KIBZ (104.1 FM, "104.1 The Blaze") 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 licensed to Crete, Nebraska, and serving the Lincoln metropolitan area. It airs an active rock

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

and is owned by

Alpha Media Alpha Media LLC is a radio broadcasting company based in Portland, Oregon, and led by Bob Proffitt. The group does business under the Alpha Media name. It was formed from the merger of Alpha Broadcasting, L&L Broadcasting, and Main Line Broadc ...

. KIBZ's studios are on Cornhusker Highway ( U.S. Route 6) in Northeast Lincoln. KIBZ is a Class C2 station. It has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 31,000 watts. The

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 SW 29th Road near West Gage Road in

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History

Early years

The station signed on the air on . The original

call sign 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 unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

was KTAP, targeting Saline County. It was owned by Airwaves Broadcasting Service and it originally broadcast on 103.9 FM, a Class A frequency with only 3,000 watts of power. In 1986, the call letters changed to KBVB. In January 1989, after the station was sold to new owners, KBVB moved to 104.1 FM, which allowed it to increase its power as a Class C2 station. After an 82-hour stunting with a loop of " Rock Around the Clock" by

Bill Haley & His Comets Bill Haley & His Comets were an American rock and roll band formed in 1947 and continuing until Haley's death in 1981. The band was also known as Bill Haley and the Comets and Bill Haley's Comets. From late 1954 to late 1956, the group record ...

, on January 10, the station relaunched as KKNB', "B104", and began airing a Top 40 (CHR) format, competing with KFRX. In March 1993, it flipped to

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 ...

as "The Planet". On June 20, 1996, KKNB shifted to

modern 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 ...

as "The Point", and would network with its then-sister station KTNP in

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. On November 24, 2000, at 8am, after three days of stunting with a loop of " You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" by Thurl Ravenscroft, KKNB flipped back to Top 40/CHR as "Kiss 104 FM", and changed call letters to KSLI-FM.

The Blaze

On March 17, 2004, at noon, KIBZ and its active rock format known as "The Blaze" moved to 104.1 from 106.3 FM. After two days of simulcasting, the 106.3 frequency would stunt with construction sounds ahead of a flip to

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 ...

as KLMY on March 24.Jeff Korbelik, "My 1063. debuts with adult contemporary in Lincoln," ''The Lincoln Journal Star'', March 25, 2004.

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

sold KIBZ to Three Eagles Communications on April 10, 2007. Three Eagles Communications sold KIBZ to Digity, LLC on February 10, 2014. The sale, which included KIBZ and 47 co-owned stations, was consummated on September 12, at a price of $66.5 million.

New transmitter and owners

On January 23, 2012, KIBZ was granted a

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC)

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

to move to a new transmitter site, increase ERP to 40,000 watts and decrease HAAT to 116.1 meters. It later increased its HAAT to 187 meters (614 feet) while dropping power to 31,000 watts. Effective February 25, 2016, Digity, LLC, and its 124 radio stations including KIBZ, were acquired by

for $264 million.

References

External links

KIBZ 104.1 The Blaze

FCC construction permit
{{coord, 40.5183, N, 96.7689, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title IBZ Mass media in Lincoln, Nebraska Radio stations established in 1992 Alpha Media radio stations