KABX-FM (97.5 FM, "K97.5") is an

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 present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

formatted

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 ...

Merced, California Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

. KABX-FM is owned by Stephens Media Group, through licensee SMG-Merced, LLC. Its studios are in

Merced Merced (; Spanish for "Mercy") is a city in, and the county seat of, Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 86,333, up from 78,958 in 2010. Incorporated on April 1 ...

and its transmitter is southwest of Mount Bullion. KABX-FM can be heard in large areas of central California from approximately

Modesto Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton ...

, to south of

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

. It sometimes can be heard as far north as the eastern portions of the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

History

KABX-FM signed on in 1979 as an automated easy listening station with the call sign KMYT. This was the original FM sister station to KYOS AM 1480 and was originally located at the KYOS transmitter site. At the end of 1999, the station relocated to Shultz Mountain in Catheys Valley, California, to gain better signal coverage. On August 27, 2011, KABX-FM adjusted its format and became mainstream AC "The New K 97.5- Favorites of Yesterday and Today. Under the guidance of AC consultant Gary Berkowitz, the station is using JAM jingles and voiceovers from Jim Merkel.

Acquisition by Stephens Media

On July 1, 2019, Mapleton Communications announced its intent to sell its remaining 37 stations to Stephens Media Group. Stephens began operating the station that same day. The sale was consummated on September 30, 2019 at a price of $21 million.

References

Previous logo

(KABX's logo under previous "Oldies 97.5" branding)

External links

FCC History Cards for KABX-FM
ABX Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States Mass media in Merced County, California Merced, California Radio stations established in 1979 1979 establishments in California {{California-radio-station-stub