City Beaumont, Texas Frequency 95.1 (MHz) | Branding "Kicker 95.1" First air date November 1991 | |
Broadcast area Beaumont/Port Arthur/Orange
Golden Triangle Slogan "Continuous Country Favorites" | ||
KYKR (95.1 FM, "Kicker 95.1") is a radio station broadcasting a Country format. Licensed to Beaumont, Texas, it serves the Beaumont/Port Arthur metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting at 93.3 FM under the current call sign. The station is currently owned by iHeartMedia, Inc..
History
For many years, KYKR was located at 93.3 FM. Then, in November 1991, top 40 station KZZB went silent, prompting then-owners Gulfstar to purchase the 95.1 signal and place KYKR's country format on it. 93.3 and 95.1 simulcast briefly before the latter frequency became KYKR's full-time home in the summer of 1992.
Actually, 93.3 was originally licensed at KCAW-FM (its sister AM was on 1510 as a daytimer only - Currently KBED and owned by Cumulus) and was owned by Jimmie Joynt of Port Arthur. Jimmie sold the station when he moved to Dallas to start Superior Broadcast Products. KYKR was issued to 93.3 in the early 1980s and went through owner ship by the Hicks family of Beaumont (Steve Hicks most notably of CapStar; his father, John Hicks, had owned 560 KLVI since the 1960s) and was moved to the 2000 ft Clear Channel Devers tower in the early 1990s after Steve Hicks had purchased 95.1. 93.3 was sold to Tichner Broadcasting, now Univision, and the KYKR format was permanently moved to the 95.1 frequency that had been dark for some time under KZZB.
On January 4, 1988, the KYKR tower in South Vidor suffered a massive fire believed to be arson. Both the FM and 1510 AM transmitter were lost. KYKR struggled with borrowed equipment to make it back on the air at low power and eventually recovered.