
KNSS-FM

KNSS-FM (98.7 MHz, "News Talk 98.7 and 1330") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Clearwater, Kansas, and serving the Wichita metropolitan area. It carries a talk radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. The station simulcasts with co-owned KNSS 1330 AM. The studios and offices are on East Douglas Avenue in Wichita.
KNSS-FM has an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts. The transmitter is on West 100th Avenue North at North Chicaskia Road in Conway Springs, Kansas. KNSS-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. The HD2 subchannel simulcasts the sports radio format heard on co-owned KFH 1240 AM.
Programming.
Weekdays on KNSS-AM-FM begin with "Steve & Ted", a news and interview show featuring Steve McIntosh and Ted Woodward. The rest of the schedule is made up of nationally syndicated conservative talk shows: "The Glenn Beck Program", "The Rush Limbaugh Show", "The Sean Hannity Show", "The Mark Levin Show", "Savage Nation with Michael Savage", "The Ben Shapiro Show" and "Coast to Coast AM with George Noory".
Weekends feature shows on money, health, retirement, food and wine, some of which are paid brokered programming. Weekend syndicated shows include: "Handel on The Law with Bill Handel", "The Truth About Money with Ric Edelman" and "Sunday Night Live with Bill Cunningham" as well as repeats of weekday shows. Most hours begin with world and national news from Fox News Radio. During NFL football season, KNSS-AM-FM carry Kansas City Chiefs broadcasts.
History.
The KFH-FM call letters were reprised from those of the Wichita station that began broadcasting on September 19, 1948, at 100.3 mHz as a simulcast partner of sister station KFH (AM) (1330 kHz). Around 1967, KFH-FM moved to 97.9 MHz and became known as "Channel 97." Channel 97 broadcast with the "progressive rock" music format. It was also affiliated with ABC's American FM Radio Network. In late 1971, KFH-FM dropped the progressive rock format and switched to a "beautiful music" format and the call letters KBRA. (That station is now KRBB, and owned by iHeartMedia, Inc..) The KFH-FM calls were retired on October 12, 2016.
98.7 FM was issued a construction permit on March 27, 1992, issued as KSQB. The station signed on July 4, 1995 with a Country format as KSPG, "The Kansas Pig", and then a satellite-fed Hot AC format as KAYY. On March 24, 2000, 98.7 became the new home of Smooth Jazz KWSJ. The format was moved from its temporary frequency at 92.7 and was originally on 105.3 (Now Hot AC KFBZ-FM). KWSJ's Smooth Jazz format was dropped on March 25, 2002, and flipped to a simulcast with AM sister station KFH.
On May 9, 2011, KFH AM and -FM changed their format to sports talk.
During the summer of 2016, KFH-AM began simulcasting on translator K248CY 97.5 FM in Wichita, enabling the station to be heard on 3 separate frequencies (97.5/98.7 FM & 1240 AM). However, it offered a more stable signal in the eastern part of the Wichita Metropolitan Area. Entercom announced in October of that year that KNSS would be taking over the 98.7 frequency, giving Wichita its first full-power FM news/talk station since May 2011, when KFH dropped News/Talk in favor of a Sports format. The switch has not come without controversy, though, as listeners in the Anthony, Harper, Hutchinson and Winfield/Arkansas City areas are not able to receive the 97.5 frequency well, if at all.