| City of license | KNBR: San Francisco, California KTCT: San Mateo, California |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | KNBR: San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, California KTCT: San Mateo/San Francisco/Oakland/San Jose, California |
| Branding | KNBR 680 KNBR 1050 |
| Slogan | "The Sports Leader" |
| Frequency | KNBR: 680 (kHz) KTCT: 1050 (kHz) (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | KNBR: April 17, 1922 KTCT: 1946[1] |
| Format | Commercial; Sports |
| Power | KNBR: 50,000 watts KTCT: 50,000 watts (day) 10,000 watts (night) |
| Class | KNBR: A KTCT: B |
| Facility ID | KNBR: 35208 KTCT: 51188 |
| Transmitter coordinates | KNBR: KTCT: |
| Callsign meaning | KNBR: K National Broadcasting Radio (a reference to former owner NBC) KTCT: K TiCkeT |
| Former callsigns | KNBR: KPO (1922-1947), KNBC (1947-1960) KTCT: KVSM, KOFY |
| Affiliations | KNBR: ESPN Radio KTCT: ESPN Radio |
| Owner | Cumulus Media |
| Sister stations | KFOG/KFFG, KGO, KSAN, KSFO |
| Webcast | KNBR Webstream KTCT Webstream |
| Website | knbr.com |
KNBR, The Sports Leader, is the on-air branding used by two AM radio stations in the San Francisco, California, area broadcasting a sports radio format, owned by Cumulus Media.
The main station, KNBR (680 kHz), licensed to San Francisco, broadcasts on a clear channel from transmitting facilities in Belmont, California. KNBR's non-directional 50 kilowatt (or 50,000 watt) signal can be heard throughout much of the western United States and as far west as the Hawaiian Islands at night. Because of its extensive range, it is sometimes called by the nicknames "The 50,000 Watt Flamethrower," "The Blowtorch," and "The Mighty 680." Prior to adopting a sports format, KNBR enjoyed a long history as the flagship of NBC's West Coast radio operations.
A second station also uses the KNBR brand. KTCT (1050 kHz) is licensed to San Mateo, California, with a transmitter located in Hayward, California. KTCT carries a separate sports format known as "The Ticket." The KNBR re-branding took place in 2003.
Between the two stations, games of the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco 49ers, Golden State Warriors, Stanford Cardinal, and San Jose SaberCats are broadcast to the San Francisco Bay Area.
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KNBR began life on April 17, 1922 as KPO, owned by the Hale Brothers department store and the San Francisco Chronicle newspaper. Originally located in the Hale store at Market and 5th (now site of Marshall's and other stores), its horizontal wire antenna on the roof was so efficient it immediately attracted the attention of audiences all over the Pacific Coast.
In 1927, KPO became an affiliate of the new NBC radio network. Eventually, KPO was sold to NBC, where its operation was consolidated into that of its co-owned KGO at 111 Sutter Street. From there, NBC operated its West Coast network, feeding dozens of stations and operating a news bureau to serve NBC. As NBC's flagship station on the West Coast, it had a fulltime orchestra, five studios, and produced many live shows. During the rise of Hollywood, NBC's radio operation was moved to Los Angeles.
In 1941, just before World War II, NBC constructed Radio City at 420 Taylor Street, considered one of the best radio facilities built during radio's golden age. However, with the network control having been moved to Los Angeles, the San Francisco NBC building was never fully utilized. (Later, the building housed KBHK-TV, and now houses the headquarters of a janitorial service.)
During World War II, KPO's news bureau was the major source for NBC of news about the war in the Pacific, and operated shortwave radio stations (transmitters located in Dixon) serving the world. It was at the KPO (RCA) shortwave facility that the message was received that Japanese emperor Hirohito had surrendered, ending World War II. [1]
In 1946, to shore up its reputation as an NBC station (and the only radio station NBC ever owned on the West Coast), the callsign was changed from KPO to KNBC. This change lasted until 1962, when the callsign was applied to NBC's television station in Los Angeles and the radio station was renamed KNBR.
In November 1949, former NBC television affiliate KRON-TV went on the air. Only before the TV station's first airdate did NBC fight for the license to own the TV station until it lost the bid to the de Young family, then the owners of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In the 1950s when NBC scrapped its comedy, drama, variety shows, and serials, the Los Angeles facility was sold and demolished, and KNBC/KNBR once again became the West Coast NBC network control center and West Coast NBC Radio news operation.
KNBR evolved into a Middle of the road music format mixing in Adult Standards with Soft Rock cuts by the early 1960s. The station continued to be a news intensive format with personalities in the foreground and music in the background. The station averaged about 12 songs an hour outside of drive times and about 8 songs an hour in afternoon drive and four an hour in morning drive. By the mid 1970s, KNBR evolved musically into a straight ahead adult contemporary music format.
The station continued with a full service adult contemporary music format with news into the 1980s. In 1987, when NBC got out of the radio business, KNBR was sold to Susquehanna Corporation, a longtime radio station operator. The station added some sports talk in evenings. The station began to cut back on music more. The station took a full-time sports format in 1990.
KNBR has long been linked with 680 AM. In 2003, several years after KNBR's parent company acquired the 1050 AM signal and converted it into KTCT, "The Ticket 1050," the company opted to re-brand that other station as another version of KNBR.
Both stations feature game broadcasts and sports talk, including shows hosted by Bay Area staples Ralph Barbieri, Tom Tolbert, and Damon Bruce. Some shows are simulcast on both 680 and 1050.
KNBR 1050 is the local home of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing,[2] as well as the Sabercats. Some Warriors games and most of the 49ers preseason games are on 1050 AM, as the Giants have priority on 680 AM.
KNBR is the longtime radio home of the San Francisco Giants. Giants broadcasters and former Giants Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow, affectionately known as "Kruk and Kuip," usually do the commentary on the TV broadcast. San Francisco native and ESPN broadcaster Jon Miller and the most recent addition, Dave Flemming, do the majority of the radio broadcasts, but the 4 of them interchange fairly frequently. At the end of every game, they all sit together for the "Post-Game Wrap", aired on KNBR and televised on CSN Bay Area.
Tim Roye is the radio play-by-play announcer for the Golden State Warriors, and is joined by Jim Barnett on non-televised games as Barnett serves as an analyst for TV broadcasts.
A vast array of announcers participate in San Jose SaberCats broadcasts, including Tim Roye, Bob Fitzgerald, Ray Woodson, Dan Dibley, Keena Turner, George Atkinson, and Troy Clardy.
In 2005, KNBR became the official radio home of the San Francisco 49ers. All games are also heard on sister station KSAN "107.7 The Bone"; some AM broadcasts may be moved to KTCT due to conflicts with Giants games. 49ers games were broadcast by Joe Starkey and Gary Plummer for four seasons until Starkey's retirement following the 2008 season. In the 2009 season, former Giants baseball and world-class tennis announcer Ted Robinson took over for Starkey as the play-by-play announcer.
KNBR 680 is an affiliate of ESPN Radio, and carries selected content and games from the national network. KNBR 1050 is also an affiliate of ESPN Radio, but also carries The Jim Rome Show and Fox Sports Radio/DirecTV programs Into the Night with Tony Bruno and The Dan Patrick Show.
KNBR is owned by Cumulus Media Partners, LLC,[3] a private partnership of Cumulus Media, Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, and Thomas H. Lee Partners. It was purchased from Susquehanna-Pfaltzgraff Media in 2005 along with other Susquehanna Radio Corporation stations.[4]
An afternoon show, begun in 1996. The premise of The Razor and Mr. T was the pairing of Ralph Barbieri (promoted from evenings to afternoons) with former NBA (and Golden State Warriors) player Tom Tolbert.
SportsPhone 680 was formerly hosted by Larry Krueger, who was fired after a personal rant against the Giants on the show. During his rant, he criticized the Giants for "brain-dead Caribbean hitters hacking at slop nightly." Krueger was first suspended for 10 days, then, on August 10, 2005, KNBR announced that it had ceased professional relations with Krueger. Damon Bruce took over the show in October 2005 and hosted until February 26, 2010, when he started his own Noon-4 p.m. show on KNBR 1050. FP Santangelo took over as SportsPhone680 host. His show lasted from March 1, 2010 to February 19, 2011, after the Washington Nationals hired him as their color commentator for MASN. Eric Byrnes took over as SportsPhone680 host, and hosted his 1st show on March 23, 2011.
Marty Lurie, fills in as a weekday host on occasion at KNBR and is the host of SportsPhone 680 Giants Warm-Up and Wrap-Up shows on KNBR every weekend during the baseball season.
Originating as part of the station's statutory requirement of public affairs programming, the station continues to air an hourlong interview show Sunday mornings at 5 a.m.
During the 1990s, the program typically began and ended with the phrase "This is Gimmy Park Li, Your Host". No program title was given. Interviews for this program often consisted of local individuals in volunteer, charitable, or minor governmental capacities.
Due to its time slot, the program is the quintessential example of the "Sunday-morning public affairs ghetto". (Related article: Public affairs) The program has, apparently, never been promoted outside of its timeslot. "Gimmy Park Li" was the station's Public Affairs Director. Her "signature" was her sign off: "This is Gimmy Park Li... Your host. Thank you for spending your time... with us."
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