KXBL (99.5 FM) is a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on inn ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radi ...

known as "Big Country 99.5" ("Big Country" was a slogan 1170 KVOO now KTSB used during its country music heyday). Located in

Henryetta, Oklahoma Henryetta is a city in Okmulgee County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 5,927 at the 2010 census, down 9.6 percent from the figure of 6,096 recorded in 2000. History Hugh Henry established a ranch on Creek Nation land in 1885. He so ...

, it broadcasts to the

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma and List of United States cities by population, 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. ...

area. The station is owned by

Griffin Communications Griffin Media is an American media company based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The company began as a subsidiary of Muskogee-based Griffin Foods, which produces a line of pancake and waffle syrups and other foods. It owns Oklahoma's two large CBS ...

. Its studios are located in Downtown Tulsa and shares a transmitter with television station KTPX-TV in

Mounds, Oklahoma Mounds is a town in Creek County, Oklahoma, United States. It is located just south of Tulsa; the town's population was 1,168 at the 2010 census, an increase of 1.3 percent from the figure of 1,153 recorded in 2000. History The post office for t ...

. KBXL broadcasts in the HD hybrid format.

History

In the 1970s & 1980's, the station was known as KGCG "The Green Country Giant" then later as KDLB "Double Barrel Country" (both as country stations). It later went dark, then came back on the air in 1985 as "Magic 99" (KQMJ) until 1991. After that, it became "99.5 The Storm" with calls KSTM. KSTM flipped to country in March 1993 and changed calls to KCKI as "Kick99". It changed calls in 2001 to KXBL and became "99.5 The Bull". In 2003, KXBL became a classic country station as "Big Country 99.5" its current format.

Journal Communications Journal Media Group (formerly Journal Communications) was a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based newspaper publishing company. The company's roots were first established in 1882 as the owner of its namesake, the ''Milwaukee Journal'', and expanded into br ...

(KXBL's former owner) and the

E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...

(owner of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

's local affiliate

KJRH-TV KJRH-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E. W. Scripps Company alongside Okmulgee-licensed Ion Television outlet KTPX-TV (channel 44). KJRH-TV's studios are located on ...

) announced on July 30, 2014 that the two companies would merge to create a new broadcast company under the E. W. Scripps Company name that will own the two companies' broadcast properties, including KXBL. The transaction was completed in 2015, with shareholder and regulatory approvals. On June 26, 2018, parent company E. W. Scripps announced that it would sell KXBL - along with its sister stations, KBEZ, KFAQ,

KHTT KHTT (106.9 FM, "106.9 K-HITS") is a top 40 mainstream (CHR) radio station licensed to Muskogee, Oklahoma, and serving the Tulsa metropolitan area. It is owned by Griffin Communications. The radio studios are located in Downtown Tulsa and ...

, and KVOO to

. Griffin began operating the stations under a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...

on July 30, and completed the purchase October 1; the company already owned CBS affiliate

KOTV-DT KOTV-DT (channel 6) is a television station in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Griffin Media alongside Muskogee-licensed CW affiliate KQCW-DT (channel 19) and radio stations KTSB (1170 AM), KBEZ (92.9 F ...

and CW affiliate KQCW-DT. KXBL originated a daily midday program with country music star and area native

Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and 2004, Diffi ...

, which aired until his death. The program was recorded from Nashville and from his tour stops.

References

External links

XBL Classic country radio stations in the United States Griffin Media {{Oklahoma-radio-station-stub