KIGS

Last updated

KIGS
Broadcast area Visalia–Tulare, California
Frequency 620 kHz
BrandingRadio Punjab
Programming
Format Punjabi language music, talk and news
Ownership
Owner
  • Charanjit Singh Batth
  • (Akal Broadcasting Corporation)
History
First air date
January 31, 1948 (1948-01-31)
Former call signs
  • KNGS (1947–1987)
  • KCLQ (1987–1989)
Call sign meaning
 Kings County, California
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 51122
Class B
Power 1,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
 36°19′35″N119°33′59″W / 36.32639°N 119.56639°W / 36.32639; -119.56639
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website www.radiopunjab.com

KIGS (620 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Hanford, California, United States. It serves the Visalia-Tulare and Fresno radio markets. The station is owned by Charanjit Singh Batth, and it carries programming from "Radio Punjab." Radio Punjab is also heard in San Francisco, Seattle and other West Coast cities, airing Punjabi language music, talk and news for South Asian listeners.

Contents

KIGS operates with 1,000 watts around the clock, using a directional antenna at night to avoid interfering with other stations on AM 620. The studios and transmitter are located on Hanford Expressway (California State Route 198) near 6th Avenue in Hanford. The station building was the basis for the cover of Journey's 1986 album, Raised on Radio . [2]

History

On January 31, 1948, the station first signed on as KNGS, [3] owned by the Pereira family (whose son Steve Perry was the lead singer of the rock band Journey from 1977-1987 and again from 1995-1998). [4] Of Portuguese descent, the Pereiras first carried Portuguese-language programming in 1948, [5] expanding to a mostly-Portuguese format (with some Spanish language programming) in 1989. [2] [6]

Lee Smith bought the station in 1972. He acted as general manager and aired a country music format on KIGS, with news supplied by the ABC Entertainment Radio Network. [4] In February 1976, Smith put an FM radio station on the air, 103.7 KKYS (now KFBT).

In 1986, the station was acquired by Bob Liggett. He kept the country music format in place but changed the call letters in 1987 to KCLQ. [7]

In 1990, the station was bought back by the Pereira Family, licensed as P & C Broadcasting. A Portuguese music and talk format was once again heard on AM 620. The original call letters "KNGS" were no longer available so the station became KIGS.

On July 27, 2012, the license for the station was transferred from Maria Pereira, [8] who died on February 11, 2012 (given in FCC documents as Maria O. Pereira), [9] to John Pereira, the Special Administrator of Maria Pereira's estate. [10] On July 31, the station temporarily left the air, pending completion of Maria Pereira's estate administration, and the beneficiary's plans for the station. [9] In February 2013, ownership was transferred to her children, Albert Pereira and Odilia Silva.

From May 23, 2013, to October 30, 2014, KIGS returned to the air with sports programming from Fox Sports Radio, [11] before changing its affiliation to NBC Sports Radio soon after. During this time, KIGS served as the Hanford-Tulare affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels baseball radio network.

On October 31, 2014, New Media Broadcasting bought the station from Pereira Communications. The next day, November 1, 2014, KIGS began carrying the Radio Punjab format. The purchase closed on February 3, 2015.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KIGS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. 1 2 Tulare Voice: "Portuguese Radio Station Stands the Test of Time", 2006.
  3. ↑ "Art Linkletter Entertains: Record Audience Views KNGS Dedication Show". Hanford Daily Sentinel. Hanford, California. February 2, 1948. pp. 1, 8 . Retrieved February 19, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-20
  5. ↑ "Two Foreign Language Programs Will Be Aired Over Radio KNGS". Hanford Daily Sentinel. Hanford, California. January 31, 1948. p. 8B. Retrieved February 19, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Welcome to November!". November 2012.
  7. ↑ "Broadcasting Yearbook 1986 page B-51" (PDF).
  8. ↑ Greatest Singers of All Time, Rolling Stone
  9. 1 2 "CDBS Print". licensing.fcc.gov.
  10. ↑ "CDBS Print". licensing.fcc.gov.
  11. ↑ Venta, Lance (May 24, 2013). "KIGS Returns". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
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