KBED (1510 AM; branded as Sports Radio Beaumont) is a radio station serving the Beaumont-Port Arthur area with a sports format. It is under ownership of Cumulus Media, and is simulcast with sister station KIKR AM 1450 Beaumont, Texas. Its studios are located on South Eleventh Street in Beaumont and its transmitter is located south of Vidor, Texas.

KBED
Simulcast with KIKR Beaumont
Broadcast areaBeaumont-Port Arthur area
Frequency1510 kHz
BrandingSports Radio Beaumont
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatSports
AffiliationsInfinity Sports Network
Ownership
Owner
KAYD-FM, KIKR, KQXY, KTCX
History
First air date
February 20, 1969 (as KCAW Port Arthur)
Former call signs
KCAW (1969–1974)
KYKR (1974–1979)
KEAM (1979–1989)
KQXY (1989–1990)
KDVE (1990–1991)
KQHN (1991–2005)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID48917
ClassD
Power5,000 watts day
Transmitter coordinates
30°3′40″N 93°58′48″W / 30.06111°N 93.98000°W / 30.06111; -93.98000
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitesportsradiobeaumont.com

History

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KBED was initially proposed by Felix & James Joynt in 1959. The Joynts requested to obtain a construction permit to build a 1 kilowatt daytime broadcasting radio station at 1510 kHz, under the name KWEN Broadcasting on October 26, 1959, which was filed by the Federal Communications Commission the following day. The proposed facility was constructed 3 miles northwest of 16th Street, on U.S. Highway 69 in Port Arthur, receiving a License to Cover on February 20, 1969.

The facility was issued its first callsign KCAW, standing for Country And Western, on November 7, 1968. The Joynts would file to modify the location of the transmission site to a location on Texas State Highway 347, .7 miles northwest of 39th Street, which is where the facility signed on from in Port Arthur. That tower now is used as a cell site tower.

The transmitter was moved to its current South Vidor location (where its former FM sister KYKR-FM was located) when the FCC approved a power increase from 1,000 watts to the current 5,000 watts on August 1, 1980. Accompanied by the upgrade in ERP, the Community of License was changed to Nederland, as well. The callsign changed to KYKR, along with its FM sister 93.3, in 1974.

Eventually, owner Jimmie Joynt sold both the AM and FM to different owners. 1510 saw a couple of different owners (including Clear Channel at one time) including various religious owners.

On January 4, 1988, the KYKR tower in South Vidor suffered a massive fire believed to be arson. Both 93.3 FM and 1510 AM transmitters were lost. KYKR struggled with borrowed equipment to make it back on the air at low power and eventually recovered.

 
Previous logo

Because it shares the same frequency as "clear channel" radio station WLAC in Nashville, Tennessee, KBED only broadcasts during the daytime hours.

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KBED". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.