KTBZ (1430

kHz 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 uni ...

, "1430 the Buzz") 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 ...

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

station in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...

. It airs a

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 as an affiliate of

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an Radio in the United States, American Sports radio, sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports ...

and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., with the license held by iHM Licenses, LLC. KTBZ's studios are at the Tulsa Event Center, on Yale Avenue in Southeast Tulsa. By day, KTBZ is powered at 25,000 watts. At night, to protect other stations on

1430 AM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 1430 kHz: 1430 AM is a regional broadcast frequency, as classified by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and the Canadian Radio-television and ...

from interference, it reduces power to 5,000 watts. It uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...

with a three-

tower array A tower array is an arrangement of multiple radio towers which are mast radiators in a phased array. They were originally developed as ground-based tracking radars. Tower arrays can consist of free-standing or guyed towers or a mix of them. Tower ...

. 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 ...

site is on East 56th Street North at North Lewis Avenue in Turley.

History

The station has traditionally traced its history to January 22, 1934, the date when it began broadcasting from Tulsa. However,

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) records list the station's first license date as April 19, 1923, tracing its origin to the original license, issued as KFGD to the Chickasha Radio & Electric Co. in Chickasha, Oklahoma. The KFGD call sign was randomly assigned from an alphabetic roster of available call letters. The next year the station was purchased by the Oklahoma College for Women, and in 1925 the call sign was changed to KOCW."Alterations and corrections"
''Radio Service Bulletin'', November 2, 1925, page 8. In 1932 the station was sold, and moved beginning the next year to Tulsa as KTUL. It was heard on 1400 kHz starting in 1929, and moved to 1430 kHz with the 1941 implementation of the

North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA, ; ) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations. These agreements also addressed how frequency assignments were d ...

(NARBA). KTUL was Tulsa's second radio station, after KVOO.

CBS Radio and MOR

KTUL was an affiliate of the CBS Radio Network, and carried CBS's schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

broadcasts during the "

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

". One of its early local stars, with a regular live music program, was a young teen-aged

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

. In the 1950s, network programming moved from radio to television, so KTUL switched to a full service, middle of the road (MOR) format of popular adult music, news and sports.

Top 40 KELi

In the fall of 1961, the station was bought by new owners. It switched to a

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 ...

hits format and the call letters were changed to KELI (with a little "i" in the station logo). During the 1960s, KELI became famous for having a disc jockey and news staff all with the last name of "Kelly". The station broadcast from the "Satellite Studios" in the middle of the Tulsa State Fairgrounds until the station moved in 1982. The station had studio tours and did many promotions during the

Tulsa State Fair The Tulsa State Fair is an annual event held at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The state fair, fair takes place in late September (usually on the fourth Tuesday after Labor Day, and occasionally in early October) and lasts 11 days. History The ...

. KELI's Top 40 format lasted for 20 years, outlasting rival

KAKC KAKC (1300 Hertz, kHz) is a commercial radio, commercial AM broadcasting, AM radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The station airs a conservative talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The radio studio, studios are on South Yale Avenu ...

, which switched to MOR and

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

in 1979. Since the early 1980s, 1430 has aired a

talk radio 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, Interview (jo ...

format, contemporary hits (as the short-lived "14-K / 92-K" in 1983 and 1984),

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 ...

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 ...

and classic country.

The Buzz

The station was assigned the KTBZ call letters by the

on June 5, 2001. It flipped to a

sports talk 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 ...

station as "AM 1430 The Buzz". Originally it was a

affiliate. It carries live games from the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

and the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

. In Tulsa, co-owned AM 1430 and AM 1300 had combined to form the Buzz Sports Network. In 2021, KFAQ switched to a sports format, as KTSB "The Blitz". It took the Fox Sports Radio affiliation, with KTBZ switching to CBS Sports Radio. Co-owned KAKC flipped to

programming as "The Patriot". In 2024, KTSB switched to a news format as KOTV "News on 6 Now". This allowed KTBZ to switch from the

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 ...

affiliation back to Fox Sports Radio.

References

External links

KTBZ official website

FCC History Cards for KTBZ
(covering 1927-1980 as KOCW / KTUL / KELI)

{{IHeartMedia TBZ Sports radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1923 1923 establishments in Oklahoma IHeartMedia radio stations Fox Sports Radio stations