music. Years after KFMH's demise, some fans still miss the station's eclectic blend of music and programming. Steve Bridges eventually moved toIowa City where he purchasedKCJJ1630 AM, an AM station with a talk-music hybrid.
KBOB debuted to promising ratings. Part of what set the new station apart was inclusion of older country hits that WLLR had removed from itsplaylist. However, KBOB — which later was sold toCumulus Media — soon languished behind WLLR-FM in the country music battle.
On March 30, 2000, KBOB moved to 104.9 MHz, replacing that frequency'sadult contemporary format. FM 99.7 then flipped to its current Top 40 format. It began using "B100" branding. Robb Rose was the first program director and morning host along with Julia Bradley in the morning, Jeff James in middays, Steve Fuller in the afternoondrive time, Brandon Marshall in the evening and Rachel in overnights.
The station quickly gained a following, cutting into the ratings of the Quad Cities' dominant Top 40 station, "All-Hit 98.9"WHTS-FM. In early 2006, WHTS was sold to theEducational Media Foundation. The station's format was changed toContemporary Christian, leaving "B100" as the only Top 40 station in the Quad Cities for the next six years. However, in February 2012,Clear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia) launched a CHR format onKUUL-FM as "101.3 KISS FM."
On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in whichTownsquare Media would acquire 53 Cumulus stations, including KBEA-FM, for $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition ofDial Global. Townsquare and Dial Global were both controlled byOaktree Capital Management.[5][6] The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013.[7]
41°36′22″N90°59′35″W / 41.606°N 90.993°W /41.606; -90.993