 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Houston |
| Frequency | 97.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 97.9 The Box |
| Programming | |
| Format | Rhythmic contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2:KFNCsimulcast |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KMJQ,KKBQ,KHPT,KGLK | |
| History | |
First air date | February 2, 1958 (1958-02-02) |
Former call signs | KFMK (1958–1991) |
Call sign meaning | "The Box" (station branding) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 11969 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 585 meters (1,919 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 29°34′34″N95°30′36″W / 29.57611°N 95.51000°W /29.57611; -95.51000 |
| Links | |
| Webcast |
|
| Website | theboxhouston |
KBXX (97.9FM) is acommercialradio station inHouston, Texas. It airs anurban-leaningrhythmic contemporaryradio format, mostly made up ofhip-hop music and R&B. It is owned byUrban One as part of a five station cluster withKMJQ,KKBQ,KHPT, andKGLK. The studios and offices are located in theGreenway Plaza district.
KBXX has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts. Thetransmitter is on Farm to Market Road 2234, nearFort Bend Parkway inSouthwest Houston. It broadcasts in theHD Radio hybrid format.
Previously, the HD2 subchannel airedVietnamese language programming, bothtalk andpop music. KBXX-HD2 provided the primary feed forFM translator 101.7K269GT inHumble.[1]
The station originally signed on February 2, 1958 with an MOR music format as KFMK,[2] but later migrated to aclassical music format. By 1967, the station had moved back to an MOR format. In 1967, the studios were moved to the Memorial/Spring Branch area, and the station started focusing its programming on the suburban area, with locally focused newscasts and Spring Branch ISD sports play-by-play coverage.
In October 1967, the station started airing progressive rock at night. The underground format proved so popular that in late March 1968, the station adopted a round-the-clock progressive rock format that became known as "Mother Radio."
With no warning, the owners paid off the whole staff and took the station off the air at 4pm on March 26, 1969. The president of the station at the time, Jim Lammers, told the Houston Chronicle, "The format was not getting the kind of response we were hoping for, we were losing money and decided it was time to change."
After several weeks off the air to make technical repairs to the station's transmitting equipment, KFMK returned in May 1969 with a Southern Gospel format. After a survey of music preferences among Houston's church-going community, KFMK re-launched on October 1, 1975 with a contemporary Christian format and the slogan "The Spirit of 98".
The station was sold in 1979 and moved to an adult-leaning contemporary format, but retained the KFMK call letters. Protests over the station's abandonment of the Christian music format led that group to eventually start non-commercial contemporary Christian outletKSBJ. During the 80s, KFMK evolved into a more gold-based AC station, before becoming all Oldies in September 1990.
On April 2, 1991, after a period ofstunting, the station flipped to "The Box" with a newrhythmic contemporary format (alternatively referred to as "contemporary crossover" in the early years). The new KBXX callsign was implemented on April 22, 1991.[3] It fiercely competed with longtime heritage urban station KMJQ untilClear Channel Communications bought KBXX in late 1994, then paired it with KMJQ the year after, also in that year, KMJQ flipped tourban adult contemporary.
Despite being rhythmic, KBXX's music selection moved more toward amainstream urban direction, focusing on hip hop and R&B music. Clear Channel spun off KBXX and KMJQ toRadio One in 2000.
The morning show had been hosted byMadd Hatta since March 2001. He had been on KBXX since 1995, starting off in afternoons, before switching to morningdrive time. In December 2019, Madd Hatta left the station; the following month, he was replaced with "Good Morning H-Town", hosted initially by Jerrel 'Hardbody Kiotti' Brown and Keisha Nicole; Kiotti would be replaced by former Madd Hatta Show co-host James 'J Mac' Garrett.[4]
KBXX was moved toR&R'sUrban Contemporary Airplay panel in2006, however it still remains on Mediabase's Rhythmic Airplay Panel. In spite of having an urban-driven playlist, the station retains its rhythmic format in order to target a multicultural audience in the Houston market.[5]