KABG

KABG
City Los Alamos, New Mexico
Broadcast area Albuquerque, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Branding Big 98.5
Slogan New Mexico's Greatest Hits
Frequency 98.5 MHz
First air date 1956 (as KRSN)
Format Classic Hits
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 581 meters
Class C
Facility ID 44000
Transmitter coordinates 35°46′48″N 106°31′41″W / 35.780°N 106.528°W / 35.780; -106.528Coordinates: 35°46′48″N 106°31′41″W / 35.780°N 106.528°W / 35.780; -106.528
Callsign meaning KA BiG
Former callsigns KRSN (1956-1986)
KKBR (1986-1990)
KRBL (1990-1993)
KTMN (1993-1997)
Owner American General Media
Sister stations KHFM, KIOT, KJFA, KJFA-FM, KKRG-FM, KKSS, KLVO
Webcast Listen Live
Website big985.com

KABG (98.5 MHz) is an American radio station licensed to Los Alamos, New Mexico serving the Santa Fe and Albuquerque radio markets. It is owned by American General Media and has a classic hits format playing top 40 hits mostly from the 1970s to the early 1990s. Its studios are located in Northeast Albuquerque and the transmitter tower is located west of Los Alamos, New Mexico.

History

This station signed on in 1956 as KRSN-FM.

In 1986 it changed to KKBR and broadcast a 50s and 60s oldies format called "K-Bear". In March 1990 the oldies format moved to KBOM 106.7 and 98.5 would change to KRBL with an Album-oriented rock format called "The Rebel Rocker". Following the Z-Rock network move to an FM frequency in late 1991, KRBL would move to pick up the mainstream CHR/Top 40 format rebranding as "Lazer 98.5" in June 1992. After more than a year the format would be dropped and would not return to the market for about six years. In November 1993 the station changed to KTMN and would air a Classic Rock format called "The Mountain". After KIOT dropped Adult Album Alternative for classic rock in Fall of 1995, KTMN shifted its programming to fill the AAA void while continuing to use "The Mountain" brand. In 1997 the station was sold to American General Media who would then change the format to oldies and call letters to KABG in June.

KABG launched in Summer 1997 as "Big Oldies 98.5". It then went on to overcome two other long running oldies stations in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe markets, KBOM 106.7 (moved to 94.7 in 2000, both frequencies which AGM had later purchased) in Santa Fe and KZKL (later changed to KQEO) 101.7 in Albuquerque which dropped the format in 2002 making KABG the only FM oldies station in both markets until its format change in 2007. Local radio veteran Bobby Box would host the morning shift for several years helping to make the station popular with its target audience.

For many years the station had been known as "Big Oldies" but in 2007 it rebranded to just "Big 98.5" phasing out the word "oldies" as it has followed most other oldies stations across the country in shifting to a more 1970s focused "classic hits" format in order to improve its audience in the 25-54 age range demographic. It had also changed its website. Despite this, the station still played a small amount of 1950s/early 1960s oldies for a few more years. Today the format is mostly focused on music from the 1980s with a small amount of music from the 1990s added.


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