KBRE (1660 AM) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

. It is owned by the Stephens Media Group, through licensee SMG-Merced, LLC. It plays a mix of active rock and

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

, calling itself "105.7 The Bear." Programming is also heard on 250 watt

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

105.7 K289CB in nearby Los Banos. The AM station is powered at 10,000 watts by day, 1,000 watts at night, using a

non-directional antenna In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna (electronics), antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an axis (mathematics), axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with angle ...

. The AM

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is off South Bert Crane Road in Atwater.

History

KBRE began as the "expanded band" twin to a station on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available " Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with then-KLOQ in Merced authorized to move from 1580 kHz to 1660 kHz."FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997. The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency. It was decided to shut down the standard band station, and on August 13, 2004 the license for original station, now KVVY, on 1580 kHz was cancelled.

Sports radio

A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call letters KAXW on January 9, 1998. The station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

the air on November 1, 1999. It was owned by Clarke Broadcasting and aired a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...

format. On February 12, 2002 the station changed its call sign to KTIQ. It continued to carry a sports format, known as "The Ticket" (indicated by the letters "TIQ"). In late 2007/early 2008, the station switched to Spanish-language Christian radio as "Amistad Christiana".

Switch to rock

On March 16, 2016, 92.5 KBRE's old active/alternative rock format moved to AM 1660, calling itself "105.7 The Bear." It added FM translator K289CB Los Banos. The station changed its call sign to KBRE on May 11, 2016.

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.

Former logo

References

External links

{{Merced Radio

BRE British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, ...

Radio stations established in 2001 2001 establishments in California Active rock radio stations in the United States KBRE