 | |
| Broadcast area | Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 98.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | B98.7 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KBER,KENZ,KHTB,KKAT,KUBL-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1947 (as KDYL-FM) |
Former call signs | KDYL-FM (1947–1959) KCPX-FM (1959–1993) KVRI (1993–1995) |
Call sign meaning | KBee |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 53497 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 40,000watts |
| HAAT | 894 meters (2933 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°36′30″N112°9′34″W / 40.60833°N 112.15944°W /40.60833; -112.15944 |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | b987.com |
KBEE (98.7FM), branded asB98.7, is a commercialradio station inSalt Lake City, Utah.[1] It is one of the oldest FM stations in theWestern United States, tracing its history to 1947. The station is owned byCumulus Media, and it airs anadult contemporaryradio format.[2] KBEE's studios are located inSouth Salt Lake (behind theI-15/I-80 interchange). The station is also broadcast onHD radio.[3]
In 1947, the station firstsigned on asKDYL-FM, thesister station toKDYL, one of the firstAM radio stations in Utah, which went on the air in 1922.[4] KDYL-FM mostlysimulcast its AM counterpart through its early years. The owner, Sidney S. Fox, is considered a pioneer in Utah broadcasting history. Two years later, in 1949, he put Salt Lake City's firstTV station on the air, KDYL-TV (nowKTVX).[5]
In 1953, Fox sold KDYL-AM-FM-TV to publisherTime-Life Corporation for $2.1 million.
In 1959, the stations were purchased byColumbia Pictures and the radio stations'call signs were changed toKCPX andKCPX-FM. The two stations carried aTop 40 format that was very popular in the Salt Lake City area. During this time, the stations competed heavily for listeners with crosstown rival 1280 KNAK (nowKZNS).[6]
In 1967, theFederal Communications Commission required FM stations in medium to large cities to be programmed separately from their AM sister stations for most of the day. KCPX-FM switched to analbum rock format, while KCPX continued as a Top 40 station.
On August 26, 1983, when KCPX (AM) left the Top 40 format, KCPX-FM picked up itsCHR format, first known asHitRock 99 KCPX,HitRadio 99 KCPX, and then asPower 99. Columbia Pictures, which had just been acquired byThe Coca-Cola Company, sold KCPX and KCPX-FM to Price Broadcasting in 1982.[7][8] (The TV station had been sold to separate owners in 1975.)
KCPX-FM's Top 40/CHR format would last until October 4, 1990, when the station flipped toadult contemporary as "K98.7".[9]
In December 1992, KCPX shifted tohot adult contemporary asVariety 98.7,KVRI. In May 1995, afterCitadel Broadcasting bought the station, the station rebranded as "B98.7" and adopted theKBEE call letters.[10] The station's music focus has varied slightly over the past decade, leaning towards a moreModern AC direction for a time.
In 2002, the station returned to its roots as an AC station as "B98.7."
Over the seventeen-year period from 1985 to 2002, the station saw 18 different morning teams.[11] The long-time "Fisher, Todd, and Erin" morning team on competing stationKISN broke up in August 2001.[12] Citadel Broadcasting poached Todd and Erin Collard to host a new morning show on KBEE, though a no-compete clause in the married couple's previous contract kept the pair off the air from October 2001 to February 14, 2002.
In2010, the station evolved toadult top 40.
Citadel merged withCumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[13]
ByFebruary 2012, the station reverted to mainstream AC.
On July 3, 2013, KBEE again moved to adult top 40.[14] The station briefly aired the syndicatedKidd Kraddick morning show, just before the host's unexpected death.
On March 6, 2015, KBEE returned to adult contemporary.[15]
For several years in the early 2000s, KBEEsimulcasted the games of theUtah Jazzbasketball team, also carried on co-ownedsports radioKFNZ. The Jazz are now heard onKZNS andKZNS-FM.[16]
From atop Nelson Peak, 10 miles (16 km) west ofWest Jordan, Utah, the station has aneffective radiated power of 40,000watts, which makes KBEE audible throughout most of north central Utah, including all of the Wasatch Front. The station has aheight above average terrain of 894 metres (2,933 ft). KBEE also operates twotranslator stations, 92.3K222CM inHeber City[17] and 95.3K237AL inPark City.[18]
The callsign KBEE-FM was previously assigned to a station inModesto, California. That station began broadcasting April 3, 1948, on 103.3 MHz. It was owned by theMcClatchy Company, which publishes theModesto Bee newspaper, from where it got its call letters.[19]
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