| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Little Rock (Central Arkansas) |
| Frequency | 106.7MHz |
| Branding | 106.7 The Buz2 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | ESPN Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KABZ,KKPT | |
| History | |
First air date | January 1, 1979 (1979-01-01) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 107.1 MHz (1979–1993) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 6819 |
| Class | C2 |
| ERP | 13,000 watts |
| HAAT | 292.7 meters (960 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°47′56″N92°29′53″W / 34.79889°N 92.49806°W /34.79889; -92.49806 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
KBZU (106.7MHz) is acommercialFMradio station inLittle Rock, Arkansas (licensed tosuburbanBenton, Arkansas in theLittle Rockradio market). The station airs asportsradio format and calls itself "106.7 The Buz2".[2] KBZU is owned by Signal Media of Arkansas, Inc. The station's studios and offices are located just west of downtown Little Rock, along the south shore of theArkansas River (David D. Terry Lake). Thetransmitter is located onShinall Mountain, along Two Towers Road, near theChenal Valley neighborhood of Little Rock.
KBZU is aClass C2 FM station, with aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 13,000watts from a tower 960 feet (292.7 m) inheight above average terrain (HAAT).
On January 1, 1979, the stationsigned on at 107.1 MHz as KAKI.[3] It was owned by Bridges Broadcasting and was the FM counterpart to KGKO (850 AM, now deleted). The station was aClass A, powered at only 2,500 watts, serving Benton and its adjacent towns, not the larger Little Rock market. While KGKO playedoldies, KAKI was separately programmed as a country music station. By the late 1980s, KAKI switched toadult contemporary music.
In 1992, the station changed itscall sign to match its AM counterpart, becoming KGKO-FM.[4] It also received aconstruction permit from theFederal Communications Commission to move to 106.7 MHz, coupled with an increase in power and tower height.
In 1993, the station was bought by the Southern Skies Corporation for $1.125 million.[5] The new owners finished moving the station to 106.7 on a new tower and relocated the studios and offices to Little Rock. The format returned to country music and the call letters were switched to KMVK, which represented "Maverick."
In 1997, the station was acquired by Clear Channel Communications, now known asiHeartMedia.[6] The station switched its call sign to KDDK and began calling itself "The Wolf." In 2002, its call letters changed again, this time to KHKN, representing the word "Kickin'."
On March 31, 2008, "The Wolf" moved to 105.1 FM (currentlyKMJX) and KHKN rebranded as "TOM-FM".[7] According to Phil Hunt, regional programming vice-president of Clear Channel, "We're going to call the station Tom FM after Tom Wood and his famous Brown Bagger show."[7]
On August 17, 2009, KHKN swapped formats and call letters withKHLR (94.9 FM). The new KHLR at 106.7 FM flipped tourban contemporary gospel, branded as "Hallelujah FM."
On April 12, 2011, Clear Channel sold the station to Signal Media for $2 million.[8]
On July 19, 2011, at 6 p.m., KHLR changed its format torhythmic oldies, branded as "Heartbeat 106.7." The first song on "Heartbeat" was "Good Times" byChic. Although its slogan was billed as "R&B + Old School," itsplaylist also featured artists from the early days of the Disco/Dance and Rhythmic Pop genres.
On August 12, 2015 at 5 PM, after playing "Last Dance" byDonna Summer, KHLR flipped to country, branded as "106.7 The Ride". It launched with a "commercial free 10,000 song free ride," beginning with "Kick the Dust Up" byLuke Bryan. The new country format competes with former owner iHeartMedia’s country combo ofKSSN andKMJX.
On November 13, 2020, morning host Doug Kramer, who had moved fromKHKN earlier that year, announced his dismissal from the station, and announced that the rest of the airstaff, including midday host AJ Parker and afternoon host Ashley King, would exit within 30 days; he claimed this was due to financial hardships brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
On December 30, Signal Media announced that the station would flip to sports talk, as a supplemental sister station toKABZ, on January 4, 2021, branded as "106.7 The Buz2", under new call sign KBZU. "The Buz2" will feature the national ESPN Radio lineup, while continuing to serve as home to Arkansas State University football, University of Arkansas-Little Rock men’s basketball and Benton High School football.[10]