KGEO
 | |
| Broadcast area | Central California |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1230 kHz |
| Branding | ESPN Bakersfield |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | ESPN Radio Infinity Sports Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KEBT, KERN, KGFM, KISV, KKXX-FM[1] | |
| History | |
First air date | 1946 (as KERO) |
Former call signs | KERO (1945–1955) KGEE (1955–1980) KGAM (1980–1981) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 36233 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000 watts (unlimited) |
| Translator(s) | 101.1 K266CG (Bakersfield) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | bakersfieldespn.com |
KGEO (1230 AM, branded on-air as "ESPN Bakersfield") is a commercial radio station in Bakersfield, California. It broadcasts a sports radio format with shows from ESPN Radio and the Infinity Sports Network. KGEO is the flagship station of locally-based American General Media, with studios located at the Easton Business Complex in southwest Bakersfield.
KGEO is powered at 1,000 watts. Its AM transmitter is located southwest of Highway 58 and Union Avenue in southeast Bakersfield. KGEO shares its broadcast tower with KWAC 1490 AM. Programming on KGEO is also heard on FM translator K266CG at 101.1 MHz.
History
[edit]The Talk of the Town
[edit]The station signed on the air in 1946.[3] Its original call sign was KERO. Its studios were in the El Tejon Hotel in Downtown Bakersfield. KERO was an affiliate of the NBC Red Network. It ran NBC's dramas, comedies, news and sports during the "Golden Age of Radio." In 1953, KERO added Bakersfield's second television station to its broadcast properties. That station still bears the KERO-TV call letters.
Original local owner Kern County Broadcasters sold off the radio station in 1955, and the call letters were changed to KGEE. It aired a mix of talk and middle of the road (MOR) music. Its moniker was "KGEE, The Talk of the Town".
Oldies and Talk
[edit]The station was assigned the call letters KGEO by the Federal Communications Commission on May 18, 1981.[4] With the new call sign, 1230 AM became one of Bakersfield's first stations to program an oldies format, playing the hits from 1954 to early 1970s. The station was known as "KGEOldies". During the 1980s, it advertised itself as playing four decades of hits.
KGEO switched to an all talk format in the late 1990s. It featured syndicated shows from Dennis Miller, Dave Ramsey, Lou Dobbs, Clark Howard, Wall Street Journal Radio, America's Morning News and Red Eye Radio. Local programing heard on KGEO included Your Radio Store and Californian Radio with hosts Jeff Lemuccci, Richard Beene, Lois Henry, Robert Price and John Arthur. KGEO also carried minor league baseball games of the now-defunct Bakersfield Blaze in the California League.
KGEO later experimented with hot talk carrying such syndicated programs as "The Phil Hendrie Show" and "The Tom Leykis Show". Imus in the Morning was heard on KGEO until its cancellation in April 2007. KGEO also dropped "The Don and Mike Show" just one week before radio veteran Don Geronimo had planned to retire anyway.
Sports Radio
[edit]In the early 2000s, KGEO switched to an all-sports format, airing an extensive lineup from ESPN Radio. It left sports radio for a few years but on Monday, March 31, 2008, sports returned to 1230 AM. KGEO once again affiliated with ESPN Radio and was rebranded as ESPN Radio 1230.
On April 5, 2011, KGEO changed formats and became a news/talk station known as "$mart Talk 1230." That lasted a short time and once again, KGEO returned to ESPN Radio as its Bakersfield affiliate.
Previous logo
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "American General Media - STATIONS". Archived from the original on March 17, 2018. Retrieved March 17, 2018.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KGEO". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 78. Retrieved Jan. 20, 2025.
- ^ "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
External links
[edit]- "History Cards for KGEO". Federal Communications Commission. (Guide to reading History Cards)
- Facility details for Facility ID 36233 (KGEO) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- KGEO in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 138886 (K266CG) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- K266CG at FCCdata.org
- Your Radio Store - a show carried on Smart Talk 1230
35°20′53″N 119°00′33″W / 35.34806°N 119.00917°W
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