KTMZ
Simulcast of KWKW, Los Angeles
Broadcast area
Frequency1220 kHz
BrandingTu Liga Radio 1220 AM
Programming
Language(s)Spanish
FormatSports talk
AffiliationsTUDN Radio
Los Angeles Rams
Orange County SC
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
December 23, 1960
(63 years ago) (1960-12-23)
Former call signs
  • KKAR (1960–1978)
  • KLIT (1978–1983)
  • KTSJ (1983–1996)
  • KWPA (1996–2000)
  • KWKU (2000–2015)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID1925
ClassB
Power250 watts
Transmitter coordinates
34°01′11″N 117°43′06″W / 34.01972°N 117.71833°W / 34.01972; -117.71833
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.tuligaradio.com

KTMZ (1220 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pomona, California. Owned by Lotus Communications, KTMZ simulcasts Los Angeles-based KWKW 1330 AM, carrying that station's Spanish-language sports radio format as an affiliate of TUDN Radio. It also carries live Spanish-language broadcasts of Los Angeles Rams NFL football and Orange County SC USL Championship soccer.

Despite being a Class B station, KTMZ is powered at only 250 watts. It uses a directional antenna with a three-tower array. The transmitter is on Riverside Drive near Roswell Avenue in Chino.[2] The signal covers several communities on the border between Los Angeles County and San Bernardino County.

History

KKAR Good Music

The station signed on the air on December 23, 1960; 63 years ago (December 23, 1960). Its original call sign was KKAR.[3][4] It was owned by Intrastate Broadcasters.[4]

KKAR originally was a daytimer station, running 250 watts by day and required to go off the air at night, because 1220 AM is a Mexican clear channel frequency reserved for XEB Mexico City. KKAR was initially intended to offer "FM listening on AM radio", with a "good music" format, playing easy listening sounds.[5]

Top 40 and Country Music

Intrastate sold KKAR to West Coast Communications, Inc. in late 1960 for $160,000.[6] The sale closed on January 1, 1967.[4] Under West Coast, the station flipped to a Top 40 format.

In late 1970, Elizabeth Schirmer, a former employee of KFMB-TV San Diego, acquired KKAR for $250,000.[7] The ownership and format wheels spun again in 1973 when the station flipped to country music on February 24.[8] The Schirmer Family later sold the station to Bassett Broadcasting.[9]

Spanish Contemporary and Christian Radio

In 1976, it began airing a Spanish language contemporary hits format after being purchased by JATO Communications. Bassett asked to sell the station before the then-required three-year period, citing its poor financial condition.[10][11]

In 1978, JATO acquired KSOM-AM-FM and was required to spin off the 1220 frequency as a result. The KKAR intellectual unit moved to 1510 kHz as KNSE; at the same time, Gore Broadcasting, Inc., acquired the frequency and relaunched it as a [[Christian radio outlet, KLIT.[12] In 1983, its call sign was changed to KTSJ.[13] Several groups owned KLIT/KTSJ during its tenure as a religious outlet, including Creative Communications of Pomona and American Sunrise Communications.

KTSJ continued airing a Christian religious format until 1994, when it returned to playing Spanish hits.[14][15]

In 1996, the station’s call sign was changed to KWPA.[13] Personal Achievement Radio bought the station from American Sunrise for $875,000.[16] (Personal Achievement briefly held the call letters KWPA, KXPA and KYPA, all in Los Angeles, for the stations it owned.)

However, KWPA only briefly simulcast KYPA. In 1997, it shifted to a gold-based Spanish adult contemporary format as "Radio Mía" and attempted to secure the call letters KMIA.[17] Multicultural Broadcasting would acquire KWPA and KYPA in 1997.

Spanish-language sports

See also: KWKW

Lotus Communications acquired KWPA from Multicultural Radio at the end of 1999 for $750,000.[18] In 2000, KWPA became KWKU, and it began simulcasting Lotus's Spanish-language sports outlet 1330 KWKW.[13][19] The 1220 station helps KWKW improve its reception in Pomona and Ontario, in addition to serving as an overflow station for KWKW sports coverage. For a time, KWKU also exclusively carried broadcasts of the Los Angeles Sparks of the WNBA.

The KWKU nominal main studio in Pomona proved critical to getting KWKW back on the air after disaster struck on December 6, 2001. A major fire at the Sunset Vine Tower, which was home to the Lotus Communications Los Angeles cluster, caused extensive electrical damage to the building. It was deemed unsafe by fire officials. 105 computers, mixers and other equipment were carted out of the building, and John Cooper, the chief engineer for Lotus Los Angeles, drove them to Pomona, where the station was back on the air in six hours.[20] As a result of the extensive damage, Lotus relocated temporarily to the recently vacated KTNQ studios and later purchased a building near Universal Studios Hollywood to be fitted out for its operation.[20]

In 2015, the 1220 call sign was changed to KTMZ.[13]

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KTMZ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ Radio-Locator.com/KTMZ
  3. ^ 1971 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1971. p. B-24. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c History Cards for KTMZ, fcc.gov. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  5. ^ "Claremont Man Operates Pomona Radio Station, Pledges Public Service, Good Music". Progress-Bulletin. January 19, 1961. p. 3. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  6. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. November 7, 1966. p. 119. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). September 21, 1970. p. 43. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "Station KKAR Plans C-W Music Format". Progress-Bulletin. February 24, 1973. p. C-5. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 15, 1973. p. 17. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  10. ^ Gurza, Agustín (March 19, 1977). "Pomona's 1-Year-Old KKAR Making Dent]" (PDF). Billboard. p. 63. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  11. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 30, 1976. p. 50. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  12. ^ "Radio stations shift a la musical chairs". Chino Champion. March 24, 1978. p. 16. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  13. ^ a b c d Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  14. ^ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1985. p. B-32. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  15. ^ "Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 11, No. 34. August 24, 1994. p. 1. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  16. ^ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. December 8, 1995. p. 6. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  17. ^ "Douglas/PAR Taps Two GMs In L.A., DC" (PDF). Radio & Records. September 19, 1997. p. 21. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  18. ^ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. December 17, 1999. p. 10. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  19. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2002-2003, Broadcasting & Cable, 2002-2003. p. D-56. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
  20. ^ a b Thomas, Barry (August 2002). "The Tower and the Almost Inferno" (PDF). Broadcast Engineering Radio. pp. 34, 42. Retrieved January 10, 2020.

External links

Radio stations in the Los Angeles, California, metropolitan area
Radio stations in Riverside, San Bernardino and Temecula, California (Inland Empire and Temecula Valley)
Spanish-language radio stations in the state of California
Sports radio stations in the state of California
Lotus Communications
TUDN Radio stations in the United States and Mexico
Categories