KFH (AM)
Encyclopedia
KFH is a sports
radio station
licensed to Wichita, Kansas
. The station is currently owned by Entercom.
The station started in March 1922 as WEAH, owned by the Lander Radio Company, and was originally intended to broadcast market reports. It began actual broadcasts on April 1, 1922. On June 23, 1923, the station was sold to the Wichita Board of Trade. During the next period of nearly two years, the Rigby Gray Hotel Company Corporation (operator of the Lassen Hotel
) gradually took over the ownership, with the final sale taking place on April 30, 1925. The hotel company chose to change the call letters to KFH, standing for "Kansas’ Finest Hotel," and at 9:45am, February 14, 1926, the first radio broadcast under the call letters KFH was made. The Wichita Eagle
, a local newspaper, purchased 50% of KFH on October 1, 1929. KFH became a Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS) affiliate on October 8, 1929.
Ownership remained under the control of the hotel company until June 5, 1963, when the Federal Communications Commission
approved the transfer of the station license to Aeschlayer & Reynolds of Dallas, Texas
. The new oner retained the station for less than five and a half years, however, and sold KFH to Phil and Nancy Kassebaum, operating under the corporate name of KFH Radio, Inc. on November 1, 1968.
The ownership remained stable for twenty years, until October 19, 1988, when the station was purchased by Midcontinent Broadcasting Company of Kansas, which held the station until July 1, 1994, and sold it to Pourtales Radio Partnership on that date. Pourtales did not retain ownership very long; the company signed a letter of intent to sell KFH to Triathlon Broadcasting on Friday, March 24, 1995 and completed the sale on June 2, 1995. The station was in turn sold to Entercom on February 23, 2000.
The station had broadcast for decades at 1330 AM until it swapped frequencies with KNSS early on August 30, 2004.
KFH broadcasts syndicated programs from ESPN
Radio.
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Wichita, Kansas
Wichita, Kansas
Wichita is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas.As of the 2010 census, the city population was 382,368. Located in south-central Kansas on the Arkansas River, Wichita is the county seat of Sedgwick County and the principal city of the Wichita metropolitan area...
. The station is currently owned by Entercom.
The station started in March 1922 as WEAH, owned by the Lander Radio Company, and was originally intended to broadcast market reports. It began actual broadcasts on April 1, 1922. On June 23, 1923, the station was sold to the Wichita Board of Trade. During the next period of nearly two years, the Rigby Gray Hotel Company Corporation (operator of the Lassen Hotel
Lassen Hotel (Wichita, Kansas)
The Lassen Hotel in Wichita, Kansas, also known as Market Centre, was built in 1918. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984....
) gradually took over the ownership, with the final sale taking place on April 30, 1925. The hotel company chose to change the call letters to KFH, standing for "Kansas’ Finest Hotel," and at 9:45am, February 14, 1926, the first radio broadcast under the call letters KFH was made. The Wichita Eagle
The Wichita Eagle
The Wichita Eagle is a daily newspaper published in Wichita, Kansas. It is owned by The McClatchy Company, which publishes 31 other newspapers, including The Kansas City Star.It is the largest newspaper in Wichita, Kansas and the surrounding area....
, a local newspaper, purchased 50% of KFH on October 1, 1929. KFH became a Columbia Broadcasting Company (CBS) affiliate on October 8, 1929.
Ownership remained under the control of the hotel company until June 5, 1963, when the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
approved the transfer of the station license to Aeschlayer & Reynolds of Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. The new oner retained the station for less than five and a half years, however, and sold KFH to Phil and Nancy Kassebaum, operating under the corporate name of KFH Radio, Inc. on November 1, 1968.
The ownership remained stable for twenty years, until October 19, 1988, when the station was purchased by Midcontinent Broadcasting Company of Kansas, which held the station until July 1, 1994, and sold it to Pourtales Radio Partnership on that date. Pourtales did not retain ownership very long; the company signed a letter of intent to sell KFH to Triathlon Broadcasting on Friday, March 24, 1995 and completed the sale on June 2, 1995. The station was in turn sold to Entercom on February 23, 2000.
The station had broadcast for decades at 1330 AM until it swapped frequencies with KNSS early on August 30, 2004.
KFH broadcasts syndicated programs from ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
Radio.