KPEL-FM (96.5 FM) is a

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 the United States. Licensed to

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana Breaux Bridge (;Jack A. Reynolds. "Breaux Bridge" entry i"Louisiana Placenames of Romance Origin."LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses #7852. 1942. p. 77. ; ) is a city in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 7,51 ...

, KPEL-FM serves the Lafayette metropolitan area with a

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews ...

format. It is owned by

Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

. Initially signing on with call sign KFTE in 1993, KPEL-FM was a music station for its first 17 years. After having

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 ...

and

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

formats, KFTE had an

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 ...

format branded "Planet Radio 96.5" until changing to KPEL-FM and news/talk in 2010. Since 2001, KPEL-FM has been owned by Townsquare Media and its predecessor Regent Communications.

History

As KFTE (1991–2010)

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 ...

was first issued for a new 96.5 MHz FM station on April 19, 1991. JBC Inc. (doing business as ComCorp of Lafayette License Corporation) was the owner. Licensed on November 15, 1992, the station first

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 ...

with call sign KFTE on May 1, 1993. Its format was

. In July 1993, the Mid-Acadiana Broadcasting Corporation purchased KFTE. The price tag was $517,750 plus debt cancellation from ComCorp. KFTE began using the brand "Cool 96.5" in 1994. On August 29, 2001, Regent Communications (later

) reached an agreement to buy KFTE and six other radio stations from ComCorp. The price was over $39 million.

As KPEL-FM (2010–present)

On June 25, 2010, KFTE switched call signs and formats with KPEL-FM at 105.1 MHz.

KFTE KFTE (105.1 FM, "Classic Rock 105.1") is a commercial radio station in Abbeville, Louisiana, broadcasting to the Lafayette, Louisiana, area. KFTE airs a classic rock music format, and is owned by Townsquare Media. Its studios are located on Be ...

's rock format moved to 105.1, while KPEL-FM's news/talk format moved to 96.5 MHz. In June 2020, early afternoon host Carol Ross decided to end her program and leave the station. On March 15, 2025, KPEL-FM began carrying

Erick Erickson Erick Woods Erickson (born June 3, 1975) is an American conservative talk radio host, blogger, and former politician. He hosts a three-hour weekday talk show on WSB 95.5 FM and 750 AM in Atlanta, which is syndicated to other radio stations aro ...

on weekdays from WSB

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Programming

KPEL-FM has local news and talk shows during the daytime, in addition to national news updates from

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...

and nationally syndicated programs including '' The Erick Erickson Show'', ''

The Mark Levin Show ''The Mark Levin Show'' is a conservative talk radio show hosted by Mark Levin. History Levin began his career as a radio host in 2002 in a Sunday afternoon timeslot on WABC. WABC assigned Levin to fill in starting on June 16, 2003, after the ...

'', and ''

The Ramsey Show ''The Ramsey Show'' (formerly known as ''The Dave Ramsey Show'' and ''The Money Game'') is an American self-syndicated radio program hosted by finance author Dave Ramsey and a rotating group of co-hosts, that airs Monday through Friday from 2:0 ...

''. Weekends feature specialty lifestyle shows, such as '' The Kim Komando Show'' and ''The Car Doctor'', and paid programming. KPEL-FM also broadcasts

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball program represents intercollegiate men's basketball at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. The school competes in the Sun Belt Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Asso ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

games.

Technical information

Licensed to Breaux Bridge, KPEL-FM broadcasts from a 167.6-meter transmitter located in Youngsville at 42 kW of

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 ...

References

External links

KPEL-FM official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kpel-Fm Radio stations in Louisiana News and talk radio stations in the United States Breaux Bridge, Louisiana Townsquare Media radio stations 1993 establishments in Louisiana Radio stations established in 1993