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
February 1, 1948;76 years ago (1948-02-01)
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 February 1, 1948, the station first signed on as KNGS, 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). [3] Of Portuguese descent, the Pereiras first carried Portuguese-language programming in 1952, expanding to a mostly-Portuguese format (with some Spanish language programming) in 1989. [2] [4]

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. [3] 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. [5]

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, [6] who died on February 11, 2012 (given in FCC documents as Maria O. Pereira), [7] to John Pereira, the Special Administrator of Maria Pereira's estate. [8] 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. [7] 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, [9] 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.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDAE</span> Sports radio station in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States

WDAE is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a sports radio format. WDAE is one of the oldest radio stations in Florida still broadcasting today, going on the air in 1922. The studios and offices are on West Gandy Boulevard in South Tampa. The transmitter site is located near the Gandy Bridge in St. Petersburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKHB (AM)</span> Radio station in Irwin, Pennsylvania, United States

WKHB is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Irwin, Pennsylvania, and serving Greater Pittsburgh. It is owned by Broadcast Communications, Inc., and it carries a brokered programming radio format. During the day, hosts pay the station for time on the air and may advertise their products or services during their shows. At night, WKHB plays oldies music.

WKIS is a commercial radio station licensed to Boca Raton, Florida, and serving South Florida. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a country music radio format. Its studios are located in Audacy's Miami office on Northeast Second Avenue. The transmitter tower is off NW 210 Street in Miami Gardens, shared with WTVJ.

WHNZ is a commercial radio station licensed to Tampa, Florida. The station's broadcast license is held by iHM Licenses, LLC, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia. The station airs a talk/business format. WHNZ is one of the eight stations in the Tampa Bay radio market owned by iHeartMedia. The station's studios are located on West Gandy Boulevard in South Tampa.

WJZN was a radio station licensed to serve Augusta, Maine, United States. The station, established in 1932 as WRDO, was owned by Townsquare Media; it broadcast an alternative rock format simulcast from WCYY in Portland prior to going silent in May 2023. WJZN's programming was also heard on W240DH in Augusta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPKX</span> Radio station in New Hampshire, United States

WPKX is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Rochester, New Hampshire, that broadcasts a sports radio format, largely supplied from Fox Sports Radio. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and serves the Portsmouth-Dover-Rochester media market, also heard in Southern Maine. WPKX broadcasts at 5000 watts around the clock from a transmitter off Route 108 in Rochester. To protect other stations on 930 kHz, WPKX uses a directional antenna at night.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTVL</span> Radio station in Waterville, Maine, United States

WTVL was a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Waterville, Maine, and serving Kennebec County. The station was owned by Townsquare Media and until January 2023, it broadcast an adult standards radio format, playing softer hits from the 1950s, '60s, '70s, and '80s. The station featured the music of Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Nat King Cole and Dionne Warwick in its playlist.

WHBO is a commercial radio station licensed to Pinellas Park, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay area. The station is currently owned by Genesis Communications and it airs a conservative talk radio format, branded as "News Talk 1040". Much of the programming comes from Westwood One and Fox News Radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTOS (AM)</span> Radio station in Bangor, Maine

WTOS is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Bangor, Maine, United States. The station is owned by Blueberry Broadcasting. WTOS broadcasts a mainstream rock format, simulcast with WTOS-FM in Skowhegan and WTUX in Gouldsboro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KLBS</span> Radio station in Los Banos, California

KLBS is a radio station licensed to serve Los Banos, California, United States. The station, established in 1961, is currently owned by Ethnic Radio of Los Banos, Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFH (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Wichita, Kansas

KFH is a commercial AM radio station in Wichita, Kansas. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. It airs a sports radio format. The station's studios and offices are located on East Douglas Avenue.

KZIZ is a commercial radio station licensed to Pacific, Washington and serving the Seattle-Tacoma media market. It carries a South Asian radio format known as "Radio Punjab," with affiliated stations in San Francisco, Sacramento and other West Coast markets. The station is owned by Charanjit Singh Batth, through licensee Akal Media, Inc.

KSUR was a commercial radio station licensed to Monterey, California. KSUR served the Monterey Bay and Santa Cruz area. The station was owned by Mount Wilson FM Broadcasters and broadcast an oldies radio format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KTBZ (AM)</span> Radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma

KTBZ is a commercial AM radio station in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., with the license held by iHM Licenses, LLC. On weekdays, Oklahoma-based hosts are heard in mornings, middays and afternoons. For evenings, nights and weekends, CBS Sports Radio is heard. KTBZ's studios are at the Tulsa Event Center, on Yale Avenue in Southeast Tulsa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KOND</span> Radio station in Hanford, California

KOND is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Hanford, California, United States and serves the Fresno area. The station is owned by Latino Media Network; under a local marketing agreement, it was programmed by former owner TelevisaUnivision's Uforia Audio Network until 2024. KOND broadcasts a Regional Mexican format.

WNEB is a Catholic radio station broadcasting religious programming. Licensed to Worcester, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Worcester area. The station is owned by Holy Family Communications, and operates as part of The Station of the Cross.

KSUH is a U.S. radio station licensed to serve Puyallup, Washington. The station, which began broadcasting in 1951, is currently owned by Radio Hankook, Inc. Jean Suh, owner of Radio Hankook, is a pioneer in Korean-language radio programming in the United States.

WCTA was an American radio station licensed to serve Alamo, the county seat of Crockett County, Tennessee. WCTA was a class D facility licensed to broadcast with 250 watts of power on a frequency of 810 kHz, operating only during daylight hours to protect both KGO in San Francisco, California, and WGY in Schenectady, New York, from skywave interference. The broadcast license was held by Robert Davis, through licensee Alamo Media LLC. The station, established in 1983, fell silent on and off from 2008 through June 2012 before resuming normal operation. The station ran sporadically and lost its license in August 2020.

WGTX is an AM radio station licensed to West Yarmouth, Massachusetts, and serving Cape Cod. It is owned by the estate of Bob Bittner and broadcasts a classic hits format as a simulcast of WGTX-FM (102.3) in Truro. WGTX-FM's owner, GCJH Inc., programs WGTX under a local marketing agreement and is in the process of acquiring the station outirght.

WCRY was a radio station broadcasting a black gospel music format. Licensed to serve Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, United States, it broadcast to the Research Triangle metropolitan area. It first began broadcasting in 1949 under the call sign WFVG, and ceased operations in 2004. The station was owned by Willis Broadcasting.

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. 1 2 Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-20
  4. ↑ "Welcome to November!". November 2012.
  5. ↑ "Broadcasting Yearbook 1986 page B-51" (PDF).
  6. ↑ Greatest Singers of All Time, Rolling Stone
  7. 1 2 "CDBS Print". licensing.fcc.gov.
  8. ↑ "CDBS Print". licensing.fcc.gov.
  9. ↑ Venta, Lance (May 24, 2013). "KIGS Returns". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 20, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.