KBME (AM) - History

History

The station first went on the air as KTHT in 1944. It moved from the Class C channel (1,000 watts) 1230 kHz to the current Class B (5,000 watts) frequency of 790 kHz in 1948. During the 1960s, KTHT was known as "Demand Radio 79", playing pop music. In the early 1970s, it became adult contemporary KULF, hosting some great radio personalities like Stevens and Pruett in the early 1980s. Stevens and Pruett had formerly been on KILT 610AM as the last Hudson and Harrigan team before KILT's switch to country. S&P brought to KULF their "Not ready for Drive time Players" and their daily short production of "Star Trots" (modeled after Star Trek, The Motion Picture) with Captain James T. Shmirk, his trusted Lt. Bones and their weird little robot, ACDC. In early 1983, Gannet Publishing (USA Today), through its broadcast subsidiary, bought the station, announced to the employees that were left (S&P had left for KEGL in the Dallas-Fort Worth market before the sale), on what was called Black Friday, that everyone was fired as of the following Monday and relaunched it as top 40 station KKBQ (79Q). John Lander, program director, ran the morning show, called the Q-Zoo and took the station to the top of the Houston ratings after one rating period - a feat unheard of for an AM music station in the 1980s. KKBQ was among the first AM stations in the city to broadcast in AM stereo; originally using the KAHN system and then later switching to the Motorola CQUAM system.

AM 79Q and KKBQ-FM (93Q) simulcast until the late 1990s. At that point, the AM station became adult standards 790 KBME (for "Best Music Ever", though a joke among employees was "Keep Bringing Me Exlax"), branded as "Star 790 KBME". In 2004, the station flipped to an all sports station, as "790 ESPN Radio, the Sports Animal." In October 2006, ESPN, which wanted to begin affiliating with FM stations in some markets, signed an affiliation deal with KFNC, 97.5FM, owned by Cumulus Media. The new affiliation began in January 2007. At that point, Clear Channel dropped the ESPN name and all its network programming; today, the lineup is a mix of local shows and programs from Fox Sports Radio.

Play-by-play coverage includes Houston Cougars football and basketball, Texas A&M Aggies & some Texas Tech sporting events, games from the Westwood One, games from Sports USA Radio Network and ESPN Radio networks, and the Houston Dynamo of Major League Soccer. In addition, many Houston Astros spring training games from Florida are aired on KBME instead of on the flagship station, sister KTRH. Starting with the 2012-13 NBA season KBME is the flagship station of the Houston Rockets

In late 2009 the station launched "Matt & Adam in the Morning" airing 6-10am with Matt Jackson and Adam Wexler, who each moved over from KILT_AM in December 2009 . In the fall of 2011, the station added another hour to the morning show, launching "The Big Show" which now also featured Lance Zierlein.

Daily Programming Schedule "The Big Show" with Adam Wexler, Matt Jackson & Lance Zierlein airs from 6-10am. Following them is "In the Trenches" with former NFL players N.D. Kalu and Greg Koch from 10am-11am. "The Mighty Gwinn" with Dylan Gwinn airs from 11am-noon, then "The Matt Thomas Show" with Matt Thomas from 12-3pm, followed by "The Drive Home" with Charlie Pallilo, and The Doug Pike Show (Weekends). KBME is an affiliate of FOX Sports Radio.

Previous hosts include Brad Davies, Carl Dukes, Ted Deluca, John Lopez, David Dalati, Tom Franklin.