 | |
| Broadcast area | Omaha metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1620kHz |
| Branding | 1620 The Zone |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | Fox Sports Radio Kansas City Royals NFL on Westwood One Sports |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KMMQ,KOIL,KZOT,KQKQ-FM,KOOO,KOPW | |
| History | |
First air date | September 1999; 25 years ago (September 1999) (as KAZP) |
Former call signs | KAZP (1998–2001) |
Call sign meaning | KOmahaZoNe |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 87182 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 10,000watts day 1,000 watts night |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 1620thezone.com |
KOZN (1620AM) is asportsstationlicensed toBellevue, Nebraska, and serving theOmaha metropolitan area. It is owned byNRG Media, withstudios at Dodge Street and 50th Avenue inMidtown Omaha. It airs asports radioformat.
By day, KOZN is powered at 10,000wattsnon-directional. But at night, to avoid interfering with other stations on1620 AM, it reduces power to 1,000 watts. Thetransmitter site is on Harrison Street at South 60th Street inBellevue, Nebraska.[2]
KOZN has local sports programming Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Weekdays begin withMornings with Sharp and Handley followed byThe Connor Happer Show in middays,Unsportsmanlike Conduct, hosted by John Bishop and Josh Peterson, in afternoondrive time, andAfter Hours with Jimmie Allen in early evenings. Other local shows includeThe Creighton Athletics Hour hosted by Jimmie Allen,Severe Reaction with Mike'l Severe, and pre and postgame shows forUniversity of NebraskaCornhuskers football andCreighton University basketball and baseball.
NRG Media owns two sports stations in theOmaharadio market: KOZN 1620 andKZOT1180. KOZN features mostly local sports talk shows withFox Sports Radio heard late nights and weekends. KZOT airs mostlyCBS Sports Radio programming. KOZN carriesWestwood OneNFL Football andNCAA Basketball, as well as someKansas City Royals baseball games. KOZN originates and produces all game broadcasts of the NCAA Men'sCollege World Series, held each June in Omaha, and distributed nationally by Westwood One. Play by play is provided by eight-time Nebraska Sportscaster of the YearKevin Kugler.
KOZN originated as theAM expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM dial. On March 17, 1997 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that 88 stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz. KOIL (nowKZOT) in Bellevue was authorized to move from 1180 to 1620 kHz.[3] An application to construct the expanded band station, also located in Bellevue, was filed by Mitchell Broadcasting on June 16, 1997, which was assigned the call lettersKAZP on January 9, 1998.[4] This station on 1620 AM began broadcasting September 1999, and itscall letters were changed toKOZN on October 3, 2001.[4]
The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency.[3] However, this deadline has been extended multiple times, and broadcasting on both 1180 and 1620 kHz has remained authorized. One restriction is that the FCC has generally required paired original and expanded band stations to remain under common ownership.[5][6]
The original morning team of John Desjardins and Mike Steele, aka "Louie & The Animal" was calledThe Cage. It was replaced by the Bruno-Golic Morning Show when the station debuted theESPN Radio full-time lineup.Unsportsmanlike Conduct began with Kevin Kugler and Bob Bruce in 2000, and has been on the air continually since. As of February 1, 2011, 1620 The Zone discontinued its affiliation with ESPN Radio, switching to Fox Sports Radio. ESPN programming is now heard nights and weekends onKXSP590 AM in Omaha.
41°11′21″N96°00′19″W / 41.18917°N 96.00528°W /41.18917; -96.00528