In the 1960s, it began playing classical music for some hours, and eventually went all-classical.
Beautiful music: 1978-1991
In October 1978, KFBK-FM changed its call sign to KAER.[5] It switched to a beautiful music format, playing quarter hour sweeps of soft, instrumental cover versions of popular songs.[6]
On July 24, 1987, McClatchy Newspapers sold KAER and KFBK to Group W Inc. for $19,001,000. The transaction closed in September.[7][8] KAER began adding more vocals to the easy listening format in an effort to appeal to a younger demographic; eventually, the instrumentals would be dropped.
Adult contemporary: 1991–2011
On February 26, 1991, the station began broadcasting an adult contemporary musicformat branded simply as "Y-92 FM, The Adult Choice".[9] New call letters KGBY were assigned by the FCC the following month.[10] The station was owned by AMFM Broadcasting from 1994 to 2000, then Clear Channel Communications after AMFM and Clear Channel merged. In 2000, the station briefly added a heavy number of country-based current hits, including songs by Billy Gilman, Lee Ann Womack, Lonestar, and Billy Joel. In 2001, the station re-branded itself as "Y-92.5, Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites" (resurrecting the slogan used by Group W in 1988 after dumping the KAER call letters). The station began using the "Best Mix in Denver" jingle package created for KIMN by JAM Creative Productions, including the "Y-92.5 KGBY, Sacramento" top-of-the-hour station identification.
In 2002 and 2003, the weekday lineup included Paul Robbins and Phil Cowan (KGBY's morning show host since the 1980s), Mary Ellen Murphy (voice-tracked from a Clear Channel station in Grand Rapids, Michigan), and Dana Hess. Evening programming varied, including a local love songs show in early 2003 and a brief stint using John Tesh's syndicated show later that same year. On November 14, 2003, Y92.5 surprised listeners by switching to an all-Christmas music format.[11] For the next six weeks, KGBY featured to a catalog of over 300 Christmas songs ranging from staples such as Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" (both songs were played once every four hours, on the hour) to unusual tracks such as "Light of the Stable" by Emmylou Harris. The station repeated the seasonal change in 2004 and 2005; in 2006, the all-Christmas format was reduced to four weeks.
In 2004, KGBY began making several major changes. In January, the voice-tracked Murphy was dismissed in favor of local voice Lori Sacco. The station experimented with a 92-minute commercial-free block of music weekdays at 8:30 a.m.; this was in response to KYMX's "96 minutes of music", but neither station's effort lasted more than a few months. The "Y-92.5 KGBY, Sacramento" station ID was replaced with a simpler version. By the middle of 2004, the station began evolving into a more "upbeat" mix of music. All but a few 1970s tracks were cut from the playlist, while more upbeat songs from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s were added. Later that year, the station, embracing Clear Channel's "Less is More" initiative, began cutting commercial times from one minute to 30 seconds. Jingles were also shortened to "Y-92.5 FM" from the original version, "Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites, Y-92.5 FM".
In 2005, KGBY experimented with "Extra Wide Variety" weekends, adding hundreds of unusual songs to its playlist from Friday at 3 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m.; this was a response to the variety rock phenomenon exemplified by Jack FM. Also that year, Phil Cowan exited the station, with Paul & Phil in the Morning rebranded simply as Paul Robbins in the Morning. Accompanying this change was a new jingle package, ditching "Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites" in favor of their new slogan, "Sacramento's Best Music Mix, Y-92.5 FM". Further changes would come in early 2007, when afternoon host Dana Hess was dismissed in a cost-cutting move[12] and the station returned to its earlier practice of voice-tracking, replacing him with an automated Lyman James. James went on to host a live midday show on KRBB (B98 FM) in Wichita, Kansas while holding the position of Operations Manager for iHeartMedia (as Clear Channel was renamed in September 2014).[13]
After two years with news/talk, Clear Channel decided to switch the frequencies of KFBK-FM and KHLX (93.1 FM) on December 26, 2013. KHLX, which previously had a classic hits format, moved to 92.5 FM while the KFBK-FM call sign and format shifted to 93.1 FM. KHLX simulcast KFBK-AM-FM on a temporary basis as Clear Channel prepared to launch a new format at 92.5 FM.[17][18]
Country: 2014-2018
On January 10, 2014 at 5 p.m., KHLX split from its simulcast with KFBK-FM and changed its format to country, known as "B92-5". The first song on B92-5 was "The Only Way I Know" by Jason Aldean.[19] Soon after, KHLX changed its callsign to KBEB to match its "B" branding.[18]
On December 30, 2016, KBEB rebranded as "92.5 The Bull"; the station otherwise made no changes. The Bull launched with 92.5 hours of music commercial-free.[20]
Adult contemporary: 2018-present
On November 8, 2018, iHeartMedia announced that KBEB would flip to soft adult contemporary as "92.5 The Breeze" on November 12. The "Bull" format moved to K296GB on the same date, and the signals were simulcast briefly as a means of transition between formats, akin to that of the KFBK simulcast five years prior. "The Breeze" launched on November 12 at 3 p.m.[21]
Christmas Music
On November 1, 2024, KBEB switched to an all-Christmas music format, the first time the station has done so since 2007. KBEB has always played Christmas music on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However, at 8:52 am on November 1, 2024, KBEB played "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Johnny Mathis, kicking off a playlist of 24/7 Christmas music. [22] This Christmas Music directly competes with KYMX, which usually flips to Christmas music every year in November. However, this trend of flipping to Christmas music in November is not unusual for IHeartMedia-owned AC stations. Some notable examples of sister stations to KBEB who flip to Christmas music every year include WLIT-FM, WLTW, and KOST.
HD Radio
KBEB broadcasts a digital HD Radio signal featuring two subchannels:
KBEB-HD1 is a digital simulcast of the analog signal of KBEB.
KBEB-HD2 broadcasts iHeartMedia's "Magic" format.
Originally, starting in 2006, KGBY-HD2 broadcast an all-1980s music format. The following year, the station began airing the LGBT-targeted Pride Radio channel, using music from iHeartMedia's Premium Choice service.[23] Later, the subchannel switched to the Country Premium Choice service, airing that format until January 2014 when KHLX-HD2 flipped to a simulcast of news/talk-formatted KFBK-FM (93.1 FM). In 2024, KBEB-HD2 was relaunched with the "Magic" format.
