KBBT
KBBT (98.5 FM, "98.5 The Beat") is a Rhythmic Contemporary radio station serving the San Antonio, Texas area, but is licensed to Schertz. This station is owned by Univision Radio, a division of Univision Communications Inc. The station operates at 98.5 MHz with its studios located in Northwest San Antonio and the transmitter site located in the unincorporated Bexar County near Government Canyon Park.
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City | Schertz, Texas |
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Broadcast area | San Antonio, Texas |
Frequency | 98.5 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | 98.5 The Beat |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Rhythmic Top 40 |
Ownership | |
Owner | Uforia Audio Network (Univision Radio Illinois, Inc.) |
Radio: KMYO, KROM, KVBH, KXTN TV: KWEX-DT, KNIC-DT | |
History | |
First air date | 1968 (as Class A 98.3 KBOP Pleasanton) 2000 (as Class C1 98.5 KBBT Schertz) |
Former call signs | KBOP (1968-1993) KBUC (1993–2000) |
Call sign meaning | K B BeaT |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 3075 |
Class | C1 |
ERP | 97,000 watts |
HAAT | 302 m (991 ft) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | thebeatsa.com |
Station history
KBBT originally launched as country outlet KBOP-FM at 98.3 and licensed to Pleasanton, Texas, in 1968. They later changed call letters to KBUC in 1993 but kept the Country format intact. In 1998 Univision, seeking to tap into a unique Hispanic audience that was non-Spanish speaking, very contemporary and influenced by present-day trends, acquired KBUC and applied for a city of license change to Schertz and a frequency switch to 98.5 to cover the San Antonio Metropolitan area, which was approved in early April 2000.
On September 29, 2000, Univision officially launched KBBT, the company's first non-Spanish formatted outlet in San Antonio (outside of bilingual-speaking Tejano sister station KXTN-FM and later on, Active Rock turned Top 40 KLTO), where it shot up to number one in the ratings and has retained that position since its inception. From the beginning, KBBT's musical formula, which started under its first program director, J. D. Gonzalez, has centered on Hip-Hop/R&B hits, tailor-made for San Antonio and in particular its large mix of teens, females, young adults, and bilingual Hispanic audiences. This formula has also served as the catalyst for the demise of the first KTFM, and later on, KCJZ/KPWT. Another defunct station, KSJL-FM, played hip-hop and R&B under the urban contemporary format throughout the 1990s until it switched frequencies in 1998 and took a more adult direction as KSJL-AM.
Before 2002, KBBT had a show involving Danny B, Rude Dogg and others. In 2002, KBBT launched a new show however, "The Morning Mess", hosted by Xavier (The Freaken Rican) Castro and Biggie Paul. The show was renamed to "Xavier's World" in 2008 or so.
In 2010, KBBT phased in Rhythmic pop tracks, but at the same time continued to stick to its hip-hop/r&b formula as it faces competition from Top 40/CHR rivals KXXM and a new version of KTFM. It also embraced EDM as well, launching a weekly program that aired late Saturday Night/Sunday Mornings.
On October 20, 2015, "The Xavier's World Morning Show" was taken off the air, ending their 13-year run. On November 9, 2015, a new morning show debuted on KBBT entitled "The Dana Cortez Show", hosted by Dana Cortez and Anthony A. The show later departed from KBBT and transferred to their Top 40/CHR rival, KTFM, on August 20, 2018. KTFM has since stopped airing the show. On August 23, 2018, syndicated morning radio show, The Breakfast Club launched on KBBT. The show was later taken off the air on August 3, 2020. In 2021, a new show was launched called "Wake Up with Rico & Carmen ". However by 2022 KBBT had changed back to The Dana Cortez Show.
Morning Shows on KBBT
Current On-Air Staff
- Val Santos (formerly from KPEZ)
- Hamm "Hammburger" (Music Director / DJ)
Former On-Air Staff
- Danny B
- Xavier Castro (now at KVBH)
- Biggie Paul
- Rude Dogg
- Lady K
- Romeo (Tejano Nation)
- Dionna in La Manana
- Valencia
- Robbie Rob
- Anthony Almanzar (now at KTFM)
- Brandi Garcia
KBBT-HD2
In 2008, KBBT-HD2 simulcasted KLTO-FM (now KZAR) broadcasting an active rock format on 97.7.
In early 2011, KLTO changed the format to a Top 40/Dance station, branded as "Party 97.7". This would last until KZAR was sold in the latter half of 2011, then KBBT HD2 went dark and hasn't returned.
External links
- KBBT in the FCC FM station database
- KBBT on Radio-Locator
- KBBT in Nielsen Audio's FM station database