KBFF
| File:Live 95.5 Logo.png | |
| Broadcast area | Portland, Oregon |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 95.5 MHz |
| Branding | Live 95-5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | CHR/Top 40 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KINK, KUFO, KUPL, KXTG, KXL-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | September 25, 1960 (as KGMG) June 18, 1965 (as KXL-FM) |
Former call signs | KGMG (1960-1965) KXL-FM (1965-1999) KXJM (1999-2008) KXTG (2008-2011) |
Call sign meaning | BFF = Best Friends Forever |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 949 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 386 meters (1,266 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 45°29′20″N 122°41′40″W / 45.48889°N 122.69444°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | live955.com |
KBFF (95.5 FM, "Live 95-5") is a Mainstream Top 40 radio station licensed to Portland, Oregon, USA, and serving the Portland area. The station is currently owned by Alpha Media.[1] Its studios are located in downtown Portland, and its transmitter is in Terwilliger Boulevard Park in the city's southwest side.
History
KBFF's history can be traced back to its early days as KGMG from 1960 to 1965 and as KXL-FM when it offered a beautiful music/easy listening format (as Stereo 95) beginning in June 1965, which lasted for the next 25 years. Beginning in 1990, the station spent the next 9 years flipping between various degrees of adult contemporary formats, including stints of soft vocals "K95.5" and "Lite 95.5 FM" (1990-1993), Hot AC "Star 95.5" (1993-1994), all-70's "95 KXL" (1994-1996), 70's/80's hits "MusicRadio 95 KXL" (1996), Hot AC "Mix 95.5" (1996-1997) and AAA "95.5 FM" (1997-1999). This changed on March 26, 1999, at 5:00 PM, when Paul Allen bought the station and altered its focus to Rhythmic Top 40, becoming KXJM, "Jammin' 95.5", the market's first Rhythmic-based station. Jammin's first song was "Changes" by 2Pac.
Jammin' enjoyed ratings success for 9 years. While never reaching number one in the Arbitron ratings, it was still favored among teen and young adult listeners, beating out Mainstream Top 40 KKRZ in several books. On February 12, 2000, The Playhouse made its debut and was, for a few times, Portland's most listened to morning show because of its edgy content, hosts and heavy listener interaction. The station made a commitment to playing Hip Hop and R&B music that has never been heard in the area by having special features, such as a local music show, countdowns, mix shows, and public service programming with "What's Good in The Hood". Unfortunately, ratings began sliding in 2007, most likely because the station included dance product in their playlist. However, the biggest change was yet to come in May 2008.
Format change to The Game
On May 1, 2008, it was announced the station would change formats to all sports on May 12, 2008 as "95.5 The Game" via the stations new website at www.955thegame.com. The shift almost left Portland without a hip-hop-based station (and possibly The Playhouse), and as a result, would leave Portland listeners with only two choices: Top 40 Mainstream KKRZ, whose playlist include many hip-hop songs, and KVMX, the market's Rhythmic Adult Contemporary station.[2]
"Jammin'" moves to "Movin'"
On May 9, 2008, KVMX officially ditched their Rhythmic AC format and became Portland's new home for Rhythmic Contemporary, with both KXJM and KVMX simulcasting the format during the weekend until KXJM's flip on May 12, 2008 at 9 AM (Pacific Time). KVMX also acquired the KXJM call letters, the website and all intellectual properties from Rose City. In addition, KXJM (formerly KVMX) became the new home for the Playhouse on May 13, 2008.
On May 27, 2008, the original KXJM officially chose KXTG as their new call letters to better reflect their format and "The Game" moniker. The station changed hands in May 2009 to Alpha Broadcasting. Despite the station's emphasis on local hosts, ratings were not that great, usually peaking at about a 2.0 share in the Arbitron ratings.
Live 95-5
On May 21, 2011, Alpha announced that on Wednesday, May 25, at 5:00 PM, KXTG's sports format would be moving to KXL 750. 95.5 would then launch a new format at the same time. The question of what the format would be began to take on a life of its own when RadioInsight reported that Alpha registered several domains for the station in order to keep people guessing.[3] On May 24, 2011, a logo and website for "Live 95.5" appeared in a Google cache, with the hint referenced in its moniker as "Today's Modern Mix", indicating a contemporary music format.[4]
On May 25, at 5:00 PM, "Live 95-5" signed on with "Raise Your Glass" by P!nk. The station adopted an Adult Top 40 format, changed its call letters to KBFF, and carried a slogan of "Today's Modern Mix for the Modern Woman". The station initially competed with Top 40 KKRZ, Hot AC KRSK, and Modern Rock KNRK, as well as, to a lesser extent, Rhythmic Top 40 KXJM. As with most upstarts, KBFF launched with a 10,000 songs-in-a-row promotion to attract listeners interest. Interestingly, KRSK responded to its new competitor by also billing its slogan as "Today's Modern Mix" as well, only to revert to a new slogan, "Today's Best Mix", possibly to avoid a cease and desist from Alpha.
Since the format flip, KBFF saw its ratings and fortunes improve instantly, going from a 1.9 in its last book as a Sports outlet in May 2011 to a 3.6 share in the June 2011 book, along with a spike in its audience cumes, topping KRSK for the Adult Top 40 crown.[5] However, since the flip, it has moved further away from Adult Top 40 to a more Mainstream Top 40/CHR approach, putting it in direct competition with KKRZ. In September 2012, KBFF was added to BDS' Top 40/CHR reporting panel due to its format shift. To capitalize on this, the station shortened its slogan to "Today's Modern Mix", and then eventually "Portland's #1 Hit Music Station."
The Playhouse
The Playhouse was KXJM's morning radio show that aired weekdays from 5am-10am. It ran from 2000 to 2008, when it moved over to the "new" KXJM (at 107.5). On March 15, 2008, someone intentionally rammed a car through the front door of the station and sped away. The driver was suspected to be a disgruntled Playhouse listener and was detained for a mental evaluation later that day.[6] The man, Andy Chung of Vancouver, WA, was arraigned on a variety of charges including first-degree criminal mischief, failure to perform the duties of a driver and reckless endangerment.[7]
On-air schedule
The current lineup (as of November 2015) is as follows:
- Morning Show (6 a.m.-10 a.m.): Brooke & Jubal
- Mid-Days (10 a.m.-2 p.m.): Amanda "Ice" Habrowski
- Afternoons (2 p.m.-7 p.m.): Dan "Huggie" Amsden
- Nighttime (7 p.m.-12 a.m.): Brady On The Radio - Joe "Brady" Blum
- Overnights (12 a.m.-6 a.m.): M-Y-K On The MIC
- Friday Nights (9 p.m.-1 a.m.): Huggie's House Party - Dan "Huggie" Amsden & DJ Sway-Z
- Mixer: DJ Noodles & DJ Sway-Z
- Creative Director: Matt Warren
- Program Director: Phil Becker
References
- ^ "KXTG Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ "Portland Gets An FM Sports Station". Radio Ink. 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2008-05-07.
- ^ The Game Portland Moving to 750; Modern AC Live 95.5 To Debut from Radioinsight (May 24, 2011)
- ^ Preview from Google
- ^ Portland ratings from Radio-Info
- ^ "Man detained in connection with KXL crash and dash". Retrieved 2008-03-16.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Man charged in ramming case at KXL radio station | Local News | kgw.com | News for Oregon and SW Washington
External links
- Live 95.5 on Facebook
- Live 95.5 on X
- Facility details for Facility ID KBFF ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database