KFBC (1240 AM) is an American sports formatted radio station based in

Cheyenne, Wyoming Cheyenne ( or ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Wyoming, most populous city of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the county seat of Laramie County, Wyoming, Laramie County, with 65,132 reside ...

and targets the entire

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

. The station is a full time affiliate of

Infinity Sports Network Infinity Sports Network is an American sports radio network. It debuted as CBS Sports Radio with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013. Infinity Sports Network is programmed by Audacy, In ...

as well as 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 ...

of the Cowboy State News Network. Additionally, KFBC is a part-time affiliate of the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

and

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

radio networks (both through

KOA KOA (short for Kampgrounds of America) is an American franchise of privately owned campgrounds. Having more than 500 locations across the United States and Canada, it is the world's largest system of privately owned campgrounds. It was founded ...

) as well as the

Wyoming Cowboys The Wyoming Cowboys and Cowgirls are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Wyoming, located in Laramie, Wyoming, Laramie. Wyoming is a member of the Mountain West Conference (MW) and competes in NCAA Division I, fielding 17 ...

Signal

KFBC puts out a continuous 700

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s of non-directional

power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

which provides local coverage to Cheyenne and the surrounding area, while it can be marginally heard in Western Nebraska, Northern Colorado (even Fort Collins), and some of South-east Wyoming. KFBC is unusual in the fact that Class C stations are normally 1,000 watts, such as

KRAL Kral, Král or KRAL may refer to: * Kral (surname) * Král (surname) * Kráľ (surname) * Kráľ, a village in Slovakia * KRAL, an AM radio station licensed to Rawlins, Wyoming, U.S. * Riverside Municipal Airport, Riverside, California, United S ...

. The station is on one of six shared-local frequencies (the others are 1230, 1340, 1400, 1450, and 1490), informally referred to as the "graveyard" frequencies, because of the excessive number of stations. Because of this, the skywave (night-time) signal mixes with several others, thus limiting its usefulness to its groundwave signal. However, a skilled operator with a very directional antenna may separate it from the rest, upwards of 300 miles. To provide another option, as well as to take advantage of AM Revitalization, KFBC signed on translator K248CZ (97.5 FM), located

Downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

at 250 watts, just a few miles away from the KFBC tower. This signal provides a local grade signal to the city itself, and depending on the conditions, can extend to the Nebraska Panhandle, much like its parent station. This is more likely to happen at night or when there is more humidity in the air. In general, the translator copies everything from the KFBC broadcast; it even broadcasts in

mono Mono may refer to: Biology * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monocyte, a type of leukocyte (white blood cell) * Monodactylidae, members of which are referred to as monos Technology and computing * Mono (audio), single-c ...

, a rarity for modern-day FM translators, although still the standard for some AM stations.

History

KFBC is the oldest surviving radio station in Cheyenne. It was founded in December 1940 by Tracy McCracken, publisher of the ''Wyoming State Tribune'' and ''Wyoming Eagle'' (since merged as the ''

Wyoming Tribune Eagle The ''Wyoming Tribune Eagle'' is a daily newspaper published in Cheyenne and distributed primarily in Laramie County, Wyoming. It is the state's second largest newspaper in terms of circulation, behind the '' Casper Star Tribune''. History The ...

''). Records indicate it was originally located on 1450. Soon after signing on, KFBC forced Cheyenne's original radio station, KYAN on 1400, off the air. In 1941 (or 1942 depending on the source), KYAN's owners sold their facilities to KFBC. KFBC originally was an independent station before becoming an affiliate of

NBC Blue The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American Commercial broadcasting, radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the ...

, before going independent again. From the very start, KFBC was very sports orientated, being the first to hire

Curt Gowdy Curtis Edward Gowdy (July 31, 1919 – February 20, 2006) was an American sportscaster. He called Boston Red Sox games on radio and TV for 15 years, and then covered many nationally televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports and ABC S ...

as a broadcaster. The McCracken family started KFBC-TV (now

KGWN-TV KGWN-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Cheyenne, Wyoming, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Marquee Broadcasting, and maintains studios on East Lincoln Highway, Lincolnway/East 14th Street/Inte ...

) in 1954, effectively making the two sister outlets, along with the ''Wyoming Tribune Eagle''. In the 21st century, KFBC took on a news/talk format omnipresent of post- golden era stations, while including some sports, like the

Motor Racing Network Motor Racing Network (MRN) is an American radio network that syndicates broadcasts of auto racing events, particularly NASCAR. MRN was founded in 1970 by NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. and broadcaster Ken Squier, and is a wholly owned subsidiary ...

. A massive shake-up of Cheyenne AM affiliations occurred between 2006 and 2016; fellow station KRAE went from classic country to

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

to oldies. Upon KRAE's switch from sports to oldies, KFBC took up the position as Cheyenne's sports station, which the station management regarded well. Meanwhile,

KGAB KGAB (650 AM broadcasting, AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. It is licensed to Orchard Valley, Wyoming, and serves the Cheyenne, Wyoming, area and operates with daytime power of 8,500 watts. The station is owned ...

picked up KFBC's news and talk status. Both KFBC and former sister station '92.9 The Boss' launched ''Christmas Cash'' in the 2010s, a give-away contest that continues to exist as of the 2020 Holiday season. In the 2020s, KFBC continues to serve as Cheyenne's Infinity Sports Network station and will occasionally air local games and events. Recently, the station will play music during

fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

, mainly for

4th of July Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

, and now for

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

fireworks.

Programming

KFBC is mostly a pass-through for

, but occasionally airs local programming. It produces two local shows each weekday. During the weekend, it is a full simulcast of the Infinity Sports Network national feed, aside from live sports coverage.

References

External links

KFBC website
* *
Cowboy State News Network
{{Cheyenne Radio FBC Radio stations established in 1940 Sports radio stations in the United States 1940 establishments in Colorado Infinity Sports Network stations