City Fountain, Colorado | Branding 96.1 The Beat | |
Broadcast area Colorado Springs, Colorado
Pueblo, Colorado Slogan The Springs' Hits and Hip Hop Frequency 96.1 MHz (also on HD Radio) First air date 1993 (as KBIQ)
October 2004 (as KIBT) | ||
KIBT (96.1 FM, 96.1 The Beat) is a Rhythmic Top 40 formatted radio station serving the Colorado Springs area as well as nearby Pueblo, Colorado. The iHeartMedia, Inc. station's community of license is Fountain, Colorado, United States.
History
96.1 signed on in 1993 as Christian AC KBIQ, and was originally owned by The Word in Music Inc. which is now known today as Bethesda Christian Broadcasting. TWIM was a Non-Profit corporation which did on-air fund raisers for the station but sold commercial air time.
In 1996 Salem Communications brought KBIQ and continued the Christian AC format. During the same year Salem brought crosstown KIKX 102.7 FM and moved the Christian AC format and call letters to that respected frequency. Salem then adopted the call letters KPRZ for 96.1 and flipped it to a Praise & Worship format and adopting the moniker "Praise 96."
In 1999 Salem entered an agreement with AMFM Inc. (which would be absorbed into Clear Channel) to swap stations. As part of deal Salem would acquire KSKY-AM in Dallas-Fort Worth while AMFM would acquire KPRZ-FM. After the station swap KPRZ-FM flipped to a classic rock format as KMOM (Mother 96.1).
KMOM started as a classic rock format adopting the moniker "Classic Rock That Really Rocks," competing with cross-town competitors KKFM and KYZX. They also added the syndicated Bob & Tom Show to the morning lineup. Clear Channel later altered the format of KMOM to combine classic rock with more newer rock titles to compete with competitor KILO, adopting the moniker "Rock That Really Rocks.", and added Tom Leykis afternoons for a short time in 2004. The station never really took off ratings or revenue wise, and Clear Channel remained committed to the format until October 2004 when it flipped to its current Rhythmic format as KIBT. Bob & Tom which gained popularity in the Colorado Springs market was quickly picked up by KKFM after the format flip.