On October 15, 1952, the Federal Communications Commission awarded a construction permit to Theodore Rozzell and William Paul Brown to build a new daytime-only radio station on 910 kHz in Roswell; the station had originally been proposed for location at Clovis.
[3] It had not been on the air six months before its owners sold it to the Taylor Broadcasting Company in November; the new management secured approval to increase power from 1,000 to 5,000 watts the next year.
[4] Taylor also attempted to purchase Carlsbad's KPBM,[5] but the FCC blocked the deal citing overlap with the signal of his Roswell station.
[6] KBIM's facilities were improved in 1965 with the approval of a new transmitter site and directional setup that allowed nighttime broadcasting;[2] despite increased competition, including the launch of the 50,000-watt KSWS (1020 AM), the station remained atop the ratings in Roswell.
[18] On November 25, 2021, KKBE dropped its active rock format and began stunting with Christmas music as "Santa 93.7".