| Silent; former simulcast withKIKR Beaumont | |
|---|---|
| |
| Broadcast area | Beaumont-Port Arthur area |
| Frequency | 1510kHz |
| Branding | Sports Radio Beaumont |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | Infinity Sports Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | February 20, 1969 (1969-2-20) (as KCAWPort Arthur) |
Former call signs |
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| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 48917 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 5,000 watts day |
Transmitter coordinates | 30°3′41.8″N93°58′50.6″W / 30.061611°N 93.980722°W /30.061611; -93.980722 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
KBED (1510AM; branded asSports Radio Beaumont) is a radio station serving theBeaumont-Port Arthur area with asports format. It is under ownership ofCumulus Media; until goingsilent in 2025, it simulcast with sister stationKIKR in Beaumont, Texas. Its studios are located on South Eleventh Street in Beaumont and its transmitter is located south ofVidor, Texas.
KBED was initially proposed by Felix and James Joynt in 1959. The Joynts requested to obtain a construction permit to build a 1 kilowatt daytime broadcasting radio station at 1510 kHz, under the name KWEN Broadcasting on October 26, 1959, which was filed with theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) the following day. The proposed facility was constructed 3 miles northwest of 16th Street, onU.S. Highway 69 in Port Arthur, receiving a license to cover on February 20, 1969.
The facility was issued its firstcall sign KCAW, standing forcountry and western, on November 7, 1968. The Joynts would file to modify the location of the transmission site to a location onTexas State Highway 347, .7 miles northwest of 39th Street, which is where the facility signed on from in Port Arthur. That tower now is used as a cell site tower.
The transmitter was moved to its current South Vidor location (where its former FM sisterKYKR-FM was located) when the FCC approved a power increase from 1,000 watts to the current 5,000 watts on August 1, 1980. Accompanied by the upgrade in ERP, thecommunity of license was changed to Nederland. The callsign changed to KYKR, along with its FM sister 93.3, in 1974.
Eventually, owner Jimmie Joynt sold both the AM and FM to different owners. The AM station saw a couple of different owners (includingClear Channel Communications at one time) including variousreligious owners.
On January 4, 1988, the KYKR tower in SouthVidor suffered a massive fire believed to be arson. Both 93.3 FM and 1510 AM transmitters were lost. KYKR struggled with borrowed equipment to make it back on the air at low power and eventually recovered.
Because it shares the same frequency as "clear channel" radio stationWLAC inNashville, Tennessee, KBED only broadcasts during thedaytime hours.
KBED, along with simulcast partner KIKR, wentsilent in March 2025. They were two of six Cumulus stations to close the weekend of March 7, as part of a larger shutdown of underperforming Cumulus stations.[2]
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