Former logos
| Broadcast area | East Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area) |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1260 kHz |
| Branding | 97.3/1260 The Rattler |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks United Stations Radio Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KIKO, KIKO-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | January 27, 1968 (as 1250 KSWW Wickenburg) |
Former call signs | KSWW (1968–1981) KUUK (1981–1987) KCIW (1987–1989) KTIM (1989–1996) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 11217 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 4,500 watts day 50 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°22′56″N111°32′09″W / 33.38222°N 111.53583°W |
| Translator(s) | 97.3 K247CF (Payson) |
| Links | |
| Website | rattler.theradioranchaz.com |
KBSZ (1260 AM; "The Rattler") is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic rock radio format. Licensed to Apache Junction, Arizona, the station is owned by 1TV.com. [1] The studios and offices are on Broadway in Miami, Arizona.
By day, KBSZ is powered at 4,500 watts. But to protect other stations on AM 1260 from interference, it must reduce power at night to 50 watts. KBSZ uses an extremely short (85-foot (26 m)) lower efficiency fiberglass whip antenna, broadcasting a non-directional pattern day and night. The transmitter is on South Royal Palm Path in Apache Junction. [2] Programming is also heard on 250-watt FM translator K247CF at 97.3 MHz in Payson.
The Wickenburg Radio Company received a construction permit for a new radio station in Wickenburg, Arizona, on October 25, 1967. It signed on the air on January 27, 1968. KSWW broadcast as a 500-watt daytimer at 1250 kHz. [3] The majority stockholder was W. Schuyler Thurber, a former department store owner. [4]
KSWW was the second attempt to build a radio station on the frequency in Wickenburg. The first was KAKA, which had signed on August 28, 1960. [5] It was owned by Mamie Gander and Paul Mullenix; Lowell F. Beer bought out Gander in 1962. [6] However, KAKA and short-lived sister station KTPM in Sun City went into receivership and were shuttered in 1963. [7]
Thurber's share in KSWW was bought in 1972 by Jack Hughes, the General Manager of KSWW radio at the time. The station went bankrupt in December 1979 and was silent for 16 months. [8] Lee Shoblom bought the silent KSWW for $80,000 and returned it to air on March 11, 1981, as country music station KUUK. [8] Shoblom lost out on its first attempt to acquire an FM counterpart to KUUK in 1982 when Hassayampa Broadcasting was awarded the permit. [9] However, the two stations would eventually be united. In 1983, Shoblom sold KUUK to the Wickenburg Broadcasting Company, and two years later, the same principals acquired the FM permit. On January 1, 1987, the FM station launched, and the two stations became KCIW-AM-FM with a country music format. [10] Kenyon Communications bought the stations in 1988. When the FM station got a power increase to 50,000 watts, on August 2, 1989, the two stations changed to an adult standards format as KTIM-AM-FM. [11]
Interstate Broadcasting Systems of Arizona acquired both stations in the fall of 1990, but the acquisition was primarily for KTIM-FM, which Interstate planned to use as an FM counterpart to its KRDS 1190 AM. On November 27, 1990, KTIM-FM became KRDS-FM (today's KHOV-FM). [12] With no plans to keep the AM station, Interstate sold it to Circle S Broadcasting, owned by Harold Shumway. Shumway renovated a former Big W restaurant to serve as station offices. [13] Shumway then obtained an FM construction permit for Wickenburg on 93.7 MHz and signed it on as KFMA in 1992.
On March 1, 1996, KTIM became KBSZ, call letters then in use by the sister FM station. [14] However, the FM flipped to country music soon after, using the call letters KSWG. [15]
The next year, Circle S sold KBSZ to SBD Broadcasting. Four years later, SBD sold the station to Richard (Pete) and Joann Peterson. The Petersons relaunched the station with entirely local programming, including Wickenburg High School football games. [16]
On November 7, 2007, the Petersons filed to move KBSZ's transmitter and city of license from Wickenburg (about 60 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix) to Apache Junction (35 miles east of downtown Phoenix). The move was accompanied by a frequency change to 1260 kHz. The switch to 1260 AM allowed it to broadcast around the clock. A month later, the station was sold to 1TV.com, Inc., owned by John Low.
In 2010, KBSZ signed on from its new Apache Junction location with a Classic Hits/Oldies format targeting the residents of Phoenix's growing eastern suburbs. [17] After only four months, the station adopted a talk radio format on Sept. 7. [18] It was the first radio station on the frequency in Pinal County since KFAS Casa Grande signed off in the mid-1990s.
After a short time as a talk station, KBSZ flipped to an all-comedy format. It used a syndicated comedy programming service known as "24/7 Comedy." When the network ceased operations, the station wanted to keep its comedy format, so it switched programming to "Today's Comedy." In 2012, KBSZ was issued a U.S. Federal Communications Commission construction permit to increase its daytime power to 4,500 watts from its previous 3,500 watts. [19]
Around July 1, 2019, KBSZ fell silent without any explanation. On July 8, 2019, the station posted a message on its website that KBSZ had ceased broadcasting the comedy format "due to circumstances beyond our control." It would soon be simulcasting sister station KIKO-FM's oldies format. [20]
After nearly two weeks of broadcasting with dead air, KBSZ returned with a classic rock format named "The Rattler". The programming is largely automated. The station carries the weekly syndicated program "Floydian Slip," focusing on the music of Pink Floyd.
The station also airs Bob Stei's "Grunge Garage" throughout the weekend.
KOMR is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Sun City, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by Univision and it airs a Spanish Adult Contemporary radio format, calling itself "Amor 106.3". The studios are on South 30th Street in Phoenix.
KVVA-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Apache Junction, Arizona. It simulcasts a Spanish adult hits radio format with KDVA 106.7 FM in Buckeye, serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. The stations are owned by Entravision Communications, with studios near Sky Harbor Airport.
KHOT-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Paradise Valley, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It airs a Regional Mexican radio format, and is owned by TelevisaUnivision, calling itself "Que Buena 105.9 y 105.1."
KNAI is a Regional Mexican-formatted AM radio station in Phoenix, Arizona. KNAI is owned by the Chavez Radio Group. Its studios are located in Phoenix near Piestewa Peak and its transmitter is in South Phoenix near Broadway and 27th Avenue.
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KQFN is a commercial radio station licensed to Tempe, Arizona and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by CRC Broadcasting Company, Inc., and airs an all-sports radio format branded as "The Fanatic." Afternoon drive-time programming on weekdays comes from local hosts, with the nationally syndicated Jim Rome heard middays, and programming from SportsMap Radio, BetQL Radio Network, CBS Sports Radio, and Vegas Stats & Information Network (VSiN) is heard at other times throughout the week when there are no live play-by-play broadcasts.
KFNX is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Cave Creek, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It airs a talk radio format and is owned by Futures and Options, Inc., headed by William J. Brady.
KNUV is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Tolleson, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by Laura Aispuro Madrid, through licensee La Promize Company LLC. The station has a Spanish-language radio format using brokered programming where hosts pay for their time on the station. Most programs are talk-based, with some music shows.
KVNA is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Flagstaff, Arizona, United States, the station serves the Flagstaff area. The station is currently owned by Yavapai Broadcasting Corporation.
KSWG is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Wickenburg, Arizona. It is owned by Barna Broadcasting Company and airs a classic country radio format, using the moniker "Real Country 96.3." The station is considered a rimshot broadcaster because its transmitter is more than 50 miles from downtown Phoenix, Arizona. KSWG's signal is primarily heard in northwest suburbs of the Phoenix market.
KIDR is an AM radio station in Phoenix, Arizona. KIDR is owned by En Familia, Inc. and airs a Spanish-language Roman Catholic religious radio format. The station's transmitter is off South 23rd Avenue in Phoenix.
KNST is a commercial radio station in Tucson, Arizona, airing a news/talk radio format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and serves Greater Tucson, including the suburbs of Marana, Oro Valley, Green Valley, Sahuarita, Sierra Vista, and Vail. KNST's studios and offices are on Oracle Road, north of Downtown Tucson.
WKSM is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Fort Walton Beach and serving the Emerald Coast of Florida. It is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a mainstream rock radio format, calling itself 99 Rock. The radio studios and transmitter are on Hollywood Boulevard NW in Fort Walton Beach. WKSM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts.
WMDG is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to East Point, Georgia, the station serves the Atlanta metropolitan area.
WSHU, is an NPR member radio station licensed to Westport, Connecticut. It is owned and operated by Sacred Heart University. By day, WSHU is powered at 1,000 watts using a directional antenna. However, at night, to avoid interference with other stations on 1260 AM, it reduces power to nine watts, effectively limiting its nighttime footprint to the area immediately around Westport. Programming is also heard on 150-watt FM translator W276DY at 103.1 MHz in Westport.
KHOV-FM is a radio station on 105.1 MHz in Wickenburg, Arizona, serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It is owned by TelevisaUnivision through its Uforia brand and carries a simulcast with sister station KHOT-FM, playing the Regional Mexican format.
KQMR is a radio station in Globe, Arizona, United States, owned by TelevisaUnivision and licensed to Univision Radio Illinois, Inc. The station was assigned the KQMR call letters by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on September 16, 2005. It airs a Spanish language Latin Pop music format.
KIKO is an AM radio station licensed to serve Apache Junction, Arizona, United States. The station is owned by 1TV.com, Inc.
KSFN is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Spanish Regional Mexican music radio format. Licensed to Piedmont, California, the station serves the San Francisco Bay Area. The station is currently owned by Alfredo Plascencia's Lazer Broadcasting, through licensee Lazer Licenses, LLC. KSFN's transmitter is in an industrial section of West Oakland, California.
KFAS was a radio station on 1260 kHz in Casa Grande, Arizona, United States, which operated from December 6, 1956, to at least November 1995. Its FCC license was canceled on February 9, 1997.
