 | |
| Broadcast area | Portland metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 98.7MHz |
| Branding | 98-7 The Bull |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KBFF,KINK,KUFO,KXL-FM,KXTG | |
| History | |
First air date | June 6,1948 (as KPOJ-FM) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies |
|
Call sign meaning | CoUPLe;KU-PortLand |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 4114 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 25,000watts |
| HAAT | 502 meters (1,647 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 45°30′58″N122°43′59″W / 45.51611°N 122.73306°W /45.51611; -122.73306 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www |
KUPL (98.7FM) is acommercialradio station inPortland, Oregon. The station is owned byAlpha Media and airs acountry musicradio format, known as "98.7 The Bull."
KUPL's studios and offices are located inDowntown Portland on SW 5th Avenue.[2] Thetransmitter is in Portland'sWest Hills, on SW Barnes Road.[3]
On June 6, 1948, the stationsigned on asKPOJ-FM at 98.7 MHz.[4] It was owned and operated byThe Oregon Journal.[5] It was powered at 44,000 watts and mostlysimulcast co-ownedAM 1330KPOJ, anetwork affiliate of theMutual Broadcasting System and theDon Lee Network.
It moved one spot lower on the FM dial, to 98.5 MHz, on March 27, 1964. On August 15, 1968, KPOJ-FM changed itscall sign toKPOK-FM. It playedoldies and called itself "The Golden Sound." On June 18, 1973, KPOK-FM changed its format from oldies tobeautiful music as "98-FM". On July 11, 1973, the call letters switched toKUPL-FM while AM 1330 airedcountry music, also using the KUPL call sign. The beautiful music on 98.5 lasted more than a decade.[6]
In 1982, KUPL-AM-FM were acquired by the Scripps Howard Broadcasting.[7] On March 16, 1984, after 10 years as aneasy listening station, KUPL-FM dropped the format and joined its AM counterpart as a country music station. KUPL-AM had also previously broadcast easy listening since the late 1970s. In 1981, KUPL-AM became a "Music of Your Life" affiliate, continuing with an easy listening format until 1984. The moniker for KUPL-FM was "K98, Continuous Hit Country." Later the station would be known as "Couple 98" by pronouncing the call letters KUPL.
In 1996, the stations changed hands again, now owned by American Radio Systems.[8] On September 4, 1997, KUPL-FM moved back from 98.5 MHz to 98.7 MHz, its original frequency.
Over the course of the next decade the station would rebrand various times including98.7 KUPL andNew Country 98-7 KUPL. In 1995, the AM station was sold for $2 million toCrawford Broadcasting, who switched it to aChristian radio format as KKPZ.[9] In 1998, KUPL-FM was acquired byCBS Radio.[10]
In August 2009, CBS sold its Portland cluster to newly formedAlpha Media.[11] Radio vet Scott Mahalick was hired to program KUPL-FM.[12] On September 16, 2010, the "-FM"suffix was removed from the station's callsign.
In March 2011, the station began using the slogan "98-7 KUPL, #1 For The Most New Country." On January 10, 2013 at midnight, the station dropped the "98-7 KUPL" branding for "98-7 The Bull."[13] It only uses the actual callsign during legalstation identifications.