KELP (AM)

Last updated

KELP
Broadcast area El Paso metropolitan area
Frequency 1590 kHz
Programming
Format Christian talk and teaching
Ownership
Owner
  • Cornerstone Broadcasting
  • (On Earth Media, LLC)
History
First air date
April 10, 1959;66 years ago (1959-04-10)
Former call signs
KINT (1959-1979)
KKOL (1979-?)
KELP (?-2006)
DKELP (2006-2008)
[1]
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 40831
Class B
Power 5,000 watts day
800 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
 31°44′38″N106°23′45″W / 31.74389°N 106.39583°W / 31.74389; -106.39583
Translator 95.9 K240ER (El Paso)
Links
Public license information
Webcast listen live
WebsiteKELPradio.com

KELP (1590 kHz) is a commercial radio station in El Paso, Texas, broadcasting a Christian talk and teaching radio format. It is owned by Cornerstone Broadcasting with the license held by On Earth Media, LLC. [3] The studios and offices are on Commerce Avenue near Interstate 10 in El Paso. [4]

Contents

By day, KELP is powered at 5,000 watts. But to protect other stations on 1590 AM from interference, at night the power is reduced to 800 watts. It uses a directional antenna with a three-tower array. The transmitter is on Springfield Drive in El Paso, near the United States-Mexico border. [5] Programming is also heard on a 10-watt FM translator K240ER at 95.9 MHz. [6]

Programming

KELP carries both local and national religious leaders, including David Jeremiah, Janet Parshall, Jim Daly, James Dobson, R.C. Sproul, John MacArthur, J. Vernon McGee, Charles Stanley, Adrian Rogers and Chuck Swindoll. [7]

The station uses a brokered programming model, where preachers buy time on KELP and may use their programs to seek donations to their ministries. KVIA-TV 7, the ABC network affiliate in El Paso, provides weather reports.

History

The station signed on the air on April 10, 1959. It was a daytimer, required to go off the air at night. The original call sign was KINT, powered at 1,000 watts. In 1969, it added a sister station, 97.5 KINT-FM (now KBNA-FM). The two stations simulcast a Top 40 format, playing popular hits for young listeners in El Paso. [8] KINT-AM-FM were affiliates of the ABC Contemporary Network.

On May 7, 1979, the AM station changed its call letters to KKOL, switching to a middle of the road (MOR) format of popular adult music, news and sports, while KINT-FM 97.5 continued playing Top 40 hits. [9] In the early 1980s, KKOL 1590 switched its call sign to KELP.

According to FCC records, the station was ordered off the air on July 12, 2006, due to an untimely filing of its license renewal. KELP noted that it had filed an application before the deadline, but admitted to not paying the renewal fee. It filed a new application with the application fee on that date. It had also sought special temporary authorizations to remain on-air, which it received. On February 15, 2008, the FCC granted KELP's license renewal. [10]

References

  1. ↑ Callsign history of KELP; retrieved September 3, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KELP". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ FCC.gov/KELP
  4. ↑ KELPradio.com/contact
  5. ↑ FCCdata.org/KELP
  6. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/K240ER
  7. ↑ KELPradio.com/programs
  8. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-204. Retrieved Jan. 14, 2026
  9. ↑ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1980 page C-222. Retrieved Jan. 14, 2026.
  10. ↑ "KELP correspondence". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
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