Broadcast area Austin, Texas ERP 49,800 watts Class C1 Format Country music Area Austin | First air date October 25, 1990 HAAT 397 meters City of license Austin Owner iHeartMedia Inc Branding 98.1 K-VET | |
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Translator(s) 103.1 K276EL (Austin, relays HD2) Frequency 98.1 MHz (also on HD Radio) Slogan The Genuine Austin Original | ||
KVET-FM (98.1 K-VET) is an Austin, Texas radio station operating a country music format. It is licensed to Austin, Texas with an ERP of 49,800 watts from a transmitter site near West Lake Hills, TX, and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. (previously Clear Channel Communications). It shares studios with four other sister stations in the Penn Field complex in the South Congress district (or "SoCo") of south central Austin within walking distance of St. Edward's University.
Contents
The station's HD Radio subchannel airs an alternative rock/indie rock/Adult Alternative format as "103.1 iHeart Austin", simulcast on local low-power translator K276EL (103.1 FM).
KVET
Shortly after the end of World War II, a group of young men pooled their resources to start a radio station in Austin, Texas. All of them were veterans of the conflict, hence K-VET AM 1300 signed on October 1, 1946. These men included future Texas Governor John Connally, and future United States Representative Jake Pickle.
As was common in the 1940s and 1950s, KVET offered "full service" radio, block programming of music, news, talk, cooking shows, even soap operas. As was not common, KVET also included programming for Austin's minority community. Spanish language news and music on "Noche De Fiesta"; music and news for the African-American community on "The Elmer Akins Gospel Train".
In the 1950s, even more diversity was added to the lineup when Lavada Durst introduced Austin to R&B and "Jive Talk" on KVET's nighttime "Dr. Hepcat Show".
Noche de Fiesta and Dr. Hepcat were phased out in the 1960s, but Gospel Train is on the air on KVET to this day.
During most of the 1960s, KVET featured the popular music of the day, plus a strong emphasis on news and sports block programming. The music of Frank Sinatra, Perry Como and Dinah Shore, Paul Harvey commentary, the Joe Pyne show, and Houston Astros baseball were all part of the mix.
KVET switched formats on April 14, 1969 to country music, and the Country Giant was born. Popular celebrity DJs including Arleigh Duff, Penny Reeves, Jerry Gee and Sammy Allred quickly took KVET to the top of the local ratings during the 1970s.
Despite increased competition, KVET continued to prosper in the 1980s by featuring a traditional mix of country music, news and sports, including Houston Oilers and Dallas Cowboys football.
In September 1990, KVET began broadcasting on 98.1 FM. With the new signal came the creation of the Sammy Allred and Bob Cole Morning Call-In Show. The show was a consistent ratings winner until Allred was fired in October 2007 for using profanity on the air.
In August 2008, KVET's evening show was modified into "The Roadhouse", a hybrid format consisting of Texas/Red Dirt, Classic Outlaw and Americana/Alt-Country, programmed and hosted by Chris Mosser.
Frequency
98.3 MHz went on the air in 1950 under the call letters KHFI-FM, becoming Austin's second FM station. In the spring of 1990, KHFI moved from the weak class A 98.3 MHz facility to 98.1 MHz, as a class C1 100 kw facility. The top 40 format remained, with the imaging changed from "K98" to "K98.1." That fall, the owners of KVET and KASE reached an agreement with KHFI's owners to lease KHFI's signal to rebroadcast KVET. This was one of the earliest local marketing agreements (LMAs) set up to work around ownership caps. At the time, no owner could own more than 1 FM and 1 AM in a market. The owners of classic hits of KQFX 96.7 picked up the KHFI calls and intellectual property. In September 1990, KHFI's top 40 format was simulcast on both 98.1 and 96.7 to transition listeners to the new spot for KHFI, which became "K96.7." After that, KVET began simulcasting on on 98.1, becoming KVET-FM. The two simulcasted until KVET split off for separate programming, leaving the country format exclusively on 98.1. In 2000, the KVET/KVET-FM/KASE combo which by then included KFMK-FM and owned by AMFM/Capstar merged with Clear Channel Radio which already included 96.7 KHFI-FM and KPEZ-FM.
Controversy
In May 2007, morning show host Sammy Allred was suspended after calling presidential candidate Barack Obama a "clean darky", in response to Sen. Joseph Biden's comments about Obama. He was fired on October 30, 2007, for apparently swearing on-air, calling a listener an "a-hole."
Allred's firing came just three days after afternoon host Janice Williams was terminated for budgetary reasons.
Personalities
Current:
'"Awards'" KVET-FM has been nominated for the CMA Large Market Station of the Year in 2011 and previous years.