KBXX

KBXX
City Houston, Texas
Broadcast area Greater Houston
Branding "97.9 The Box"
Slogan Interactive Hip-Hop and R&B
Frequency 97.9 MHz (also on HD Radio)
Translator(s) 98.7 K254BZ (Fairbanks; relays HD2)
First air date 97.9: 1958 (as KFMK)
98.7: July 25, 2016
Format 97.9: Rhythmic Contemporary
HD2/98.7: Asian
Language(s) 97.9: English
HD2/98.7: Vietnamese
ERP 97.9: 100,000 watts
98.7: 250 watts
HAAT 97.9: 585 m (1,919 ft)
98.7: 500 m (1,640 ft)
Class 97.9: C
98.7: D
Facility ID 97.9:11969
98.7: 145065
Transmitter coordinates 29°34′34″N 95°30′36″W / 29.57611°N 95.51000°W / 29.57611; -95.51000Coordinates: 29°34′34″N 95°30′36″W / 29.57611°N 95.51000°W / 29.57611; -95.51000
Callsign meaning K - BOXX
Former callsigns KFMK (1958-1991)
Owner Radio One
(Radio One Licenses, LLC)
Sister stations KMJQ, KROI
Webcast Listen Live
Website theboxhouston.com

KBXX ("97.9 The Box") is a Houston-based radio station airing a rhythmic contemporary music format. It is owned by Radio One and co-owed with KMJQ and KROI. Its studios are located in the Greenway Plaza district, and its transmitter is located in Missouri City, Texas.

The morning show has been hosted by Madd Hatta since March 2001. He has been on KBXX since 1995, starting off in afternoons, then hosting mornings.

KBXX HD2 airs Vietnamese language programming, featuring a format with both spoken word and music. KBXX HD2 rebroadasts on 98.7 K258BZ, through a lease management agreement between Radio One Licenses, LLC. and Hispanic Family Christian Network, Inc., owner of the translator facility.

History

KFMK

The station originally signed on in 1958 with a popular music format as KFMK,[1] but later migrated to a classical music format. By 1967, KFMK moved to a Top 40 format, competing against KRBE and had a slight advantage over KRBE because it was in stereo, although the later had a stronger signal at the time.

By 1968, KFMK transitioned to become Houston's first progressive rock station, known as "Mother Radio" (a name later referenced by KLOL, which was known as "Mother's Family"). In early 1969, KFMK abruptly changed to a Christian format. The station reverted to Top 40 in the late 1970s, which would then transition to an oldies-heavy adult contemporary format in the 1980s. This format lasted until the station's abrupt 1991 flip to what was then coined as "Contemporary Crossover".

"The Box"

On April 2, 1991, after a period of stunting, the station flipped to "The Box" with a new rhythmic contemporary format. The new KBXX callsign was implemented on April 22, 1991.[2] It fiercely competed with longtime heritage urban station KMJQ until Clear Channel Communications bought KBXX in late 1994, then paired it with KMJQ the year after.

Despite being rhythmic, KBXX's music selection moved more toward a mainstream urban direction, intense with hip hop and R&B music. Clear Channel spun off KBXX and KMJQ to Radio One in 2000.

Programming

KBXX was moved to R&R's Urban Contemporary Airplay panel in 2006, however it still remains on Mediabase's Rhythmic Airplay Panel. In spite of having an urban-driven playlist, the station retains its rhythmic format in order to target a multicultural audience in the Houston market.[3]

References

  1. ↑ "Houston Radio History"
  2. ↑ Louis B. Parks, "'Box' lowers the boom on KFMK", The Houston Chronicle, April 3, 1991.
  3. ↑ "Part of a Rhythm Nation" from Radio-Info (November 12, 2012)


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