KEGE (101.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is an American FM

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 ...

broadcasting a

regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

format. Licensed to

Hamilton City, California Hamilton City (formerly, Hamilton) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Glenn County, California, United States. The population was 1,759 at the 2010 census, down from 1,903 at the 2000 census. Hamilton City is located east of Orland, and 10 mi ...

, United States, the station serves the Chico area.

History

The station began on KEWE, which had previously played

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

music before switching its format to

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

. The branding would become known as the ''SportsFan 1340''. However, the signal was extremely weak, so management switched formats and bands in 2006. The FM station remained as KRER while KEWE returned to the ESPN Radio format at 1340. The station was the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...

for

Butte College Butte College is a public community college in the Butte-Glenn Community College District in Chico, Orland, and Oroville, California. History After the passage of the 1960 Donahoe Act, the voters of Butte County created a local community ...

Roadrunner football (with Mike Wessels) and covers local high school sports (with Mike Baca) alongside its sister station KPAY. They also began coverage of the annual

Lions Club Lions Clubs International, is an international service organization, currently headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. , it had over 46,000 local clubs and more than 1.4 million members (including the youth wing Leo clubs, Leo) in more than 200 ge ...

All-Star Football Game in Redding in 2006 representing the South All-Stars. (The North All-Stars radio representation is KNTK of Mt. Shasta). They are also the local

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Confere ...

Radio Network. During the 2007 and 2008 seasons, the station became the flagship station for local

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...

baseball team, the

Chico Outlaws The Chico Outlaws were a professional baseball team based in Chico, California, in the United States. The Outlaws were a member of the Northern Division of the independent North American League, which is not affiliated with either Major League ...

with Rory Miller on the call. Currently, the station is a radio affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. On February 24, 2011, the then-KCKS changed their format to

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

, branded as "Kiss FM". They were the second station in the Chico market to flip to Top 40, joining KCEZ, which flipped on February 22, 2011. On February 4, 2012, KCKS switched back to a sports format. On September 24, 2013, KCKS switched to an adult alternative music format, branded as "Radio 101.7". On December 10, 2013, KCKS changed their

call letters In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a Identifier, unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be fo ...

to KVXX, and the station was branded as X 101.7. The station aired an adult alternative music format and was the flagship over-the-air station for Chico Heat baseball. The station changed its call sign to KSOJ on February 21, 2017. On February 28, 2017, KSOJ changed their format to

talk Talk may refer to: Communication * Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people * Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people * Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct ...

, branded as "Super Talk 101.7". On May 25, 2017, KSOJ changed their format from talk to alternative rock, branded as "101.7 The Edge". The station changed to the KEGE call sign on May 29, 2017. On August 1, 2019, KEGE changed their format from alternative rock to

hot 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 ...

, branded as "Hot Hits 101.7".Sale Closing Leads to Station Swap & Five Format Changes in Chico
RadioInsight - August 1, 2019 In 2020, KEGE change their format from hot adult contemporary to

regional mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

format, and rebranded to X Radio Mexico La Gran 101.7.

Previous logos

File:KRER logo.jpg File:KEGE 101.7TheEdge logo.jpg

References

External links

{{Chico Radio EGE (FM) Radio stations established in 2006 2006 establishments in California Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States