KBGG

---

title: "KBGG" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["radio-stations-in-des-moines,-iowa", "sports-radio-stations-in-the-united-states", "cumulus-media-radio-stations", "radio-stations-established-in-1998", "1998-establishments-in-iowa", "infinity-sports-network-stations", "sports-in-des-moines,-iowa"] description: "Radio station in Des Moines, Iowa" topic_path: "sports" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KBGG" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Radio station in Des Moines, Iowa ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox radio station"]

Field	Value
name	KBGG
above	Currently silent
city	Des Moines, Iowa
country	US
area	Des Moines metropolitan area
branding	101.3 & 1700 The Champ
frequency	1700 kHz
translator
airdate
format	Sports
power
class	B
facility_id	87105
former_callsigns
former_frequencies	1390 kHz (1947–2001)
affiliations
owner	Cumulus Media
licensee	Radio License Holding CBC, LLC
sister_stations
::

| name = KBGG | above = Currently silent | logo = | logo_size = | city = Des Moines, Iowa | country = US | area = Des Moines metropolitan area | branding = 101.3 & 1700 The Champ | frequency = 1700 kHz | translator = | airdate = | format = Sports | power = | class = B | facility_id = 87105 | callsign_meaning = | former_callsigns = | former_frequencies = 1390 kHz (1947–2001) | affiliations = | owner = Cumulus Media | licensee = Radio License Holding CBC, LLC | sister_stations = | webcast = | website =

KBGG (1700 AM) is a currently silent commercial radio station in Des Moines, Iowa. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and it aired a sports radio format, known as "101.3 & 1700 The Champ".

KBGG's studios and offices are located in Urbandale. The main AM transmitter is located off Fairview Lane in Pleasant Hill. KBGG is in the "Expanded Band," one of only a handful of stations at AM 1700. Its power is 10,000 watts by day and 1,000 watts at night, using a non-directional antenna.

Programming and personalities

Several sports talk shows were heard on 1700 The Champ KBGG weekdays: Taz & The Moose, The D.A. Show, Jim Rome, The Drive with Wolfgang and Steen, Tiki & Tierney, Bill Reiter and Amy Lawrence. KBGG served as the Des Moines affiliate for the Kansas City Chiefs and the University of Northern Iowa men's basketball and football. KBGG also carries the NFL on Westwood One Sports.

History

KBGG originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band.

On March 17, 1997, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced that 88 stations had been given permission to move to newly available "Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with KKSO in Des Moines, a station that dated to 1947, authorized to move from 1390 kHz to 1700 kHz.

A construction permit for the expanded band station was assigned the call letters KBGG on November 12, 1997. FCC's policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency. It was ultimately decided to transfer full operations to the expanded band station, and on February 2, 2001, the license for KKSO on 1390 AM was cancelled.

The new frequency gave the station more daytime power and a non-directional signal. The call sign KBGG was shared with its FM sister station. The WSJZ call sign was briefly parked on the frequency from June 6 to 18, 2002; the station then reverted to KBGG.

Upon the sign-on of KBGG, the station adopted KKSO's business news/talk format, before later shifting to a mix of CNN News Radio and Spanish-language programming. In the 2000s, KBGG broadcast a Spanish language Regional Mexican music format and was known as "".

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/KBGG_1700TheCHAMP_logo.png" caption="Logo before translator sign on"] ::

On February 25, 2008, the station relaunched as "1700 The Champ".

After having been an ESPN Radio affiliate for nearly five years, KBGG became an affiliate of CBS Sports Radio on January 2, 2013, as part of a Cumulus Media-wide switch. Cumulus, which owns KBGG, has a financial stake in CBS Radio Sports.

In October 2015, the station became a talk/sports hybrid and branded itself 1700 KBGG The Big Talker. Weekday mornings began with Good Day With Doug Stephan, featuring news director Dianna Kelly with local information, followed by The Dave Ramsey Show and Red Eye Radio heard overnight.

In 2017, Marty Tirrell of the "Marty and Miller" show stopped making payments to Cumulus Media and the show ended on 1700. Also in August 2017, "The Ken Miller Show" started the sports day from 12-2, followed by CBS Sports from 2-4. "Jimmy B and TC" which originally was on from 12-2 moved from 4-6.

On October 15, 2018, the station returned to full-time sports talk.

On December 7, 2021, KBGG began simulcasting on newly licensed FM translator K267CY (101.3 MHz). The antenna is co-located on sister FM station KHKI's tower in Johnston.

On March 28, 2025, KBGG went silent.

References

References

1. [https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/finder?sr=Y&s=C&call=Kbgg&nav=&x=0&y=0 Radio-Locator.com/KBGG]
2. [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uva.x004848309&view=1up&seq=276 "FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"] (FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997.
3. [https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityDetails.html?facilityId=87105 Facility details for Facility ID 87105: Call Sign History 87105 (KBGG))] in the FCC Licensing and Management System
4. [https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/public/tv/publicFacilityDetails.html?facilityId=22888 Facility details for Facility ID 22888 (KKSO)] in the FCC Licensing and Management System
5. "Des Moines Station Timeline".
6. Kevin O'Donoghue, "Six months later, KBGG raises its business voice," ''The Des Moines Register'', November 30, 1998.
7. William Ryberg, "Sale of 5 D.M. radio stations completed," ''The Des Moines Register'', September 9, 2003.
8. "Archived copy".
9. [https://radioinsight.com/headlines/297717/cumulus-shutting-down-des-moines-flint-fort-walton-beach-ams/ Cumulus Shutting Down Des Moines, Flint & Fort Walton Beach AMs] Radioinsight - March 28, 2025

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::