KBRE (1660
AM) is a
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services
** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money
* a dose of advertising ...
radio station
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
in
Merced, California
Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on Apri ...
. It is owned by the
Stephens Media Group
Stephens Media Group is an American radio broadcasting company that owns 75 radio stations particularly in small to mid-size markets. Its flagship stations are at its headquarters in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Stephens refers to itself as "A portfolio of ...
, through licensee SMG-Merced, LLC. It plays a mix of
active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...
and
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
, calling itself "105.7 The Bear". Programming is also heard on 250 watt
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...
105.7 K289CB in nearby
Los Banos.
The AM station is powered at 10,000 watts by day, 1,000 watts at night, using a
non-directional antenna
In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with angle to the axis (elevation angle), declining t ...
. The AM
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...
is off South Bert Crane Road in
Atwater.
History
KBRE began as the "expanded band" twin to a station on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available "
expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with then-KLOQ in Merced authorized to move from 1580 kHz to 1660 kHz.
["FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"](_blank)
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997.
The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency.
It was decided to shut down the standard band station, and on August 13, 2004, the license for original station, now KVVY, on 1580 kHz was cancelled.
A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call letters KAXW on January 9, 1998.
[ The station ]signed on
A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...
the air in May 2000. It was owned by Clarke Broadcasting and aired a spanish-language
Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...
adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format.
Sports radio
On February 12, 2002, the station changed its call sign to KTIQ.Christian radio
Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...
as "Amistad Christiana".
Switch to rock
On March 16, 2016, 92.5 KBRE
KBRE (1660 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Merced, California. It is owned by the Stephens Media Group (broadcasting), Stephens Media Group, through licensee SMG-Merced, LLC. It plays a mix of active rock ...
's old active/alternative rock format moved to AM 1660, calling itself "105.7 The Bear". It added FM translator K289CB Los Banos. The station changed its call sign to KBRE on May 11, 2016.[
]
Acquisition by Stephens Media
On July 1, 2019, Mapleton Communications announced its intent to sell its remaining 37 stations to Stephens Media Group.
Former logo
References
External links
{{Merced Radio
2000 establishments in California
Active rock radio stations in the United States
BRE
Radio stations established in 2000
BRE