KBZU
Encyclopedia
KBZU is a commercial radio station
airing a classic rock
music format with the slogan "Duke City's Classic Rock". All music and disc jockeys comes from a satellite feed of The Classic Rock Experience
, which is provided by Citadel Media. There is not any local content, excluding commercials.
Licensed to Albuquerque, New Mexico
, USA, the station serves the greater Albuquerque area. The station is currently owned by The Last Bastion Station Trust after being sold by Citadel Broadcasting
as part of its merger with Citadel Media (formerly known as ABC Radio).
sports talk format broadcasting the national ESPN Deportes Radio
network from August 2, 2008 until May 15, 2009. This format generated no Arbitron
ratings at all during its nine month run.
The station was a Talk/Personality format, titled "96.3 The Buzz", from February 12, 2007 until August 2, 2008. The talk format featured Bob & Tom in morning and Opie and Anthony
in the afternoon, along with Dennis Miller
, Mike O'Meara
(before that, Don & Mike), and Tom Leykis
. The station also featured a short-lived locally produced program. Citadel Broadcasting also divested KBZU to Last Bastion on June 12, 2007.
Before the talk format, KBZU was a classic rock
station named "The Buzzard" which started in April 2001 and ran until February 12, 2007. The Buzzard had challenged area rock radio rivals KIOT
and KZRR
. The station used the slogan which claimed to play "Real Classic Rock," featuring a mix that was somewhat harder than most classic rock stations by avoiding "wimpy" songs, but also played only classic bands and no modern stuff that it dubbed as "weird." That format also included Bob & Tom in the morning and in late 2006 it added Opie and Anthony in the afternoon. Nights with Alice Cooper
also aired on The Buzzard at night in the last couple of years. Some local personalities had also been featured as well throughout its run. But over the years the station consistently lagged behind its competitors in the Arbitron ratings.
96.3 was also the longtime home of classical music
station KHFM. In 2001, Citadel Broadcasting had made an agreement with American General Media to move the format to its current home on 95.5
FM so that Citadel could run a more commercially competitive format on 96.3.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
airing a classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
music format with the slogan "Duke City's Classic Rock". All music and disc jockeys comes from a satellite feed of The Classic Rock Experience
The Classic Rock Experience
Classic Rock is a 24-hour music format produced by Cumulus Media Networks...
, which is provided by Citadel Media. There is not any local content, excluding commercials.
Licensed to Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, USA, the station serves the greater Albuquerque area. The station is currently owned by The Last Bastion Station Trust after being sold by Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
as part of its merger with Citadel Media (formerly known as ABC Radio).
History
96.3 aired a Spanish languageSpanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
sports talk format broadcasting the national ESPN Deportes Radio
ESPN Deportes Radio
ESPN Deportes Radio is a Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming includes call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, American football, baseball and boxing.The network has stations in 13...
network from August 2, 2008 until May 15, 2009. This format generated no Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
ratings at all during its nine month run.
The station was a Talk/Personality format, titled "96.3 The Buzz", from February 12, 2007 until August 2, 2008. The talk format featured Bob & Tom in morning and Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony
Opie and Anthony are the hosts of The Opie & Anthony Show, a talk radio program airing in the United States and Canada on XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio. Since the merger of the two satellite companies, this is now called Sirius/XM...
in the afternoon, along with Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller is an American stand-up comedian, political commentator, actor, sports commentator, and television and radio personality. He is known for his critical assessments laced with pop culture references...
, Mike O'Meara
Mike O'Meara
Michael Sean Patrick "Mike" O'Meara is the host of The Mike O'Meara Show, previously a nationally syndicated radio show which returned as a podcast. Previously he was the co-host of the nationally syndicated The Don and Mike Show...
(before that, Don & Mike), and Tom Leykis
Tom Leykis
Thomas Joseph Leykis is an American radio personality. He currently hosts The Tasting Room with Tom Leykis, a weekly lifestyle program dealing with fine food and drink, airing weekends mainly in West Coast markets...
. The station also featured a short-lived locally produced program. Citadel Broadcasting also divested KBZU to Last Bastion on June 12, 2007.
Before the talk format, KBZU was a classic rock
Classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format features music ranging generally from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, primarily focusing on the hard rock genre that peaked in popularity in the...
station named "The Buzzard" which started in April 2001 and ran until February 12, 2007. The Buzzard had challenged area rock radio rivals KIOT
KIOT
KIOT is an American radio station licensed to Los Lunas, New Mexico, and serving the Albuquerque and Santa Fe radio markets broadcasting a mainstream rock format with music from the late 1960s through the early 2000s....
and KZRR
KZRR
KZRR is a commercial radio station located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, broadcasting to the Albuquerque-Santa Fe, New Mexico, area. KZRR airs a mainstream rock music format.-External links:*...
. The station used the slogan which claimed to play "Real Classic Rock," featuring a mix that was somewhat harder than most classic rock stations by avoiding "wimpy" songs, but also played only classic bands and no modern stuff that it dubbed as "weird." That format also included Bob & Tom in the morning and in late 2006 it added Opie and Anthony in the afternoon. Nights with Alice Cooper
Nights with Alice Cooper
Nights with Alice Cooper is a radio show hosted by rock and roll artist and shock rock pioneer Alice Cooper. It is syndicated by United Stations Radio Networks and broadcast on over 100 radio stations in the US, seven in Canada, and is also available in the UK , Germany , Ireland, Australia ,...
also aired on The Buzzard at night in the last couple of years. Some local personalities had also been featured as well throughout its run. But over the years the station consistently lagged behind its competitors in the Arbitron ratings.
96.3 was also the longtime home of classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
station KHFM. In 2001, Citadel Broadcasting had made an agreement with American General Media to move the format to its current home on 95.5
KHFM
KHFM is a FM radio station based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America. Its broadcasts are primarily of classical music, with frequent selections drawn from musical theatre, interspersed among the classical pieces. Its main broadcast is on 95.5 MHz licensed to Santa Fe...
FM so that Citadel could run a more commercially competitive format on 96.3.