Webwaves

Web site: 104krbe.com.
Company bio: Owned by Susquehanna Radio Corp., KRBE has been a fixture in Houston for more than 25 years, ranking in the top five 12-plus in every Arbitron ratings survey over the past 14 years. The station has won Billboard/Airplay Monitor Awards for radio station of the year, program director, and music director for three years straight (1997-99).
Site launched: Summer 1995.
Maintained by: In-house, supervised by Internet PD and afternoon drive talent Scott Sparks. His Web team includes station staffers John Gray and Shannel Vance. "We believe that the Web should be as strong as our radio partner."
Number of hits: 11 million in May; average time spent viewing: 22 minutes.
Features: Live Webcast, updated text (weekly) that directly illustrates on-air content, "Scavenger Hunt" game with giveaways (Astros tickets, Pizza Hut, etc.), pictures on the Web of celebrity visits (most recently, Hanson and Bon Jovi).
Revenue: "We've moved from banners and tiles to combo Web/radio packages."
Lessons learned: "Developing a database is huge and critical," says Sparks. "We send an E-mail campaign to 35,000 [addresses] weekly. Sites should be redesigned at least once a year. And are you giving away tickets on-air? Save a pair for the Web. Give people a reason to visit your site again."