 | |
| Broadcast area | Central California |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1230kHz |
| Branding | ESPN Bakersfield |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | ESPN Radio Infinity Sports Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KEBT,KERN,KGFM,KISV,KKXX-FM[1] | |
| History | |
First air date | 1946; 79 years ago (1946) (as KERO) |
Former call signs | KERO (1945–1955) KGEE (1955–1980) KGAM (1980–1981) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 36233 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000watts (unlimited) |
| Translator(s) | 101.1 K266CG (Bakersfield) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | bakersfieldespn.com |
KGEO (1230AM, branded on-air as "ESPN Bakersfield") is acommercialradio station inBakersfield, California. It broadcasts asports radioformat with shows fromESPN Radio and theInfinity Sports Network. KGEO is theflagship station of locally-basedAmerican General Media, with studios located at the Easton Business Complex in southwest Bakersfield.
KGEO is powered at 1,000watts. Its AMtransmitter is located southwest ofHighway 58 and Union Avenue in southeast Bakersfield. KGEO shares itsbroadcast tower withKWAC1490 AM. Programming on KGEO is also heard onFM translatorK266CG at 101.1MHz.
The stationsigned on the air in 1946; 79 years ago (1946).[3] Its originalcall sign was KERO. Its studios were in the El Tejon Hotel in Downtown Bakersfield. KERO was anaffiliate of theNBC Red Network. It ran NBC's dramas, comedies, news and sports during the "Golden Age of Radio." In 1953, KERO added Bakersfield's second television station to its broadcast properties. That station still bears theKERO-TV call letters.
Original local owner Kern County Broadcasters sold off the radio station in 1955, and the call letters were changed to KGEE. It aired a mix of talk andmiddle of the road (MOR) music. Its moniker was "KGEE, The Talk of the Town".
The station was assigned the call letters KGEO by theFederal Communications Commission on May 18,1981.[4] With the new call sign, 1230 AM became one of Bakersfield's first stations to program anoldies format, playing the hits from 1954 to early 1970s. The station was known as "KGEOldies". During the 1980s, it advertised itself as playing four decades of hits.
KGEO switched to anall talk format in the late 1990s. It featuredsyndicated shows fromDennis Miller,Dave Ramsey,Lou Dobbs,Clark Howard,Wall Street Journal Radio,America's Morning News andRed Eye Radio. Local programing heard on KGEO includedYour Radio Store andCalifornian Radio with hosts Jeff Lemuccci, Richard Beene, Lois Henry, Robert Price and John Arthur. KGEO also carriedminor league baseball games of the now-defunctBakersfield Blaze in theCalifornia League.
KGEO later experimented withhot talk carrying such syndicated programs as "ThePhil Hendrie Show" and "TheTom Leykis Show".Imus in the Morning was heard on KGEO until its cancellation in April 2007. KGEO also dropped "The Don and Mike Show" just one week before radio veteranDon Geronimo had planned to retire anyway.
In the early 2000s, KGEO switched to anall-sports format, airing an extensive lineup fromESPN Radio. It left sports radio for a few years but on Monday, March 31, 2008, sports returned to 1230 AM. KGEO once again affiliated withESPN Radio and was rebranded asESPN Radio 1230.
On April 5, 2011, KGEO changed formats and became a news/talk station known as "$mart Talk 1230." That lasted a short time and once again, KGEO returned to ESPN Radio as its Bakersfield affiliate.
35°20′53″N119°00′33″W / 35.34806°N 119.00917°W /35.34806; -119.00917
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