 | |
| Broadcast area | Seattle metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 850kHz |
| Branding | Seattle's BIN 850 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Black-oriented news |
| Affiliations | Black Information Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KBKS-FM,KJAQ,KJEB,KJR,KJR-FM,KPTR,KZOK-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | August 1942; 82 years ago (1942-08) (as KTBI at 1490) |
Former call signs | KTBI (1942–1952) KTAC (1952–1992) KMTT (1992–1996) |
Former frequencies | 1490 kHz (1942–1947) 810 kHz (1947–1952) |
Call sign meaning | former branding "K-H 2O",the scientific property of water |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 18523 |
| Class | abc |
| Power | 10,000watts day 1,000 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 47°13′56″N122°23′22″W / 47.23222°N 122.38944°W /47.23222; -122.38944 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | seattle |
KHHO (850AM) is acommercialradio station licensed toTacoma, Washington. The station serves the Tacoma portion of theSeattle-Tacomaradio market. The station is an affiliate ofBlack Information Network and is owned byiHeartMedia.
The studios are in Seattle'sBelltown neighborhood northwest ofdowntown. KHHO operates at 10,000watts by day; because 850 AM is aclear channel frequency reserved forClass AKOA inDenver, KHHO must reduce power at night to 1,000 watts. It uses adirectional antenna at all times. Thetransmitter is located off 30th Avenue East in Tacoma.[2]
The station went on the air asKTBI in August 1942.[3] Thecall sign stood forTacomaBroadcastersIncorporated, the company that owned the station. It was originally onAM 1490, powered at only 250 watts.
KTBI later switched toAM 810.[4] That was coupled with a power increase to 1,000 watts but the station became adaytimer, required tosign off at sunset to avoid interfering with 50,000 wattKGO inSan Francisco.[5]
The station becameKTAC on February 1, 1952. That same year, it made its move toAM 850, still powered at 1,000 watts but allowed to broadcast around the clock. In 1956, KTAC moved its studios and offices to the Winthrop Hotel.[5]
"85 KTAC" was aTop 40 competitor toKJR,KING andKOL throughout the 1970s. Don Wade, Robert O'Smith, John Williams, Ron Erak, Bruce Cannon, Bob Case and Ric Hansen were among the air personalities during its Top 40 dominance of the south Puget Sound area.
The call letters changed toKMTT on June 19, 1992,simulcasting with then-sister stationKMTT-FM.Entercom sold the station to Southwave Wireless, LLC (Steve West and Dan Walker) in 1996.
On March 11, 1996, the station changed its call sign to the currentKHHO.[6] It launched anews/talk format ("K-H-2-O, The Voice of the South Sound") featuring Manda Factor, Jeff Walker and Bruce Cannon.
In 1998, the station was acquired byThe Ackerley Group and adopted anall-sports format, featuring programming fromESPN Radio, thenFox Sports Radio,CBS Sports Radio and laterNBC Sports Radio. For a time, it simulcastedKJR.
In 2002, KHHO was acquired byClear Channel Communications.[7] KHHO changed from sports radio to aconservative talk format, branded as "South Sound Talk 850", on February 8, 2018.[8] During the conservative talk format's run, KHHO primarily airednationally syndicated talk shows fromGlenn Beck,Armstrong & Getty,Todd Schnitt,Buck Sexton, Clyde Lewis, andBeyond Reality Radio.
The station carried play-by-play of theTacoma RainiersTriple-Aminor league baseball team until 2019.[9] It was also Tacoma'snetwork affiliate for theWashington State CougarsIMG College network.[10]
On June 30, 2020, afterstunting with a loop of speeches by noted African American personalities the previous day, KHHO flipped toall-news radio as a charter station of iHeartMedia's newBlack Information Network (BIN), which carries local and national news programming catered towards the African American community. The new format competes withLotus Communications' heritage all-news stationKNWN/KNWN-FM.[11][12]