KFH (AM)

KFH (1240 AM) is a commercial radio station in Wichita, Kansas.[3] The station is owned by Entercom.[4] It airs a sports radio format and is owned by Entercom. The station's studios and offices are located at North Woodlawn Avenue and East 21st Street.

KFH
CityWichita, Kansas
Frequency1240 kHz
BrandingSports Radio 1240 & 97.5 KFH
Programming
FormatSports
AffiliationsESPN Radio
CBS Sports Radio
Kansas City Royals Radio Network
Kansas City Chiefs Radio Network
University of Kansas Jayhawks Radio Network
Ownership
OwnerEntercom
(Entercom License, LLC)
KDGS, KEYN-FM, KFBZ, KNSS, KNSS-FM
History
First air date
November 1947
Former call signs
KAKE (1947–1980)
KAKZ (1980–1985)
KRZZ (1985–1987)
KNSS (1987–2004)
[1][2]
Call sign meaning
"Kansas' Finest Hotel" (studios were formerly in Carey House Square at Douglas and Emporia, Wichita)
Technical information
Facility ID53598
ClassC
Power630 watts
Translator(s)97.5 K248CY (Wichita)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.radio.com/kfh

KFH is powered at 630 watts, using a non-directional antenna. The transmitter is off West 19th Street, in Wichita, near Interstate 135.[5] Programming is also heard in Wichita and adjacent communities on 250 watt FM translator K248CY at 97.5 MHz.

Programming

KFH mostly carries nationally syndicated programs from ESPN Radio. Two local shows are heard on weekdays: Sports Daily with Bruce Haertl and Shane Dennis in late mornings and The Drive with Bob and Jeff Lutz in afternoon drive time. Some features from CBS Sports Radio are also heard, along with the syndicated Jim Rome Show in middays.

KFH carries Kansas City Royals baseball and Kansas City Chiefs football. It also airs University of Kansas Jayhawks football and men's basketball games (even calling itself at one point "Kansas Fan Headquarters").

History

(For the history of the 1330 frequency, see KNSS)

KAKE Radio

On October 28, 1947, the station signed on the air.[6] The original call sign was KAKE and the owner was the KAKE Broadcasting Company, Inc. The original power was only 250 watts and the studios were located at 416 West Douglas Avenue. The station was a network affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System and later the Don Lee Network.

In 1954, KAKE 1240 added a TV station, Channel 10 KAKE-TV. It started as both an NBC and ABC affiliate, eventually carrying ABC programming full time. The AM station got an increase to 1,000 watts by day, remaining at 250 watts at night.[7]

In the 1970s, KAKE switched to a middle of the road (MOR) format of popular music, news and talk. KAKE was affiliated with the ABC Entertainment Network.[8]

KAKZ and KRZZ

In 1979, the TV station was sold to the Chronicle Publishing Company, parent company of the San Francisco Chronicle. Channel 10 kept the KAKE-TV call sign, so AM 1240 had to slightly change its call letters to KAKZ.

By the 1980s, as music listening to AM radio shifted to FM, AM 1240 added more talk shows. In 1985, the call sign changed to KRZZ.

KNSS

By the 1990s, the station became all-talk. It added shows from the ABC Talk Radio Network and NBC Talknet.[9] To reinforce its commitment to news and talk, the call sign switched to KNSS. The call letters referred to KaNSaS and NewS Station.

In 2000, Entercom acquired both 1240 KNSS and another AM station in Wichita, 1330 KFH.[10] With two AM talk stations in the same city, Entercom decided to make some adjustments.

Switching KFH and KNSS

On August 30, 2004, the KFH call sign was relocated from AM 1330 to AM 1240.[11][12] The KNSS call sign was relocated from AM 1240 to AM 1330. As KNSS, AM 1330 continued as a news-talk station. 1330 has a better signal, at 5,000 watts. 1240 by this time was broadcasting at 1,000 watts full time.

KFH 1240 then became a hot talk station, carrying shows such as Don & Mike and Loveline. It shifted back to a more mainstream talk format in 2006. On May 9, 2011, KFH changed its format to all-sports, affiliating with ESPN Radio. Programming was also simulcast on 98.7 FM, also owned by Entercom. It switched its call sign to KFH-FM, giving sports listeners the option to hear sports talk and play by play on either AM or FM.

New Studios and New FM Station

In early 2015, Entercom moved its Wichita radio stations to the Ruffin Building at 9111 East Douglas. It was formerly the Pizza Hut corporate headquarters.[13]

KFH gave up its 50,000 watt FM simulcast on October 12, 2016. KFH-FM 98.7 then became KNSS-FM, simulcast the talk programming on 1330 KNSS.[14] Entercom switched KFH sports programming to a 250 watt FM translator station, K248CY. Sports listeners in Wichita and adjacent communities could hear KFH on either AM 1240 or FM 97.5.

References
  1. "FCC History Cards for KFH".
  2. "KFH Facility Data". FCCData.
  3. KFH on Radio-Locator
  4. KFH in the FCC's AM station database
  5. Radio-Locator.com/KFH
  6. Information from the Broadcasting Yearbook 1948 page 132
  7. Broadcasting Yearbook 1969 page B-67
  8. Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 page C-88
  9. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1995 page B-160
  10. Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2005 page D-222
  13. "Entercom Radio to move to Ruffin Building". Archived from the original on 2014-10-19. Retrieved 2014-06-24.
  14. "Which Wichita radio stations are moving spots on the dial?". The Wichita Eagle. October 7, 2016. Retrieved October 15, 2016.

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