 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Sacramento metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 92.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 92-5 The Breeze |
| Programming | |
| Format | Soft adult contemporary |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | February 1947 (1947-02) (as KFBK-FM at 96.9 FM) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 96.9MHz (1947–1958) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 10146 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 137 meters (449 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 38°42′26″N121°28′33″W / 38.70722°N 121.47583°W /38.70722; -121.47583 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | 925thebreeze |
KBEB (92.5FM) is aCommercial radio station inSacramento, California, calling itself "92.5 The Breeze". It is owned byiHeartMedia and airs asoft adult contemporaryformat. KBEB carries thesyndicatedDelilah call-in and request show in the evening. The studios are in North Sacramento nearArden Fair Mall.
KBEB has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts. Thetransmitter is off West Delano Street inElverta.[2] KBEB broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. The HD2digital subchannel formerly aired iHeartMedia'sbilingualsoft AC "Magic" format. The subchannel has since been turned off.
In February 1947, the stationsigned on as KFBK-FM on 96.9MHz. It was originally owned byMcClatchy Newspapers, parent company ofThe Sacramento Bee.[3] On January 9, 1958, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) granted KFBK-FM's request to move the station to 92.5 MHz.[4] For its first two decades, it largelysimulcast co-ownedKFBK. In the 1960s, it began playingclassical music for some hours, and eventually went all-classical.
In October 1978, KFBK-FM changed itscall sign to KAER.[5] It switched to abeautiful music format, playing quarter hour sweeps of soft, instrumentalcover versions of popular songs.[6]
On July 24, 1987, McClatchy Newspapers sold KAER and KFBK toWestinghouse Broadcasting (Group W) for $19,001,000. The transaction closed in September.[7][8] KAER began adding more vocals to theeasy listening format in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic; eventually, the instrumentals would be dropped.
On February 26, 1991, the station began broadcasting anadult contemporary musicformat branded simply as "Y-92 FM, The Adult Choice".[9] New call letters KGBY were assigned by the FCC the following month.[10] The station was owned by AMFM Broadcasting from 1994 to 2000, thenClear Channel Communications after AMFM and Clear Channel merged. In 2000, the station briefly added a heavy number ofcountry-based current hits, including songs byBilly Gilman,Lee Ann Womack,Lonestar, andBilly Joel. In 2001, the station re-branded itself as "Y-92.5, Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites" (resurrecting the slogan used by Group W in 1988 after dumping the KAER call letters). The station began using the "Best Mix in Denver" jingle package created forKIMN byJAM Creative Productions, including the "Y-92.5 KGBY, Sacramento" top-of-the-hourstation identification.
In 2002 and 2003, the weekday lineup included Paul Robbins and Phil Cowan (KGBY's morning show host since the 1980s), Mary Ellen Murphy (voice-tracked from a Clear Channel station inGrand Rapids, Michigan), and Dana Hess. Evening programming varied, including a local love songs show in early 2003 and a brief stint usingJohn Tesh's syndicated show later that same year. On November 14, 2003, Y92.5 surprised listeners by switching to an all-Christmas music format.[11] For the next six weeks, KGBY featured to a catalog of over 300 Christmas songs ranging from staples such asBrenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" andJohn Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (both songs were played once every four hours, on the hour) to unusual tracks such as "Light of the Stable" byEmmylou Harris. The station repeated the seasonal change in 2004 and 2005; in 2006, the all-Christmas format was reduced to four weeks.
In 2004, KGBY began making several major changes. In January, the voice-tracked Murphy was dismissed in favor of local voice Lori Sacco. The station experimented with a 92-minute commercial-free block of music weekdays at 8:30 a.m.; this was in response toKYMX's "96 minutes of music", but neither station's effort lasted more than a few months. The "Y-92.5 KGBY, Sacramento" station ID was replaced with a simpler version. By the middle of 2004, the station began evolving into a more "upbeat" mix of music. All but a few 1970s tracks were cut from the playlist, while more upbeat songs from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s were added. Later that year, the station, embracing Clear Channel's "Less is More" initiative, began cutting commercial times from one minute to 30 seconds.Jingles were also shortened to "Y-92.5 FM" from the original version, "Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites, Y-92.5 FM".
In 2005, KGBY experimented with "Extra Wide Variety" weekends, adding hundreds of unusual songs to its playlist from Friday at 3 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m.; this was a response to thevariety rock phenomenon exemplified byJack FM. Also that year, Phil Cowan exited the station, withPaul & Phil in the Morning rebranded simply asPaul Robbins in the Morning. Accompanying this change was a new jingle package, ditching "Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites" in favor of their new slogan, "Sacramento's Best Music Mix, Y-92.5 FM". Further changes would come in early 2007, when afternoon host Dana Hess was dismissed in a cost-cutting move[12] and the station returned to its earlier practice of voice-tracking, replacing him with an automated Lyman James. James went on to host a live midday show onKRBB (B98 FM) inWichita, Kansas while holding the position of Operations Manager for iHeartMedia (as Clear Channel was renamed in September 2014).[13]
Through all the changes at KGBY, the station's playlist emphasized many upbeat songs, including "Nothing Left To Lose" byMat Kearney and "Wake Me Up When September Ends" byGreen Day. Older titles were oftenrhythmic oldies (akin to those played on theMovin' stations) and include such songs as "September" byEarth, Wind & Fire and "I Can't Wait" byNu Shooz. However, on December 26, 2007 at 6 a.m., after completing its annual all-Christmas music programming, KGBY flipped to anadult top 40 format, branded "My 92-5" and featuring a heavy emphasis on current-basedhot adult contemporary (hot AC) product.[14] The Y92 morning show ended after twenty years on the air.[15]
On December 1, 2011 at midnight, after playing "Gives You Hell" byThe All-American Rejects, KGBY begansimulcastingnews/talk-formattedKFBK (1530 AM)[16] using the original call sign KFBK-FM. The move leftCBS Radio'sKZZO as the only hot AC station in Sacramento, but new competition arose whenEntercom droppedrhythmic adult contemporary for hot AC onKBZC the following week.
After two years with news/talk, Clear Channel decided to switch the frequencies of KFBK-FM and KHLX (93.1 FM) on December 26, 2013. KHLX, which previously had aclassic hits format, moved to 92.5 FM while the KFBK-FM call sign and format shifted to93.1 FM. KHLX simulcast KFBK-AM-FM on a temporary basis as Clear Channel prepared to launch a new format at 92.5 FM.[17][18]
On January 10, 2014 at 5 p.m., KHLX split from its simulcast with KFBK-FM and changed its format tocountry, known as "B92.5". The first song on B92.5 was "The Only Way I Know" byJason Aldean.[19] Soon after, KHLX changed its callsign to KBEB to match its "B" branding.[18]
On December 30, 2016, KBEB rebranded as "92.5 The Bull"; the station otherwise made no changes. The Bull launched with 92.5 hours of music commercial-free.[20]
On November 8, 2018,iHeartMedia announced that KBEB would flip tosoft adult contemporary as "92.5 The Breeze" on November 12. The "Bull" format moved toK296GB on the same date, and the signals were simulcast briefly as a means of transition between formats, akin to that of the KFBK simulcast five years prior. "The Breeze" launched on November 12 at 3 p.m.[21]
On November 1, 2024, KBEB switched to an all-Christmas music format, the first time the station has done so since 2007. KBEB has always playedChristmas music on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However, at 8:52 am on November 1, 2024, KBEB played "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Johnny Mathis, kicking off a playlist of 24/7 Christmas music.[22] This Christmas Music directly competes withKYMX, which usually flips to Christmas music every year in November. However, this trend of flipping to Christmas music in November is not unusual forIHeartMedia-owned AC stations. Some notable examples of sister stations to KBEB who flip to Christmas music every year includeWLIT-FM,WLTW, andKOST.
KBEB broadcasts a digitalHD Radio signal featuring two subchannels:
Originally, starting in 2006, KGBY-HD2 broadcast anall-1980s music format. The following year, the station began airing theLGBT-targetedPride Radio channel, using music from iHeartMedia'sPremium Choice service.[23] Later, the subchannel switched to theCountry Premium Choice service, airing that format until January 2014 when KHLX-HD2 flipped to a simulcast of news/talk-formatted KFBK-FM (93.1 FM). In 2024, KBEB-HD2 was relaunched with the "Magic" format.
In theThree Stooges' 1945 short featureMicro-Phonies, KGBY was thecall sign for the fictional radio station featured.
