KBEQ-FM


KBEQ-FM is a commercial radio station in Kansas City, Missouri, serving the Kansas City radio market. It is owned by Steel City Media and airs a country radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on Pennsylvania Avenue at Westport Center in Midtown Kansas City.
The transmitter site is on the East Side of Kansas City, off Stark Avenue and 23rd Street South. KBEQ has an effective radiated power of 99,000 watts.

History

Early Years as KBEY

In November 1960, the station signed on the air as KBEY. Like many early FM stations, KBEY served as a counterpart to AM 1480 KBEA in nearby Mission, Kansas. It was only powered at 17,500 watts, a fraction of its current output. KBEY played big band and easy listening music, running a no-announcer broadcast automation system.
In 1970, KBEY was acquired by Intermedia, Inc., a division of Interstate Securities Corp. The division was managed by Mark Wodlinger, former manager of KMBC TV, where he convinced Lenny Dawson to do TV sports. In 1972, Intermedia decided to divest itself from the radio business and keep only its main asset, KQTV in St. Joseph. Bob Ingram bought KBEA AM, while KBEY FM was purchased by Mark and Connie Wodlinger.
KBEY switched to "underground" rock in August 1970, playing cuts from albums including blues, folk and rock, with some classical music and jazz. Another FM station, KUDL's sister FM KCJC, had recently ended its underground format, so KBEY decided to fill the void. One of KCJC's longtime DJs, "Little Willie," was part of the first KBEY air staff. KBEY's progressive rock format began with 20 hours of music played on the old automation system, and four hours live each evening with Bill Scott, until an air staff could be assembled. Unfortunately, in Scott's previous job, he was a DJ using the name "Robert W. Walker" on KUDL AM and he had a non-compete clause in his previous contract. He assumed this restriction was for the character while KUDL asserted it was for him, personally. Within a few weeks, KUDL sued and he was forced to leave the job on KBEY.
KBEY became an ABC FM Network affiliate to fulfill most of its news obligation, but devoted minimum time to news and talk, focusing on new, unique, and classic music. In 1971, KBEY devoted the midnight to 6 a.m. time slot to jazz, hosted by Bobby Kline, which developed a sizable following over the next couple of years. The progressive format was more successful than is often assumed. There was networking among similar stations, like KSHE St. Louis, and KSAN San Francisco, sharing programming content. The "format" evolved over three years, and consistently claimed 8 to 12 percent of the KC audience, a respectable share in a market with around thirty stations. Eventually, though, progressive radio found itself fading at the same moment that San Diego's "Super Q" format was sweeping the country. Mark Wodlinger knew it would hit Kansas City soon, and whatever station adopted the format would likely be number one in the ratings for at least a couple years. He arranged the deal, made the announcement, and began a two month KBEY-KBEQ transition process to bring in the new format with its new air staff, with the progressive album rock jazz experiment ending in August, like it started.

Top 40 KBEQ

On August 15, 1973, with the growing popularity of FM radio, KBEY ended the progressive rock format and switched to their long-running Top 40/CHR format, as "Super-Q, Q-104." It was modeled after San Diego Top 40 station KCBQ, a format that was sweeping the country at the time. 104.3's call sign changed to KBEQ with the slogan "Super-Q Plays Favorites." Q-104 gradually chipped away at Kansas City's powerhouse Top 40 station, AM 810 WHB. Public service announcements were called "Q Tips."
A "Super-Q" phone-in contest had become popular in San Diego, tying up the city's telephone network. It was replicated on a smaller scale in Kansas City. The large number of listeners hurriedly dialing the station's number for the contest would create many wrong numbers. That prompted Southwestern Bell in Kansas City to respond in the same way as other cities, by creating a new phone exchange just for radio, TV and other entities that might suddenly get large numbers of calls. The three-number exchange was unique, so there would be few or no wrong numbers. KBEQ jammed the lines with its "Treasure Hunt" contest. So Southwestern Bell assigned KBEQ Kansas City's first 576-7xxx number. It was 816-576-7104, but the 576-7xxx system worked in the 913 area code too, covering both Missouri and Kansas-based stations in the Kansas City metro area.
Previously, the only way many FM radio station owners could make a profit was to lease ten percent of the signal out for a subsidiary communications authority channel. Muzak was a huge customer, using FM stations to broadcast "elevator music" to banks, restaurants and stores. Mark Wodlinger recognized the value of this service, and brought AgReports to Kansas City, using the 103.3 subcarrier of KPRS by contract. Up to 80 miles away, a grain elevator would hoist an antenna to the roof and pick up a constant stream of up-to-the minute commodity prices. At first, reports came by voice on a McMartin SCA table radio, with formatted note pads included to jot prices on. Soon, the stream went digital and the output was a TV screen full of scrolling prices. Then, Wodlinger brought in a medical radio network, free to doctors, with ad-supported medical talk radio all day, broadcast on KBEQ's own SCA channel.

Change in ownership

After about five years, the Wodlingers sold KBEQ. They later bought an FM station in Leavenworth, Kansas at 98.9, moving the transmitter to Basehor and raising the power so it would cover the Kansas City radio market. Mariner Communications bought KBEQ in 1977.
Q-104's studios were in Kansas City, Kansas, at 55th and Metropolitan, then at River Quay, then at PennTower and eventually at Country Club Plaza. Some of the DJs were Pat McKay, Mike O'Brien, Steve Garrett, Rockin' Johnny Rowlands, Bobby Ocean, Young Bobby Day, Chuck Nasty, Johnny Dare, Doug Billings, Randy Miller, and Dancin' Danny Wright. Many came from other cities for the job and stayed in the market. Former KBEY DJs Bobby Kline and Art Hadley eventually joined the airstaff. WHB eventually ended its Top 40 format, turning to oldies in 1985, while KBKC/KCPW, which were both located on 94.9 FM, would also flip to oldies itself in 1989. By the end of the decade, KBEQ was Kansas City's only Top 40 station.
In the 1980s, KBEQ's power had increased to 50,000 watts. By the 1990s, it was increased again, to its current 100,000 watts.
In October 1987, Noble Broadcasting acquired KBEQ-FM.

Country music

However, country music's popularity increased in Kansas City and throughout the nation in the early 1990s, while the Top 40 format was in a state of decline. In addition, rimshot station KXXR flipped to a Top 40/CHR format in 1990, pulling younger listeners away from KBEQ. In the Fall 1992 ratings for the market, KBEQ would sink to 12th place in the market. On February 1, 1993, KBEQ began running a promotion called "20 years in 20 days", playing music that was popular in their Top 40 heyday. At 5 p.m. on February 19th, after playing "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men, KBEQ abruptly flipped the format to country as "Young Country 104." The first song on KBEQ was "Young Country" by Hank Williams, Jr.. This left Kansas City without a full city-grade Top 40 station until the following year, when future-sister station KMXV flipped from adult contemporary music to Top 40.
By July 1996, KBEQ rebranded as "Young Country Q 104" as a nod to the station's previous Top 40 legacy. The following year, KBEQ was acquired by American Radio Systems, the same company that owned its country music competitor, KFKF. In 2001, KBEQ dropped the "Young Country" portion of its branding and began simply using the moniker "Q 104." The station also changed its logo to mirror its former Top 40 logo.

Wilkes and Steel City Ownership

In 2007, KBEQ was acquired by Wilkes Broadcasting. On June 12, 2014, Wilks announced that it is selling its Kansas City cluster, including KBEQ, to Pittsburgh-based Steel City Media. The sale was approved on September 26, 2014, and was consummated on September 30th.
Steel City owns two Kansas City country stations: the younger-appealing KBEQ and the more mainstream KFKF. They compete against Entercom's WDAF-FM. KBEQ's studios were a fixture in the Plaza area until November 2007, when the station moved to Westport Center to join the other Steel City stations in one building.