The beginning This station began regular broadcast operations on May 27, 1955, with 250 watts of round-the-clock power on a frequency of 1400
kHz, licensed to serve
Oceanlake, Oregon. The station was initially owned by Lincoln Electronics, Inc. KBCH was the second radio station, after
KNPT (1310 AM,
Newport), established in
Lincoln County, Oregon.
Move to 1380 KBCH was acquired by Yaquina Radio, Inc., on November 16, 1959. The new owners got authorization from the FCC to change frequencies to 1380 kHz and increase daytime power to 1,000 watts but at the sacrifice of becoming a
daytime-only station. Yaquina Radio, Inc., sold KBCH to Lincoln City Broadcasting, Inc., in a transaction consummated on March 1, 1974. The new owners maintained KBCH's
middle of the road contemporary music format.
Back to 1400 The new owners filed an application with the FCC in April 1980 to change the station's broadcast frequency from 1380 back to 1400
kHz and restore nighttime service with 250 watts of power. The FCC granted the station a new
construction permit that authorized the changes on March 26, 1981. In June 1986, Brown Broadcasting Enterprises, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Matrix Media, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on August 4, 1986, and the transaction was consummated on September 19, 1986. After Matrix Media, Inc., had fallen into bankruptcy, trustee Thomas A. Huntsberger arranged to sell the
broadcast license for this station in January 1990 to Oceanlake Broadcasting Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 31, 1990, and the transaction was consummated on August 15, 1990. In April 1996, Oceanlake Broadcasting Company, Inc., contracted to sell this station to Q Media LLC. The deal was approved by the FCC on June 13, 1996, but the transaction was never consummated and control of KBCH remained with Oceanlake Broadcasting. The company reached a new agreement to sell this station in September 1999, this time to Yaquina Bay Communications, Inc., as part of a two-station deal valued at $425,000. The deal was approved by the FCC on October 27, 1999, and the transaction was consummated on August 8, 2000. In October 2000, Yaquina Bay Communications, Inc., reached an agreement to transfer the KBCH broadcast license to Pacific West Broadcasting, Inc. The transfer was approved by the FCC on October 27, 2000, and the transaction was consummated on November 15, 2000.
Shutdown and Subsequent Resumption of Operations KBCH, along with its sister stations (KNPT and
KNCU in Newport,
KYTE (licensed to broadcast to Independence but actually broadcasting from Otter Crest),
KCRF-FM in Lincoln City, and
KWDP in
Waldport), shut down on December 31, 2023. The closure followed the August foreclosure of the stations' Newport studios, which were sold to Oregon Coast Bank in a sheriff's sale on December 5. On December 31, 2024, the station resumed operations. The station is operating from a rooftop at 800 Highway 101 in Lincoln City with 10 watts full time. ==References==