KIXL

Last updated
KIXL
Broadcast area Austin-Round Rock
Frequency 970 kHz
Branding Relevant Radio
Programming
Format Catholic Talk
Affiliations Relevant Radio
Ownership
Owner Relevant Radio, Inc.
History
First air date
August 8, 1959 (1959-08-08)
Former call signs
  • KASE (1960–1964)
  • KHFI (1964–1969)
  • KTAP (1969–1974) [1]
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 35011
Class B
Power 1,000 watts
Translator(s) 103.9 MHz  K280GN (Austin)
105.1 MHz  K286CX (Round Rock)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website relevantradio.com

KIXL (970 AM) is a Catholic talk radio station in Del Valle, Texas, United States, broadcasting to the Austin-Round Rock area. KIXL has been a Relevant Radio owned-and-operated station since 2005. Prior to ownership by Relevant Radio, KIXL was a locally-programmed Christian station for nearly 30 years. KIXL also simulcasts its programming on FM translator stations K280GN 103.9 MHz Austin and K286CX 105.1 MHz Round Rock.

Contents

History

Early years

The Austin Radio Company obtained a construction permit for a new AM radio station to be licensed to Austin, broadcasting during the daytime only with 1,000 watts, on September 24, 1958, [1] and KASE signed on August 8, 1959. [3] KASE offered a "good music" and news format. The station was sold several times in its early years: to E. J. Lund by stock sales in 1960 and 1961; to Rogers Broadcasting Company in 1963, after Lund's health deteriorated, [4] and to the Southwest Republic Corporation in 1964. Southwest Republic simultaneously acquired KHFI-FM 98.1 from its owners and held the construction permit for a new Austin television station, KHFI-TV channel 42. [5] KASE became KHFI on November 8, 1964, [1] but it retained its format. [6]

In August 1969, KHFI became KTAP and debuted new "pulsating sound" imaging and a contemporary format. [7] Southwest Republic, owned by John Kingsbery, merged alongside concrete producer Featherlite Corporation into Kingstip, Inc., in 1971. [8]

KIXL

In 1974, Kingstip spun KTAP off to Advance, Inc. The call letters were changed to KIXL on May 28, 1974, [1] and the station adopted a new oldies format. [9] This lasted two years until a 1976 change that would set the tone for the next three decades of the station's programming; on May 31, the station adopted a full-time religious format. [10]

KIXL was owned by Advance for three years and sold to the Austin Broadcasting Corporation in 1977. [1] Led by Dick Oppenheimer, this company then bought KHFI-FM from LIN Broadcasting in 1980, reuniting former sister stations. [11] KIXL continued to feature Christian music and a mix of local and national talk shows. [12] The 1980s also saw KIXL become a station able to broadcast at night as well, which brought with it a change in city of license from Austin to Del Valle. [13] One station program also made national headlines: KIXL pulled several broadcasts of a 15-minute daily show hosted by a local group, Citizens Against Pornography, for broadcasting descriptions of gay sex acts that it deemed to be "too graphic". The first broadcast to be pulled was broadcast live, and the speaker was cut off mid-sentence by the station's general manager on November 11, 1985. [14]

Oppenheimer sold KIXL and KHFI-FM, along with his other remaining radio properties, in 1986 to Florida broadcaster George Duncan's Encore Communications in a $38 million transaction; $20 million of that was derived from the Austin duo, which set a market sale price record. [15] Encore, however, sold KIXL two years later to KIXL Partners, a subsidiary of Signature Broadcasting, for $1.5 million. [16] Signature Broadcasting was owned by Oppenheimer, who had just sold the station two years prior. [17] In 1992, the station adopted an all-talk Christian format. [18] Some of these talk shows offered conservative political viewpoints as well, such as the program hosted by Wyatt Roberts; Roberts encouraged his listeners to boycott businesses that advertised in The Texas Triangle, a statewide gay newspaper, resulting in some of those businesses being picketed—and in demonstrations outside KIXL's studios. [19] Roberts's program would be canceled by KIXL in 1996 as the result of a "re-evaluation" of the station, with station management noting the change did not come due to the controversy. [20]

In 1995, Intimate Life Ministries, an organization which helped churches offer marriage counseling services, entered into a deal to buy KIXL from Oppenheimer. [21] The $1.4 million purchase was made through a commercial company; [22] at the end of 1997, the principals then filed to transfer the license to Intimate Life itself. [23]

In 2005, Starboard Media, the parent company of the Relevant Radio network, purchased KIXL for $3.58 million. [24]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 FCC History Cards for KIXL
  2. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KIXL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ↑ "KHFI" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1968. p. B-156. Retrieved May 29, 2021– via World Radio History.
  4. ↑ "Purchase Of KASE Approved". Austin American. January 17, 1963. p. A24. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Merger Of Radio, TV Firms Due". The Austin Statesman. July 3, 1964. pp. 1, 8 . Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  6. ↑ "Station Changes Tomorrow". Austin American-Statesman. November 7, 1964. p. 12. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  7. ↑ Weddell, Wray (August 13, 1969). "Wray Weddell's Austin". The Austin Statesman. p. 1. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  8. ↑ "Two Austin Firms Complete Merger". The Austin American. September 22, 1971. p. 26. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  9. ↑ "KIXL Blends Eras of Melodies". Austin American-Statesman. June 26, 1974. p. 51. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  10. ↑ "KIXL to go fulltime religion". Austin American-Statesman. May 22, 1976. p. A15. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  11. ↑ BeSaw, Larry (July 25, 1980). "Station changes ownership: Hard feelings rock old DJs". Austin American-Statesman. p. B2. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  12. ↑ "Christian radio varies in programming". Austin American-Statesman. November 24, 1985. p. 67. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  13. ↑ "AM actions" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 30, 1983. p. 83. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  14. ↑ Szilagyi, Pete (November 12, 1986). "Anti-porn radio show pulled after sex descriptions". Austin American-Statesman. p. B1. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  15. ↑ Herndon, John (October 15, 1986). "Owner sells K-98, other radio stations". Austin American-Statesman. p. D1. Retrieved May 6, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Ownership Changes" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 21, 1988. p. 69. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  17. ↑ Herndon, John (June 11, 1989). "Stations get signals crossed". Austin American-Statesman. p. Show World 5. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  18. ↑ Herndon, John (April 23, 1992). "Christian radio has diversified formats". Austin American-Statesman. p. Onward 17. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  19. ↑ Moscoso, Eunice (November 12, 1995). "Boycott request brings picketers to local station". Austin American-Statesman. p. B2. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  20. ↑ Burke, Terri (April 19, 1996). "Roberts' radio show canceled by KIXL-AM". Austin American-Statesman. p. B1. Retrieved May 29, 2021.
  21. ↑ Herndon, John (June 29, 1995). "KFON welcome addition to morning news". Austin American-Statesman. p. XL ent. 28. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. June 23, 1995. p. 8. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  23. ↑ "On December 17, 1997..." Austin American-Statesman. January 5, 1998. p. F10. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Deal of the Week" (PDF). Radio & Records. August 12, 2005. p. 6. Retrieved May 29, 2021.

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