KFMB (AM)

KFMB
City San Diego, California
Broadcast area San Diego County, California
Branding "AM 760 KFMB"
Slogan "San Diego's Talk & Breaking News"
Frequency 760 kHz
First air date August 19, 1941
Format Talk
Language(s) English
Power 5,000 watts day (non-directional)
50,000 watts night (directional)
Class B
Facility ID 42120
Transmitter coordinates 32°50′33″N 117°1′30″W / 32.84250°N 117.02500°W / 32.84250; -117.02500Coordinates: 32°50′33″N 117°1′30″W / 32.84250°N 117.02500°W / 32.84250; -117.02500
Callsign meaning For Mary and Burnham
(daughter and son of station founder Warren B. Worcester)
Affiliations CBS News Radio
Westwood One News
Westwood One Network
Premiere Networks
Owner Tegna, Inc.
(KFMB-TV, LLC)
Sister stations KFMB-FM, KFMB-TV
Webcast Listen Live
Website 760kfmb.com
KFMB's towers are near Mission Gorge in San Diego.

KFMB (760 kHz, "AM 760 KFMB") is an AM talk radio station in San Diego, California, United States. It is owned by Tegna, Inc., along with KFMB-FM (100.7 FM) and KFMB-TV (channel 8).[1] All three share studios in the Kearny Mesa district of San Diego.

KFMB is one of the few stations in the U.S. that significantly increases power at night. The daytime power of 5,000 watts is limited due to proximity to KBRT (740 AM), a religious radio station with its transmitter in Orange County. Because KBRT drastically reduces its power after sunset, KFMB's nighttime power is boosted to 50,000 watts, with a signal pattern that follows the California coast.[2] KFMB's antennas are unique in that they are located on both sides of a highway (Route 52 in Santee, California).[3]

History

KFMB first greeted listeners on August 19, 1941,[4] broadcasting from the corner of Pacific Highway and Ash Street, downtown. Owned by Warren B. Worcester and the Worcester Broadcasting Corporation, the "M" in KFMB was for Worcester's daughter Mary; the "B" for his son Warren Burnham. The FCC construction permit was for 1420 kHz. By the time the station signed on all stations on 1420 kHz had moved to 1450 kHz as a result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement. KFMB changed frequencies several more times, to 550 AM in 1948, 540 AM in 1954 and finally, in 1965 to its current position at 760 AM after a realignment of broadcast channels between the United States and Mexico.

Warren Worcester died on October 24, 1942, following a brief illness.[5] In November 1943 the trustees of Worcester's estate sold KFMB to its general manager, Jack O. Gross and a business partner, O.L. Taylor;[6][7] Gross purchased Taylor's 50 percent interest and became sole owner in 1945.[8] Under Gross's stewardship KFMB pioneered FM and television service in San Diego, launching KFMB-FM in April 1947 and KFMB-TV in May 1949.

In November 1950, Gross sold the KFMB stations to John A. Kennedy, a former publisher of the San Diego Daily Journal.[9] Three years later, Kennedy sold the trio to a partnership of television producer Jack Wrather and industry executive Helen Alvarez.[10] In 1957 Alvarez sold her shares in KFMB to Wrather,[11] who then sold his broadcast interests to Buffalo, New York-based Transcontinent Television Corporation in early 1959.[12][13] As part of Transcontinent's exit from broadcasting, KFMB-AM-FM-TV was sold in 1964 to Midwest Television, controlled by the Meyer family and then based in Champaign, Illinois.[14]

In the mid 1970s, KFMB's format was an adult-oriented Top 40, and featured such personalities as Perry Allen, the morning drive teams of Charlie and Herrigan (Jack Woods and Paul Menard) to be followed by Hudson and Bauer (Mac Hudson and Joe Bauer), Clark Anthony, and Bobby Rich.

From 1978 to 1999 the station was the broadcast home for the San Diego Padres baseball team. From roughly 1975 through 1989, KFMB was one of the top three highest rated stations in San Diego, frequently fighting its FM sister, B-100, for the top position. From 1998 to 2004 it was the flagship of the San Diego Chargers football team.

On October 6, 2015, Midwest Television entered into a joint operating agreement with Local Media San Diego LLC, which operated three Tijuana-licensed stations–XHRM-FM (92.5 FM), XETRA-FM (91.1 FM), and XHITZ-FM (90.3 FM)–forming an entity known as "SDLocal" to market all five stations together. Management said the intent of the agreement was to "[preserve the] local ownership and operation of San Diego's top-rated radio stations".[15] The agreement ended at the end of 2016.[16]

In October 2017, local media reported that KFMB-AM-FM-TV were being offered for sale by Midwest Television.[17] On December 18, 2017, Tegna, Inc. announced it would purchase the KFMB stations for $325 million;[18] the deal marks Tegna's re-entry into radio, as predecessor Gannett Company had sold its previous radio group to Evergreen Media in 1997.[19] The sale was completed on February 15, 2018, ending the Meyer family's stewardship of the stations after 53 years.[20]

Programming

The station is the San Diego home of nationally syndicated talk shows from Glenn Beck, Armstrong & Getty, Mark Levin and Red Eye Radio.

Local programming includes Mike Slater from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Brent Winterble from 2 to 6 p.m. News Anchor Marna Davis does the news every half-hour. Weekend programming includes shows on money, cars, computers, gardening and law, as well as family financial advisor Dave Ramsey. CBS Radio News is heard at the beginning of most hours.

According to a March 2009 L.A. Times article, then-KFMB host Rick Roberts was one of several conservative talk radio hosts in California to have a weekly audience of more than 100,000.[21] Commentary from Paul Harvey had aired on KFMB from June 2005 until his passing in 2009.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. Summer 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  2. ↑ "KFMB Radio Station Information". Radio-Locator.com. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  3. ↑ Fybush, Scott (March 20–27, 2003). "San Diego, California (part I)". Fybush.com. Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  4. ↑ "KFMB Takes the Air". Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 12 (9): 49. September 1, 1941.
  5. ↑ "Warren B. Worcester." (obituary) Broadcasting - Broadcast Advertising, November 2, 1942, pg. 12.
  6. ↑ "Gross, Taylor to buy KFMB, San Diego." Broadcasting - Broadcast Advertising, July 19, 1943, pg. 60.
  7. ↑ "KFMB sale okayed." Broadcasting - Broadcast Advertising, November 1, 1943, pg. 44.
  8. ↑ "Actions of the FCC." Broadcasting - Broadcast Advertising, June 18, 1945, pg. 75.
  9. ↑ "KFMB sale; Kennedys to buy." Broadcasting - Telecasting, November 20, 1950, pg. 68.
  10. ↑ "$7 1/2 million mark passed in bumper transfer crop." Broadcasting - Telecasting, February 2, 1953, pp. 27-28.
  11. ↑ "Wrather buys out Alvarez." Broadcasting - Telecasting, May 12, 1958, pg. 9.
  12. ↑ "New station combine formed." Broadcasting - Telecasting, February 16, 1959, pg. 9.
  13. ↑ "Transcontinent tie with Marietta gets ok." Broadcasting, May 18, 1959, pp. 74, 76.
  14. ↑ "Transcontinent sale: last of its kind?." Broadcasting, February 24, 1964, pp. 27-28.
  15. ↑ "Local Media, KFMB Stations announce joint-operating agreement". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
  16. ↑ "KFMB-A, KFMB-F (100.7 KFM-BFM)/San Diego, Local Media San Diego To End Joint Operating Agreement". All Access. September 28, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  17. ↑ "KUSI.com/KFMB-TV Sale". Archived from the original on 2017-10-31. Retrieved 2017-11-01.
  18. ↑ Eggerton, John (December 18, 2017). "Tegna Buying KFMB TV and Radio Stations". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  19. ↑ Venta, Lance (December 18, 2017). "TEGNA Acquires KFMB Stations From Midwest Television". RadioInsight. Retrieved December 18, 2017.
  20. ↑ Miller, Mark K. "Tegna Completes KFMB San Diego Purchase". TVNewsCheck. Retrieved February 15, 2018.
  21. ↑ Finnegan, Michael (2009-03-15). "Conservative talk radio on the wane in California". Los Angeles Times.
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