First air date 1971 Class B Former callsigns KROW, KCRL City of license Reno Branding News Talk 780 AM | Power 50,000 watts Facility ID 11236 Frequency 780 kHz Owner Cumulus Media Sister stations KBUL-FM, KNEV, KWYL | |
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Broadcast area Reno–Sparks metropolitan area, Lake Tahoe Format Talk radio, All-news radio Slogan Reno's News Traffic and Weather Station | ||
KKOH (780 kHz, "KOH News Talk 780 AM") is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Reno, Nevada. KKOH airs a News/Talk radio format under ownership of Cumulus Media. In on-the-air references, the station drops the initial "K" because its historic call letters were simply KOH. Studios and offices are on East Plumb Lane and the transmitter is off Chickadee Drive.
Contents
KKOH airs local talk shows on weekday mornings and afternoons. Middays and nights, KKOH carries nationally syndicated talk shows, mostly from the co-owned Westwood One Network. They include Michael Savage, Mark Levin, John Batchelor, Red Eye Radio and America in The Morning. In addition, Rush Limbaugh from Premiere Networks airs in late mornings. Weekends feature shows on home repair, gardening, money and computers, including syndicated hosts Kim Komando, Larry Kudlow, Bill Cunningham and Bob Brinker. Most hours begin with Westwood One News.
KKOH broadcasts at 50,000 watts, the maximum power permitted by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) for AM stations. But because 780 AM is a clear channel frequency, reserved for Class A WBBM in Chicago, KKOH must use a directional antenna after sunset to avoid interfering with WBBM. Despite being a Class B station, KKOH can be heard some distance into California during the day (as far away as the Bay Area under the right conditions) and around the Western United States at night, using a good AM radio.
History
KKOH first signed on in 1971. For many years, 780 was KROW. Before then, it was KCRL, the former sister station of what is now Channel 4 KRNV, Reno's NBC TV network affiliate. The current station dates from 1994. That year, KOH, Nevada's oldest radio station, which signed on in 1929, was bought by Citadel Broadcasting. As part of the deal, Citadel moved the KOH intellectual property from its longtime home of 630 AM to 780, to boost its power to 50,000 watts. (Today 630 AM is KPLY, a sports radio station.)
The FCC issued a new license to Citadel, with an additional "K" in the call sign. Citadel decided to give up the historic three-letter call sign in favor of the power boost. Citadel merged with Cumulus in 2011.