KTBT (92.1 FM "92.1 The Beat") is a

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

station, serving the

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

area. The

iHeartMedia 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 ...

outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 27 kW and is licensed to

Broken Arrow, Oklahoma Broken Arrow is a city in Tulsa and Wagoner counties in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. It is the largest suburb of Tulsa. According to the 2020 census, Broken Arrow has a population of 113,540 residents and is the 4th most populous city in the s ...

. Its studios are located at the Tulsa Event Center in Southeast Tulsa, and its transmitter site is near

Lookout Mountain Lookout Mountain is a mountain ridge at the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Georgia, the northeast corner of Alabama, and along the southeastern Tennessee state line in Chattanooga. Lookout Mountain was the scene of the 18th-century "La ...

in southwest Tulsa. KTBT broadcasts in the HD digital format.

History

KTBT's format history includes freeform rock in the early 1970s as KTBA,

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

as KGOW in the late 1970s, and

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 "Sunny 92", KSNE. It switched formats 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 ...

as KELI-FM in December 1983, which also simulcasted with its AM counterpart KELI (1430 AM, now

Sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

KTBZ (AM) KTBZ (1430 kHz, "1430 the Buzz") is a commercial AM radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It airs a sports radio format as an affiliate of Fox Sports Radio and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., with the license held by iHM Licenses, LLC. KTBZ's stu ...

) as "14K & 92K", and became KQZZ in August 1985. On March 14, 1986, the station became the new home of Classical music-formatted KCMA, which moved from its previous home at 106.1 FM (now

KTGX KTGX (106.1 MHz "The Twister") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Owasso, Oklahoma, and serving the Tulsa metropolitan area. It airs a country music format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios are in the BancFirst building ...

). In December 1994, the classical format moved to 1430 AM, with 92.1 FM flipping to '70s hits as "Y92.1". On August 9, 1995, the station flipped to

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 ...

as KOAS, "92.1 The Oasis", giving Tulsa its first Smooth Jazz station at the time.James D. Watts, Jr., "KCMA Adopts New Light Jazz Format", ''The Tulsa World'', August 13, 1995. The Smooth Jazz format was dropped in December 1999, and flipped back to Top 40 as "92.1 Kiss-FM." Initially starting as a 1990s/now-type

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 ...

station, KIZS shifted 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 ...

in 2003. After a year as a Hot AC and still seeing no ratings success, it started leaning towards Mainstream Top 40 and went full-time in mid-2004. This lasted only for a short time. On September 23

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, at 5 p.m.,

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

station KTBT moved to KIZS and replaced their Mainstream Top 40 format. KTBT, which debuted its format in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, was originally at 101.5 FM, but was also signal challenged due to spotty coverage. The move to 92.1 FM gave The Beat better coverage in the area. The Mainstream Top 40 format was retained for a time on 92.1's HD-2 sub-channel. The 101.5 frequency was then switched to Clear Channel's Spanish-language "La Preciosa" network featuring Spanish Oldies.

External links

References

1970 establishments in Oklahoma Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations Radio stations established in 1970 TBT {{Oklahoma-radio-station-stub