KGYM

Infobox Radio Station
name = KGYM


city = Cedar Rapids, Iowa
branding = "1600 ESPN Radio"
slogan =
airdate = December 20, 1947
frequency = 1600 (kHz) HD Radio
format = Sports radio
erp = 5,000 watts
class = B
owner = KZIA, Inc.
| callsign_meaning = K GYMnasium
former_callsigns = KCRG (1947-1953, 1954-2006)
KCRI (1953-1954)
website = [http://www.1600espn.com// http://www.1600espn.com/]

KGYM (1600 AM) is a radio station broadcasting in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The station is owned by KZIA, Inc., which also owns KZIA (102.9 FM). It is Cedar Rapids' second-oldest radio station, after WMT. [cite book|first=Jeff|last=Stein|title=Making Waves: The People and Places of Iowa Broadcasting|location=Cedar Rapids, Iowa|publisher=WDG Communications|year=2004|id=ISBN 0-9718323-1-5]

History

KGYM signed on as KCRG on December 20, 1947, under the ownership of the Cedar Rapids Gazette Company (later known as Gazette Communications). The Gazette Company had launched Cedar Rapids' first FM station, KCRK-FM 96.1, a month earlier and had applied for a construction permit for a television station on channel 9 that year. (KCRK-FM signed off in 1954 as FM radio was still in its infancy and the station proved to be unprofitable.) In 1953 the Gazette Company consolidated its interests with the Cedar Rapids Television Company, another group interested in the channel 9 license, and in October 1953 the call letters of the radio and television stations were changed to KCRI. After the Gazette Company bought out the Cedar Rapids Television Company's stock on August 27, 1954, the KCRG call letters were restored to both the AM and TV stations. [cite book|first=Ernie|last=Danek|title=Cedar Rapids: Tall Corn and High Technology|location=Woodland Hills, CA|publisher=Windsor Publications|year=1980|pages=140-141|id=ISBN 0-89781-021-X]

During the early 1990s KCRG was a country music station, and it later adopted a news/talk format. By 2000 the station had moved to its current sports talk format but continued to simulcast KCRG-TV's newscasts and ABC's "World News Tonight" for radio listeners. KCRG radio adopted the nickname "The Zone" in 2003.

On July 10, 2006, Gazette Communications announced that KCRG was being sold to owners of another local broadcaster, KZIA FM 102.9, subject to FCC approval. The sale was finalized on October 31, 2006, and the call letters were changed to KGYM as a result of the sale. [cite news|title=Media: KZIA Completes Purchase, Renames Station KGYM-AM|work=The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)|date=2006-11-01|page=8B] After the acquisition, KGYM ended its simulcasting of KCRG-TV's newscasts, and KGYM's studios moved from downtown Cedar Rapids to KZIA's studios on the city's southwest side. [cite news|first=John|last=Kenyon|title=Changing the station |url=http://www.corridorbiznews.com/aspx/NewsDetail.aspx?ItemID=877|work=Corridor Business Journal|date=2006-12-18]

Programming

KGYM currently broadcasts ESPN Radio programming along with Iowa State University sports. It also carried Cedar Rapids Kernels games before sharing rights with KMRY radio during the 2006 season; Kernels games moved exclusively to KMRY starting in 2007. [cite news |title=Area News Notes: C.R. Kernels Games Exclusively on KMRY-AM |work=The Gazette (Cedar Rapids) |date=2006-11-15 |page=2C]

References

External links

* [http://www.1600espn.com/ The KGYM Radio website]
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