KBPA is an Austin, Texas

Austin, Texas

Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...

 based radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

. The station's slogan

Slogan

A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...

 is "We play anything." Its format is similar to other Bob FM

Bob FM

Bob FM is the on-air brand of a number of FM radio stations in Canada and the United States. The Bob FM format features a mix of classic 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s hits with some current hot adult contemporary singles....

 stations across the country. Its transmitter is located near Buda, Texas

Buda, Texas

Buda is a city in Hays County, Texas, United States. The population was 2,404 at the 2000 census. City leaders estimated the population exceeded 5,100 in 2008 and the official 2009 Census Bureau estimate showed the population had increased to 7,784 as of July 1, 2009. The 2010 US Census listed...

.

Dance

Dance

Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....

 can be heard on 103.5 HD-2 'Mega 103-5 HD-2' (HD Radio

HD Radio

HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...

 needed). Also streaming on the internet at http://www.megahd2.com.

History

• The station signed on in 1971 as KRMH-FM as "Good Karma" a suitable name for a progressive rock station on the fringe of Austin ("Broadcasting from beautiful downtown Buda!") in its "Hippy-Dippy" age. It was licensed to San Marcos/Austin on 103.7 MHz. KRMH was owned by R. Miller Hicks (RMH) (Hence, the call letters).

• Later sold to the Wendall Mayes Interests (also owned 1490 KNOW-AM) and renamed KCSW-FM.

• Later both AM and FM sold to the Hicks family (no relation to R. Miller Hicks) (Family of well known investors Steve and Tom Hicks.) The station was renamed KEYI-FM (Key 103) with an adult contemporary format. Station eventually sold to Bob Sinclair of Sinclair Communications. His firm was in a partnership with a local concern, the LBJ Company, under the name "LBJS." Since then the Johnson family sold their interest to an Indianapolis based firm, Emmis Communications. The new partnership was named Emmis Austin Radio Broadcasting Co., LP.

• Prior to becoming Bob FM, KBPA (then KEYI) was branded as Oldies 103, playing a much tighter playlist of Motown and 1960s rock. When the switch took place on August 20, 2004, there was an initial outrage from loyal listeners http://www.austin360.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/xl/entries/2004/08/24/what_is_the_bob_and_where_did_oldies_103_go.html angered by the loss of the only full-time oldies station in Austin. Since that time a competing Austin station now features the oldies format on their secondary HD radio channel.

KBPA-HD2

In 2009, KBPA bought back KXMG's former Dance Top 40 format and placed it on its HD2, calling it "Mega 103-5 HD-2." In 2010 the format returned to the terrestrial broadcasting airwaves as a simulcast, broadcasting on translator K288FJ at 105.5 FM from Bastrop, Texas. In November 2010 the HD2 signal began simulcasting over the air on 102.7 (K274AX), which is licensed to Austin and can be heard within the central area. That simulcast ended on December 13, 2010 at 12:06AM frequency went dark and around 9 AM that day K274AX switched to a simulcast of adult alternative-formatted KGSR 93.3 FM Cedar Park, TX.

Former on-air personnel

• Michael Block (KRMH-FM Program Director)
• Joel Block (KRMH-FM - now co-host and chief audio producer for EarthSky)
• Michael Taylor (KRMH-FM - later KZEW-FM, Dallas)
• Fred Rhodes (KRMH-FM - later KVUE-TV, Austin, KTBC-TV, Austin, KHOU-TV
  KHOU-TV
  KHOU is the CBS affiliate television station in Houston, Texas. Serving Greater Houston, it is owned by the Belo Corporation and broadcasts on digital and PSIP channel 11...
  
  , Houston and KTVI-TV, St. Louis, Houston City Magazine
  Houston City Magazine
  Houston City Magazine was launched in 1977 as In Houston City News Monthly and was published for 10 years. Founded by R. D. Walker, publisher and editor, and aided by key team members Ali Khan, Curtis Lang, and Jan Vanschuyver Walker, the first issue of 116 pages was successfully launched with a...
  
  , now an attorney in Houston)

External links

• KBPA Bob FM official website