KILT (AM)

KILT
City Houston, Texas
Broadcast area Greater Houston
Branding Sports Radio 610
Frequency 610 kHz
Repeater(s) 100.3 HD-2
First air date March 8, 1948 (1948-03-08)
Format Sports/Talk
Language(s) English
Power 5,000 watts
Class B
Facility ID 25440
Transmitter coordinates 29°55′4″N 95°25′33″W / 29.91778°N 95.42583°W / 29.91778; -95.42583
Callsign meaning Nickname/ethnicity of former owner, Gordon "Old Scotchman" McLendon
Former callsigns KLEE (1948-1952)
KLBS (1952-1957)
Affiliations Houston Texans
Owner Entercom
(CBS Radio Texas, LLC)
Sister stations KHMX, KIKK, KILT-FM, KKHH, KLOL
Webcast Listen Live
Website SportsRadio610.com

KILT (610 AM, "SportsRadio 610") is a Sports/Talk formatted radio station in the Houston, Texas, metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Entercom. KILT shares its call letters with its sister station 100.3 FM, which airs a country music format. Its studios are located in the Greenway Plaza district, and its transmitter is located on West Road, between Ella Boulevard and the Interstate 45 North Freeway, near Greenspoint in unincorporated Harris County.

KILT is the flagship station of the NFL's Houston Texans and the Texans Radio Network and the MLS' Houston Dynamo. It has aired every Texans game since the team's inception into the league in 2002.

History

Early Years

610 AM signed on the air in Houston, Texas March 8, 1948 by W. Albert Lee. As such, the new station obtained KLEE calls when it debuted.

McLendon's "Big 610" KILT Hits the Air

On March 27, 1957, 610 was sold by Howard Broadcasting to Gordon McLendon, and the Top 40 legend was born. The station took on the calls of KILT in a tip of the hat to McLendon and for 24 years, was the Top 40 station in Houston, simply named the "Big 610 KILT". It used PAMS jingles that featured the call letters being sung out over the air.

Flip to Country

On February 16, 1981, sister station KILT-FM dropped album rock for country during the "Urban Cowboy" craze that swept through Houston, and the United States in general.[1] Having competition from KRBE and KRLY on the FM dial and losing ratings dramatically, on June 1, 1981, 610 dropped its famed Top 40 format for a simulcast of their FM sister station KILT-FM, then known as "FM 100". (Ironically, it would be longtime KILT AM competitor 79 KULF that would, just over a year later in July 1982, relaunch itself as Top 40 "79Q" KKBQ and soar to the top of the radio ratings, spawning the legendary "AM & FM Stereo Combo" that topped Houston ratings throughout the next decade after KILT threw in the towel and flipped its format to country.)

SportsRadio 610

The current sports-talk format debuted in September 1994.[2][3] KILT has been the top-rated sports-talk format many times since its inception, with only a few brief exceptions. KILT's main competition is, as it has historically been, 790 AM (now KBME), which has also aired Sports Talk programming since 2004. Before KBME moved from Adult Standards, KILT was the only sports station in the Houston market and was the radio home for the Houston Rockets, Texans, and Comets franchises. In recent years, KILT lost the rights to air Houston Rockets basketball games to KBME, and the WNBA Comets folded; however, KILT still outperforms KBME in most dayparts and in overall demographic ratings.

KILT's most popular show is "The Triple Threat" which airs from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm Monday through Friday. The Triple Threat has consistently been one of the Top Rated sports talk shows in Houston. The show is hosted by Sean Pendergast, a five-time winner of the Jim Rome "Smack-Off," Ted Johnson, a three-time Super Bowl champion with the New England Patriots and Rich Lord. Other popular shows on SportsRadio 610 include; In the Loop with John Lopez and Cody Stoots, MadRadio with Mike Meltser and ten year NFL veteran Seth Payne, and Gallant At Night with Paul Gallant.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.[4] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[5][6]

Notable personalities

Shaun Bijani (left) and Paul Gallant airing live from a sports collectors show in Houston.

Flagship station for the Houston Texans & Houston Dynamo

  • Seth Payne, host
  • Ted Johnson, host
  • Mike Meltser, host
  • Sean Pendergast, host
  • Rich Lord, host
  • John Lopez, host
  • Cody Stoots, host
  • Paul Gallant, host
  • Landry Locker, Producer
  • Chris Jones, Producer
  • Brian McDonald, Producer
  • Laura Reynolds, traffic & APD
  • Ryan McCredden, Program Director
  • Courtney, Promotions Manager
  • Matt Hammond, Part-Time Host
  • Shaun Bijani, All Around Good Guy - host
  • Jeremy Brahnam - Part Time host - Houston Dynamo Play-by-Play
  • Garret Heinrich - Houston Dynamo Color Analyst

Controversy

In 2007, a lawsuit was filed by then morning show co-host John Granato against CBS.[7][8] This ultimately led to Granato leaving 610 and starting a new station: 1560 The Game. Shortly thereafter, his co-host Lance Zierlein joined him.

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1980s/1981/RR-1981-02-20.pdf
  2. ↑ Terry Blount, "'KILT to become city's first all-sports station", The Houston Chronicle, September 8, 1994.
  3. ↑ SportsRadio 610's 20th Anniversary Page, CBS Radio (September 10, 2014)
  4. ↑ CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom
  5. ↑ "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Entercom. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  6. ↑ Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  7. ↑ http://blogs.chron.com/nfl/2007/04/on_texans_draft_granatos_lawsu.html
  8. ↑ http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=128140


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.