KILT-FM (100.3
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 ...
"The Bull 100.3") 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
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
. It is owned by
Audacy, Inc.
Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...
and airs a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
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, ...
. The
studio
A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater.
The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal.
Types Art
The studio of any artist, esp ...
s and offices are in
Greenway Plaza
Greenway Plaza is a business district located along Interstate 69 ( U.S. Highway 59) within the Interstate 610 loop in southwestern Houston, Texas, west of Downtown and east of Uptown. The district is located immediately west of Upper Kirby ...
in
Southwest Houston
Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, Houston, Texas, United States. The area is considered to be from Texas State Highway 6, south of Westpark Tollway to north of U.S. Route 90.
Many Section 8 (housing) complexes are located in South ...
. KILT-FM serves as a co-
flagship radio station of the
Houston Texans
The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...
Football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
team, along with co-owned
KILT
A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...
.
KILT-FM 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 100,000
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, the highest permitted for non-
grandfathered FM stations in the U.S. 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
Farm to Market Road 2234 near
Fort Bend Parkway
The Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road is the Fort Bend County portion of a controlled-access toll road connecting Sienna in eastern Fort Bend County to US 90A in southwestern Harris County. It is administered by the Fort Bend County Toll Road A ...
in
Southwest Houston
Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, Houston, Texas, United States. The area is considered to be from Texas State Highway 6, south of Westpark Tollway to north of U.S. Route 90.
Many Section 8 (housing) complexes are located in South ...
. KILT-FM broadcasts in the
HD Radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...
hybrid format. The HD-2 subchannel simulcasts the
sports radio
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 ...
format of KILT. The HD-3 subchannel carries a
Texas country music format known as "KIKK Country."
History
McLendon Origins
In February 1962, noted radio programmer and owner
Gordon McLendon
Gordon Barton McLendon (June 8, 1921 – September 14, 1986Texas State Historical AssociationMcClendon, Gordon Barton/ref>) was an American radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during ...
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 ...
an FM station at 100.3 MHz as the sister station to popular
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 ...
KILT
A kilt ( ) is a garment resembling a wrap-around knee-length skirt, made of twill-woven worsted wool with heavy pleats at the sides and back and traditionally a tartan pattern. Originating in the Scottish Highland dress for men, it is first r ...
610. The station originally had the
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 ...
KOST and it carried an
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...
format. The power was only 16,500 watts, a fraction of its current output.
The call letters were changed to KZAP in November 1967, shortly before McLendon sold his Houston properties to LIN Broadcasting. (McLendon moved the
KOST
KOST (103.5 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California, United States. Owned by iHeartMedia, it broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music in early November and ending a few days after Chris ...
call letters to his property in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
.)
FM 100 KILT Rock
Upon assuming control of KILT and KZAP in 1968, LIN changed the FM station's call letters to KILT-FM. KILT-FM began playing Top 40 music, similar to the successful AM station. But in the late 1960s the
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 ...
began encouraging AM-FM combos to offer separate programming on each station.
In the early 1970s, KILT-FM adopted a
free-form progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...
format while "The Big 610" KILT continued with its long-running Top 40 format.
KILT-FM was staffed with young
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
s who chose the music for their shows and had the freedom to discuss pop culture and current events during their programs. The station went by the slogan "Radio Montrose", named for the neighborhood in which the station's studios were located. By 1974, the station evolved to a more structured
album rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM broadcasting, FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of Rock music, rock albums and is currently associated ...
format as "FM 100".
FM 100 KILT Country
KILT-FM flipped to
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
on February 16, 1981.
When 610 KILT switched to country as well on June 1, 1981, its long-running Hudson and Harrigan morning show remained and began to be simulcast on KILT-FM. The rest of the day, the AM had more talk and information and it played some
classic country titles along with current songs, while KILT-FM was more contemporary and had its DJs avoid too much chatter.
From its debut in 1967 through 1995, the Hudson and Harrigan morning show had eleven different sets of personalities occupying the personas of Mac Hudson and Irv Harrigan. The show's title remained, regardless of the DJs who staffed the program. Ken Hoffmann of the ''
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...
'' described Hudson and Harrigan as "the longest-running, most successful morning team anywhere in America".
In 1994, KILT 610 AM switched to
sports radio
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 ...
, leaving Hudson and Harrigan on KILT-FM only.
Their run finally ended when KILT-FM announced the show's termination on March 23, 2010. Fred Olson and Randy Hames, who hosted as Hudson and Harrigan for the last 28 years, were released. Longtime KILT-FM afternoon personality Rowdy Yates, Erin Austin, and Cowboy Dave were subsequently named the new morning show hosts.
After switching to country, KILT-FM competed directly against KIKK-FM, the other major FM country music station in Houston. According to the ''
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...
'', "after initial success, KILT-FM struggled through an aborted change of call letters (KXAS-FM in 1984) and the lack of a strong identity with listeners".
[ In the spring of 1989, KILT-FM finally pulled ahead of KIKK-FM in the ]Arbitron
Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
ratings. KIKK-FM maintained the lead position for the next two ratings periods, and at the end of the year, ''Radio and Records
''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' magazine rated KILT-FM as the second most-listened-to country radio station in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
in terms of market share. It had an estimated 542,600 listeners tuned in for at least 15 minutes each week. KIKK-FM was fourth on the nationwide list, with an estimated 508,700 listeners.
"The Bull"
On January 10, 2013, at 5 p.m., after playing " Give It All We Got Tonight" by George Strait
George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer.
Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...
, the station relaunched as "The Bull @ 100.3". The station shifted its playlist
A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...
to include more current and recent music, avoiding most hits recorded before 2000. The first song on "The Bull" was " Drink in My Hand" by Eric Church
Kenneth Eric Church (born May 3, 1977) is an American country music singer-songwriter. He has released seven studio albums through Capitol Nashville since 2005. His debut album, 2006's '' Sinners Like Me'', produced three singles on the ''Billb ...
.
In December 2024, the station axed the three hosts of its "Morning Bullpen" show in a cost-cutting move.
Ownership changes
KILT-AM-FM had been owned by LIN Broadcasting Corporation since 1968. In an effort to divest itself of all of its radio stations, in late 1986, LIN Broadcasting Corporation sold KILT and KILT-FM to Legacy Broadcasting Inc. for $36.75 million. Less than three years later, KILT-AM-FM were sold, along with seven other radio stations, by Metropolitan-Legacy to Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndi ...
. At the time, the $360 million deal was considered the largest ever in radio. To meet federal regulations on radio ownership, Westinghouse sold its Houston station 99.1 KODA
KODA (99.1 FM, "Sunny 99.1") is an American commercial adult contemporary-formatted radio station in Houston, Texas. The station is owned by iHeartMedia. Its studios and offices are located along the West Loop Freeway in Uptown Houston.
KOD ...
.
In 1993, Westinghouse purchased KILT-FM's country rival, KIKK-FM, as well as 650 KIKK. At the time, KILT-FM was first in the Arbitron ratings, with KIKK-FM second in the Houston market. A single general manager was assigned to run both stations. According to Dan Mason, president of Westinghouse Radio Broadcasting, "'As they have been fierce competitors in the past, our two Houston radio properties will now join hands to create one of Houston's most unique country music powerhouses, each with its own programming and sales team.'" On November 4, 2002, KIKK-FM stopped playing country music and switched to a Smooth Jazz
Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...
format as KHJZ (now KKHH). This left KILT-FM as again one of only two Houston country stations (competing against KKBQ-FM owned by 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 ...
). Some of the KIKK-FM promotions, including the 10 Man Jam concerts, were moved to KILT-FM.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom
Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...
. The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.
KILT-FM was the last Houston FM radio station to maintain a full-service news department. The department was disbanded in 2004 when KILT-FM dropped its afternoon newscasts to go with a more-music approach.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Country radio stations in the United States
ILT-FM
Radio stations established in 1961
1961 establishments in Texas
Audacy, Inc. radio stations