KBBT

KBBT
City Schertz, Texas
Broadcast area San Antonio, Texas
Branding "98.5 The Beat"
Slogan #1 For Hip-Hop and R&B
Frequency 98.5 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date 1980 (at 98.3)
2000 (at 98.5)
Format Rhythmic Contemporary
HD2: Top 40
ERP 97,000 watts
HAAT 302 meters
Class C1
Facility ID 3075
Callsign meaning K B BeaT
Owner Univision
(Univision Radio License Corporation)
Sister stations KCOR, KMYO, KROM, KXTN-FM
Television stations KNIC & KWEX
Webcast Listen Live
Website TheBeatSA.com

KBBT is a successful Rhythmic Contemporary radio station owned by Univision in the San Antonio, Texas area. The city of license is Schertz, Texas and operates at 98.5 MHz. Its studios are located in Northwest San Antonio and its transmitter site is in unincorporated Bexar County near Government Canyon Park.

Station history

KBBT originally launched as country outlet KBOP-FM at 98.3 and licensed to Pleasanton, Texas, in 1980. They later changed call letters to KBUC in 1993 but kept the Country format intact. In 1998 Univision, seeking to tap into a unique Hispanic audience that was non-Spanish speaking, very contemporary and influenced by present-day trends, acquired KBUC and applied for a city of license change to Schertz and a frequency switch to 98.5 to cover the San Antonio Metropolitan area, which was approved in early April 2000.

On September 29, 2000, Univision officially launched KBBT, the company's first non-Spanish formatted outlet in San Antonio (outside of bilingual-speaking Tejano sister station KXTN and later on, Active Rock turned Top 40 KLTO), where it shot up to number one in the ratings and has retained that position since its inception. From the beginning, KBBT's musical formula, which started under its first program director, J. D. Gonzalez, has centered on Hip-Hop/R&B hits, tailor made for San Antonio and in particular its large mix of teens, females, young adults, and bilingual Hispanic audiences. This formula has also served as the catalyst for the demise of the first KTFM, and later on, KCJZ/KPWT. Another defunct station, KSJL-FM, played hip-hop and R&B under the urban contemporary format throughout the 1990s until it switched frequencies in 1998 and took a more adult direction as KSJL-AM.

In 2002, KBBT launched its own morning show, Xavier's World Morning Show hosted by Xavier Garcia and Biggie Paul.

In 2010, KBBT phased in Rhythmic pop tracks, but at the same time continues to stick to its hip-hop/r&b formula as it faces competition from Top 40/CHR rivals KXXM, a new version of KTFM, and as of August 2014, Rhythmic rival KZEP. It also embraces EDM as well, launching a weekly program that airs late Saturday Night/Sunday Mornings.

On October 20, 2015, The Xavier's World Morning Show was taken off the air, ending their 13-year run. On November 9, 2015, a new morning show debuted on KBBT entitled "The Dana Cortez Show" hosted by Dana Cortez and Anthony A.

Original Air staff

The original airstaff consisted of:

Current Air Staff

HD2

KBBT HD2 is a simulcast of top 40 formatted "Radio H2O" 107.9 Dallas (KESS-FM).

External links

Coordinates: 29°31′26″N 98°43′26″W / 29.524°N 98.724°W / 29.524; -98.724

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