 | |
| Broadcast area | Greater Houston |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 650kHz |
| Branding | The Bet Houston |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Sports gambling |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | October 2, 1947; 77 years ago (1947-10-02) (as KRCT) |
Former call signs | KRCT (1947–1961) |
Call sign meaning | "Kick" (former country format branding) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 25450 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 250 watts day |
Transmitter coordinates | 29°41′18″N95°10′29″W / 29.68833°N 95.17472°W /29.68833; -95.17472 |
| Repeater(s) | 95.7 KKHH-HD3 (Houston) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
KIKK (650AM) is adaytime-onlystation, licensed toPasadena, Texas, which broadcasts asports gambling format under ownership ofAudacy, Inc. Its studios are located in theGreenway Plaza district ofHouston, and its transmitter is located inPasadena. While it only broadcasts during daytime hours at250 watts, KIKK's low frequency gives the station a large coverage area, stretching fromFlatonia, Texas to the west, and pastLake Charles, Louisiana to the east.
KIKK commenced operations asradio station KRCT in 1947, licensed toBaytown. The Bay Broadcasting Company was the original owner, having built and operated the station since its inception. Bay Broadcasting would sell KRCT to Industrial Broadcasting Company in 1958, not long after moving it from the original tower site in Baytown, to its current home in Pasadena.
On May 1, 1961, KRCT changed call letters to the current KIKK.
KIKK only operates from local sunrise to local sunset in order to protect clear-channelWSM inNashville. For a time in the 1960s, Industrial attempted to operate the station earlier than sunrise inHouston andNashville and begin operations at 6:00 am each day. This was denied at district court and appeals court, and the station's prior operation at such times was sanctioned with aUS$10,000 fine from theFederal Communications Commission.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and early 1990s,650kHz was thecountry music station inHouston. It simulcasted with its FM sister station at times (the former KIKK-FM, nowKKHH), and was part of a heated country war with KILT-AM-FM until 1994.
By this point, KILT (AM) dropped the country format programming it has been utilizing since 1981, becomingHouston's first sports station, while KIKK was merely filling time by simulcasting its FM sister full-time. 650 AM finally broke the simulcast with95.7MHz, and flipped to business news as "Business Radio 650" in 1996.
KIKK changed formats in July 2004 toHot Talk under the monikerKIKK Ass 650, which became theHouston home forThe Howard Stern Show.[2] After Stern's move toSirius Satellite Radio in December 2005, KIKK switched to a news format and was affiliated withCNN Headline News.[3] Their early evening schedule was composed ofAdult Standards music until 2008, whenHeadline News completely took over the rest of the schedule, but that network's continuous move away from rolling news to focus more on personality talk caused the station to seek other programming such as theClark Howard Show, which then took up most of the station's schedule. In 2010, the station flipped to a local personality-emphasizing talk format (branded simply as "Talk 650"); however, it switched to an all-syndicated lineup in July 2011.[4]
KIKK dropped its talk format on January 2, 2013, and became asports radio station affiliated with CBS Sports Radio (nowInfinity Sports Network as of April 2024). The network's national programming complemented the locally focused sports format on sister stationKILT.[5]
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge withEntercom.[6] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[7][8]
On June 21, 2021, KIKK flipped to sports gambling, branded as "The Bet Houston", with programming from the co-ownedBetQL Network. Infinity Sports Network programming remains in certain timeslots.[9]
KIKK begins daily broadcasts at local sunrise (typical of daytime only AMs) but usually is on the air by 6 a.m. Central in most cases. The station carries the entire daytime lineup of the BetQL Network. It signs off at sunset to protect WSM.
Radio listeners expecting their regular dose of business news on KIKK-AM (650) Wednesday morning got a jolt when shock jock Howard Stern temporarily took over the airwaves. The controversial disc jockey, whose sexually explicit talk show was yanked from several stations for indecency, announced that he soon will be heard inHouston and eight other new markets. Beginning July 19, Stern's polarizing show will be carried from sunup until 11 a.m. weekdays on theHouston station, which is switching to a "hot talk" format.