KXCB

KXCB (1420 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a country music format.  Licensed to Omaha, Nebraska, the station serves the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area.  It is owned and operated by Steven Seline, through licensee Hickory Radio, LLC.  The studios and offices are on Burt Street near North 120th Street and Dodge Road in West Omaha.

By day, KXCB is powered at 1,000 watts.  But at night, to protect other stations on 1420 AM from interference, it reduces power to 330 watts.  It uses a directional antenna at all times with a two-tower array.  The transmitter is in Council Bluffs, off South 36th Street, near the Missouri River.  Programming is also heard on 250-watt FM translator K293CX at 106.5 MHz in Council Bluffs.

History

Early years
The station signed on the air on .  The original call sign was KOOO and it was a daytimer, broadcasting at 500 watts but required to go off the air at night.  It aired a country music format.  It later began simulcasting with 104.5 FM, which went on the air on May 12, 1972, as KOOO-FM.

By 1978, KOOO had changed to a news/talk format, with 104.5 FM moving to easy listening music.  In March 1979, 1420 AM flipped to an easy listening format and was renamed KESY, again simulcasting with 104.5, which had the KESY-FM call letters.  

In 1980, the AM reverted to the old KOOO call sign and adopted an adult standards format, using the ”Music of Your Life” service. In 1984, the call sign changed to KROM. In 1986, the AM once again became KESY with an easy listening format, although not simulcasting 104.5.

For a brief two-week period in June 1990, the calls became KLAO before reverting to KESY, though the AM switched to a soft adult contemporary format as well.  In January 1995, the station changed its call sign to KBBX, and flipped to an urban oldies format.

Journal Communications and Salem Media
Journal Communications purchased KBBX in January 1998, and changed the programming to Regional Mexican music on April 1 of that year. On May 10, 2002, as part of a major format shuffle, the format moved to then-sister station 97.7 FM.  After two weeks of simulcasting, the AM station became KHLP with an advice talk format.

In April 2005, it was announced that Journal had sold KHLP to Salem Communications, and in December of that year, the station switched to conservative talk as "Newstalk 1420 KOTK".  On September 4, 2008, KOTK flipped to a Spanish Christian radio format with the slogan "La Luz" (The Light).

On April 4, 2016, KOTK switched back to conservative talk, branded as "94.5/1420 The Answer".

Hickory Radio
In July 2018, Hickory Radio purchased the station from Salem Media Group.

On March 31, 2019, KOTK flipped to a simulcast of co-owned KOBM (1490 AM), airing an oldies format branded as "Boomer Radio". The following day, KOTK changed call letters to KOBM, with 1490 AM adopting the KIBM call letters.

On December 20, 2022, the station changed its call sign to KXCB. On February 1, 2023, KXCB dropped the KIBM simulcast and became a country music station aimed at Council Bluffs, Iowa, branded as "Bluffs Country 106.5".

References

External links

FCC History Cards for KOBM

XCB
Radio stations established in 1957
1957 establishments in Nebraska
Country radio stations in the United States