KLLT (FM)
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| City | Columbia, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater St. Louis |
| Branding | ALT 104.9 |
| Slogan | St. Louis' Alternative Rock |
| Frequency | 104.9 MHz FM (also on HD Radio) 104.9-2 FM-"The Beat" (Urban Contemporary) |
| First air date | February 15, 1964 (as WCBW) |
| Format | Alternative rock |
| ERP | 7,800 watts (CP: 8,400 watts) |
| HAAT | 175 meters |
| Class | C3 |
| Facility ID | 13793 |
| Callsign meaning | "Alt" with second L replacing A |
| Former callsigns | WCBW (1964-1997) WIMJ (1997) KMJM-FM (1997-2012) KBWX (2012-2016) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia (Citicasters Licenses, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | KATZ, KLOU, KMJM-FM, KSD, KSLZ |
| Webcast |
Listen Live HD2: Listen Live |
| Website | Alt1049fm.com |
KLLT (104.9 FM) is an FM radio station licensed to Columbia, Illinois, better known as "ALT 104.9". Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, the station airs an alternative rock format for the greater St. Louis, Missouri Metropolitan Area. Its transmitter is located in the Resurrection Cemetery in Shrewsbury, and operates from studios in St. Louis just south of Forest Park.
KLLT is licensed by the FCC to broadcast in the HD digital format.
The 104.9 frequency originally went on the air February 15, 1964 from the basement of station owner Joseph Lepp as WCBW in Columbia, and was a typical small town radio station. In 1980, the station was sold to Continental Broadcasting, and the station became the first station in the St. Louis area with a format of Contemporary Christian Music, still with a weak 3,000 watt signal based in Columbia, but it could be heard in much of the St. Louis area. The station was called "104.9 The Bridge" at the time.
In 1993, the station was granted a major power upgrade, allowing it to move to the St. Louis Master antenna site in Shrewsbury, and upgrade from 3,000 watts to 25,000 watts, making the 104.9 frequency a full market St. Louis signal. That made the station much more valuable, as did deregulation allowing operators to own several different FM stations in a market in 1996.
In 1997, the station was sold to Jacor Broadcasting, who also owned urban powerhouse KMJM, which was then at 107.7 FM. Instead of installing a new format on the 104.9 frequency, KMJM was relocated to the weaker 104.9 MHz frequency on October 20 of that year to allow its new CHR station KSLZ a better signal into the suburbs on the full 100,000-watt class C 107.7 frequency.
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