| Silent; former simulcast withKBEDNederland | |
|---|---|
| |
| Broadcast area | Beaumont-Port Arthur area |
| Frequency | 1450kHz |
| Branding | Sports Radio Beaumont |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | Infinity Sports Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | June 21, 1962 (1962-6-21) (as KAYC) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | "Kicker" (former branding when calls were associated with880 inConroe). |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 52406 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000 watts |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
KIKR (1450AM, branded asSports Radio Beaumont) is a radio station serving theBeaumont/Port Arthur area with asports format when it is in operation. It is under ownership ofCumulus Media, and normally simulcasts with sister stationKBED AM 1510 Nederland, Texas. Its studios are located on South Eleventh Street in Beaumont and its transmitter is located half a mile southeast of the studios.
KIKR received its license as KAYC on June 21, 1962 and was owned by Texas Coast Broadcasters, Inc. It was once the AM sister toKAYD (97.5FM) hence "KAY-C" and "KAY-D".
The first station to operate on 1450 kHz in the area was KRIC[2] in the 1940s. The FM, (then KRIC-FM) was originally 99.5 but was moved to 97.5 in a swap withLake Charles, Louisiana, due to the second harmonic of 99.5 falling in the middle of TV channel 11. At the time, there were no TV stations in Beaumont andKHOU, then KGUL, was on the air withCBS from a tower north of Galveston island. Viewers in the Beaumont area trying to watch KGUL could not due to the interference. After numerous complaints were lodged, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) swapped 99.5 for 97.5 and the problem went away. KRIC-FM, now KFNC, is one of the oldest FMs in Texas on the current 88-108 MHz band.
From 1962 to 1980, KAYC was aTop 40 powerhouse with local legend Al Caldwell in the mornings, a variety of med-day personalities, and Paul King (Box) doing afternoons for 8 years. KAY-C carriedAmerican Top 40 withCasey Kasem along withRobert W. Morgan's Special of the Week. Its main competitors wereKOLE andKLVI. In 1978, FM sister station KAYD flipped formats fromalbum-oriented rock to top 40. KAYC and KAYD simulcast some weekend programming, includingAmerican Top 40, but kept separate programming at other times. By the 1980s, top 40 on KAYC was waning and the FM had gone to acountry music format. Eventually the callsign changed as Charlie Pride had bought the stations and they went country. But FM had taken over the music airwaves and eventually 1450 became a Spanish-language station before finally becoming a sports radio station.
KIKR, along with simulcast partner KBED, wentsilent in March 2025. They were two of six Cumulus stations to close the weekend of March 7, as part of a larger shutdown of underperforming Cumulus stations.[3]
30°3′51.8″N94°7′11.6″W / 30.064389°N 94.119889°W /30.064389; -94.119889
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