Cumulus Media’s KQTP-FM US103 will be changing call letters 11/9 to 102.9 KTOP FM. The station will continue to play a blend of country music known as “The Latest and All Time Greatest” according to KTOP PD Tom Freeman.
Cumulus already owns KTOP-AM 1490 ESPN. The KTOP FM call letters first appeared in Topeka Radio over 30 years ago on the frequency now occupied by Cumulus owned KDVV-FM V100 at 100.3 FM.
“Those are great call letters, they always were and they always will be because they stand for Topeka” Merle Blair, host of the Merle Blair show said when he heard the news. Blair joined the staff of KTOP-AM in 1955 and was name GM in 1964. Blair retired in 1981. The Merle Blair Show had been a mainstay of the KTOP-AM programming line up for years. The show now airs on Saturday and Sunday on Cumulus sister station 1440 KMAJ-AM.
“KTOP is a great call sign because it represents TOPeka. They’re easy to say and easy to remember” according to Cumulus SVP Spike Santee. “It may be old fashioned but I like having two stations paired up with the same call letters like KTOP-AM and KTOP-FM. We already have KMAJ-AM and KMAJ-FM. We’re the legacy group in the market and pairing up the call letters just fits.”
