KDRB
Encyclopedia : K : KD : KDR : KDRB
KDRB, "The Bus 100.3," is an adult hits radio station similar to Jack FM serving the Des Moines, Iowa, area. It is located at 100.3 on the FM dial. The station's studios are located at 2141 Grand Avenue in Des Moines along with Clear Channel Communications' other Des Moines stations (KPTL, KKDM, KXNO, and WHO).
History
The Palmer Years
In 1948 WHO-FM signed on at 100.3 FM as the third FM station to serve the Des Moines market, (after KRNT-FM and KSO-FM. In its early years it primarily simulcast its sister station, WHO-AM. Studios were located at 1100 Walnut Street in downtown Des Moines and the station's tower and transmitter were located on top of the Equitable Building at 6th and Locust in Des Moines. In 1950 the transmitter was moved to a new tower at WHO's transmitter site in Mitchellville, Iowa. The old transmitter and tower on top of the Equitable Building was sold to KCBC for their new FM station KCBC-FM. In 1968, WHO-FM ceased simulcasting its AM sister and started programing classical music.In 1973 the station went under some dramatic changes. The call letters were changed to KLYF and the station was reprogrammed with a middle of the road format. Over the years this evolved into an Adult Contemporary format and by the mid 1990's it was an Adult Top 40 station competing head on with Star 102.5. It was also around this time that the station became know by it's nickname "K-Life". The station's transmitter was eventually moved to the WOI-Tower near Alleman, Iowa.
Buyout by Jacor and Clear Channel
In October of 1997, Palmer Broadcasting sold its Des Moines radio stations to Jacor Broadcasting of Cincinnati, Ohio. Jacor immediately re-branded the station as "Mix 100.3", but leaving the format the same for the most part. On June 17, 1998, the call letters changed to KMXD. Over time the station continued to lose listeners at an alarming rate. Many things were done to try and counteract this, such as rebranding the station as "Mix 100" and trying an "80's only" format. When this failed also, the format was changed again to a traditional Adult Contemporary format and the station was renamed "My 100". Under this moniker, 100.3 saw its worst ratings ever, sinking into the basement of the Arbitron ratings.New Life as \"The Bus\"
On May 25, 2006, KMXD was switched to "The Bus 100.3", simulcasting KDRB. This was a short lived, transitional arrangement to get listeners of 106.3 used to "The Bus" being on 100.3. The Bus had preformed much better than anyone had expected and the decision was made to pull the plug on the failing "Mix/My" formats and move "The Bus" to the stronger signal at 100.3. On June 12, 2006, KMXD became KDRB and "The Bus" is now only heard on 100.3. The 106.3 frequency is now KPTL "Capital 106.3". KDRB will also be the new flagship station for Iowa State University sports starting with the 2006-2007 season, taking over from KXNO.References
External links
- [The Bus' website]
- [Query the FCC's FM station database for KDRB]
- [100.3 the Bus] at VarietyHits.com
| Broadcast radio in the Des Moines/Ames market ([Arbitron DMA #91]) | ||
|---|---|---|
| AM: WOI (AM)>WOI 640 - KPSZ 940 - WHO 1040 - KWKY 1150 - KRNT 1350 - KASI 1430 - KXNO 1460 - KXLQ 1490 - KBGG 1700 | ||
| FM: KDPS 88.1 - KWDM 88.7 - KJMC 89.3 - WOI-FM 90.1 - KDFR 91.3 - KJJY 92.5 - KIOA 93.3 - KGGO 94.9 - KHKI 97.3 - KWQW 98.3 - KZZQ 99.5 - KDRB 100.3 - KSTZ 102.5 - KAZR 103.3 - KLTI 104.1 - KCCQ 105.1 - KPTL 106.3 - KNWI 107.1 - KKDM 107.5 | ||