Bay Area Radio: KNBR Officially Moves To New Studios

For 103 years, KNBR-AM/FM, a San Francisco institution, broadcast from the city. That era ended as parent company Cumulus relocated the station to a new facility in Daly City, with “The Sports Leader” airing its first broadcasts from there Thursday afternoon.

The “Papa and Silver” midday show signed off from the 750 Battery St. studios before 2 p.m., and after a break, the “Dirty Work” afternoon show went live from 2001 Junipero Serra Blvd., near Daly City’s Century Theatres, sharing space with Bonneville.

In the final 20 minutes of the last San Francisco broadcast, hosts Greg Papa and Greg Silver reflected on KNBR’s evolution, especially over the past two years, name-checking legends like Gary Radnich, Tom Tolbert, and Tony Salvadore. “It’s not like we’re pulling the plug forever,” Papa said. “But this marks a new era for KNBR.”

Cumulus now shares the Daly City space with Bonneville, another Bay Area radio group. Meanwhile, Audacy (88 Kearny St.) and iHeart Radio (340 Townsend St.), along with public stations KQED-FM and KALW-FM, continue to broadcast from San Francisco.

KNBR, a sports radio mainstay, had broadcast from San Francisco since its debut as KPO-AM on April 17, 1922, at 901 Market St., under Hale Brothers department store ownership. It moved to 680 AM in the late 1920s, where it remains, and cycled through studios at 420 Taylor St. (1942), Fox Plaza (1967), 1700 Montgomery St. (1978), and 55 Hawthorne St. in SoMa (1991–2015) before landing at Battery and Broadway in 2015. KNBR became sports-only in 1992.