KKOB
Encyclopedia
KKOB is an AM
radio station
operating out of Albuquerque, New Mexico
, the oldest in the state. It operates on 770 kHz with 50,000 Watt
s of power and is owned by Cumulus Media
. The station's format is talk radio
. Its brand
is "News Radio 770 KKOB."
During the day, KKOB's signal reaches most of New Mexico's populated area, as well as parts of Colorado
and Arizona
. At night, it can be heard across much of the western half of North America.
is one of its sister stations in the Albuquerque radio market. KOB
television, also in Albuquerque, is still commonly confused with the two radio stations because it was co-owned with them for many years. Despite their different ownership, KKOB-AM currently has a news partnership with KOB-TV.
, Sean Hannity
, Michael Savage
, Coast to Coast AM
, Moneytalk with Bob Brinker
and The Mutual Fund Show with Adam Bold
as well as Mike Huckabee
. It also features local hosts Bob Clark in the morning and Jim "Noochie" Villanucci in the afternoon and a sports talk program with Scott Stiegler in the evening. It also provides local news and weather updates every half hour 24-hours a day and national news updates from ABC News
hourly.
KKOB-AM also broadcasts University of New Mexico
basketball and football games. Their play-by-play team is longtime broadcaster Mike Roberts
and Joe O'Neill (who only does play-by-play for basketball games). Some other Lobo sports can also be heard on sister sports station KNML-AM 610.
) by Ralph Willis Goddard, and began broadcasting tests in 1919 under the call letters 5XD. On April 5, 1922 the station began regular operation as KOB, a callsign which had belonged to marine radio aboard the Princess Anne before its February 2, 1920 shipwreck
on Rockaway Shoals, Long Island
. New Mexico A&M sold the station after Goddard was electrocuted while adjusting the transmitter on December 31, 1928. In 1933 the station moved to Albuquerque, and were later bought by the Albuquerque Journal
.
In 1948, Tom Pepperday, owner and publisher of the Journal, signed on KOB-TV
, the first television station between the Mississippi River and the West Coast. The stations passed to Time-Life in 1952 and to Hubbard Broadcasting in 1957. Hubbard Broadcasting sold the radio stations in 1986. In order to trade on the well-known KOB calls, the new owners simply added an extra "K" to the radio station's call letters.
KOB was involved in a 38-year-long dispute with New York City
station WABC
(originally WJZ) over the use of the 770 kHz frequency. KOB was moved there from 1030 to make room for WBZ
in Boston
. While the Federal Communications Commission
requested that WJZ install a directional antenna
to allow the stations to interoperate over large areas, the station refused to comply, encroaching on the range KOB was intended to cover. Only after reaching the U.S. Supreme Court
was the issue settled, when the FCC assigned KOB to a new license class. KKOB and WABC became sister stations when Citadel Broadcasting
purchased ABC Radio in 2007; Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
hot air balloon
participating in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
collided with one of KKOB's transmitter towers. Three people on that balloon—Albuquerque pilot Bill Chapel and young passengers Aaron Whitacre of Tucson, Arizona
and Troy Wells Rio Rancho, New Mexico
-- climbed down the tower to safety. KKOB signed off the air and shut down its transmitter following the accident in order to enable the passengers to climb down safely—the tower was energized and could have led to electrocution once the passengers set foot on ground.
The accident was featured on the December 26, 2010 episode of the Travel Channel
series, When Vacations Attack.
AM broadcasting
AM broadcasting is the process of radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation. AM was the first method of impressing sound on a radio signal and is still widely used today. Commercial and public AM broadcasting is carried out in the medium wave band world wide, and on long wave and short wave...
radio station
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...
operating out of 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...
, the oldest in the state. It operates on 770 kHz with 50,000 Watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s of power and is owned by Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is the second largest Owner and Operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States, behind Clear Channel Communications, operating 570 stations in 150 markets as of September 16, 2011. The company also owns Cumulus Media Networks...
. The station's format is talk radio
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
. Its brand
Brand
The American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
is "News Radio 770 KKOB."
During the day, KKOB's signal reaches most of New Mexico's populated area, as well as parts of Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
and Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. At night, it can be heard across much of the western half of North America.
Other stations known as KKOB
KKOB-FMKKOB-FM
KKOB-FM, is an FM radio station based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, owned by Cumulus Media. It broadcasts on 93.3 MHz and has a Top 40 format in competition with similar-formatted rival KDLW and Rhythmic Top 40 rivals KKSS and KAGM for listeners in that market....
is one of its sister stations in the Albuquerque radio market. KOB
Kob
The Kob is an antelope found across Sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to South Sudan. Found along the Northern Savanna, often seen in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda; Garamba and Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as grassy floodplains of...
television, also in Albuquerque, is still commonly confused with the two radio stations because it was co-owned with them for many years. Despite their different ownership, KKOB-AM currently has a news partnership with KOB-TV.
Programming
KKOB is the local outlet for nationally syndicated talk radio hosts Rush LimbaughRush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
, Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity
Sean Hannity is an American radio and television host, author, and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Sean Hannity Show, a nationally syndicated talk radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks. Hannity also hosts a cable news show, Hannity,...
, Michael Savage
Michael Savage (commentator)
Michael Savage is a conservative American radio host, author, and political commentator. He is the host of The Savage Nation, a nationally syndicated talk show that airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
, Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
, Moneytalk with Bob Brinker
Bob Brinker
Bob Brinker is the host of the radio show Moneytalk, which has been on the air nationally since 1986. He previously had a show on local New York radio on WMCA. Prior to that Brinker hosted talkradio programs on WCAU and WWDB in Philadelphia...
and The Mutual Fund Show with Adam Bold
Adam Bold
Adam Bold is an American author and businessman. He is the founder and minority shareholder of The Mutual Fund Store, and host of The Mutual Fund Show, a national weekly talk radio show focused on actively managed mutual fund investments...
as well as Mike Huckabee
Mike Huckabee
Michael "Mike" Dale Huckabee is an American politician who served as the 44th Governor of Arkansas from 1996 to 2007. He was a candidate in the 2008 United States Republican presidential primaries, finishing second in delegate count and third in both popular vote and number of states won . He won...
. It also features local hosts Bob Clark in the morning and Jim "Noochie" Villanucci in the afternoon and a sports talk program with Scott Stiegler in the evening. It also provides local news and weather updates every half hour 24-hours a day and national news updates from ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
hourly.
KKOB-AM also broadcasts University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
basketball and football games. Their play-by-play team is longtime broadcaster Mike Roberts
Mike Roberts (sports broadcaster)
Mike Roberts is an American radio sportscaster in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where he provides play-by-play for University of New Mexico Lobo basketball and football games on KKOB ....
and Joe O'Neill (who only does play-by-play for basketball games). Some other Lobo sports can also be heard on sister sports station KNML-AM 610.
History
The station was founded at the New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts (now New Mexico State UniversityNew Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
) by Ralph Willis Goddard, and began broadcasting tests in 1919 under the call letters 5XD. On April 5, 1922 the station began regular operation as KOB, a callsign which had belonged to marine radio aboard the Princess Anne before its February 2, 1920 shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
on Rockaway Shoals, Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. New Mexico A&M sold the station after Goddard was electrocuted while adjusting the transmitter on December 31, 1928. In 1933 the station moved to Albuquerque, and were later bought by the Albuquerque Journal
Albuquerque Journal
-History:Its earliest predecessor, the Albuquerque Daily Journal, was first published on October 14, 1880. The newspaper is owned by the Journal Publishing Company, a family-owned business headed by president/publisher T.H. Lang; it is operated by the Albuquerque Publishing Company...
.
In 1948, Tom Pepperday, owner and publisher of the Journal, signed on KOB-TV
KOB-TV
KOB, virtual channel 4 , is an NBC-affiliate television station based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. Its transmitter is located on Sandia Crest, east of Albuquerque...
, the first television station between the Mississippi River and the West Coast. The stations passed to Time-Life in 1952 and to Hubbard Broadcasting in 1957. Hubbard Broadcasting sold the radio stations in 1986. In order to trade on the well-known KOB calls, the new owners simply added an extra "K" to the radio station's call letters.
KOB was involved in a 38-year-long dispute with New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
station WABC
WABC (AM)
WABC , known as "NewsTalkRadio 77 WABC" is a radio station in New York City. Owned by the broadcasting division of Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts on a clear channel and is the flagship station of Cumulus Media Networks...
(originally WJZ) over the use of the 770 kHz frequency. KOB was moved there from 1030 to make room for WBZ
WBZ (AM)
WBZ is the call sign for an AM radio station in Boston, Massachusetts owned by CBS Radio, itself owned by the CBS Corporation. Originally based in and broadcast from Springfield, Massachusetts, WBZ was the first commercial radio station in the United States...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. While the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
requested that WJZ install a directional antenna
Directional antenna
A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates greater power in one or more directions allowing for increased performance on transmit and receive and reduced interference from unwanted sources....
to allow the stations to interoperate over large areas, the station refused to comply, encroaching on the range KOB was intended to cover. Only after reaching the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
was the issue settled, when the FCC assigned KOB to a new license class. KKOB and WABC became sister stations when 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...
purchased ABC Radio in 2007; Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.
Hot Air Balloon Accident
On October 9, 2004, a Smokey BearSmokey Bear
Smokey Bear is a mascot of the United States Forest Service created to educate the public about the dangers of forest fires. An advertising campaign featuring Smokey was created in 1944 with the slogan, "Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires". Smokey Bear's later slogan,...
hot air balloon
Hot air balloon
The hot air balloon is the oldest successful human-carrying flight technology. It is in a class of aircraft known as balloon aircraft. On November 21, 1783, in Paris, France, the first untethered manned flight was made by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier and François Laurent d'Arlandes in a hot air...
participating in the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is a yearly festival of hot air balloons that takes place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA during early October. The balloon fiesta is a nine day event, and has around 750 balloons...
collided with one of KKOB's transmitter towers. Three people on that balloon—Albuquerque pilot Bill Chapel and young passengers Aaron Whitacre of Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
and Troy Wells Rio Rancho, New Mexico
Rio Rancho, New Mexico
There were 18,995 households out of which 40.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.4% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.7% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% had...
-- climbed down the tower to safety. KKOB signed off the air and shut down its transmitter following the accident in order to enable the passengers to climb down safely—the tower was energized and could have led to electrocution once the passengers set foot on ground.
The accident was featured on the December 26, 2010 episode of the Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
series, When Vacations Attack.
Awards Won
- On September 24, 2009; KKOB won a Marconi AwardNAB Marconi Radio AwardsThe Marconi Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters to the top radio stations and on-air personalities in the United States. The awards are named in honor of Guglielmo Marconi, the man generally credited as the "Father of Wireless Telegraphy." NAB member...
for excellence in radio broadcasting.