KTOY
KTOY Jammin104.7 logo.png
Broadcast areaTexarkana, Arkansas
Frequency104.7 MHz
Branding104.7 KTOY
Programming
FormatUrban adult contemporary
Ownership
Owner
  • Texarkana Radio Center Licenses, LLC
  • (Jo-Al Broadcasting, Inc.)
KBYB, KCMC, KTFS, KTFS-FM, KTTY
History
First air date
1992 (1992)
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID31348
ClassA
ERP3,100 watts
HAAT138 meters (453 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
33°25′45.4″N 94°7′11.7″W / 33.429278°N 94.119917°W / 33.429278; -94.119917
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitektoy1047.com

KTOY (104.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting an urban adult contemporary format. Licensed to Texarkana, Arkansas, United States, it serves the Texarkana area. The station is licensed to Texarkana Radio Center Licenses, LLC.[1] Studios are located on Olive in Texarkana, Texas just one block west of the Texas/Arkansas state line and its transmitter is in Wake Village, Texas.

History

On June 16, 1988, Jo-Al Broadcasting, Inc. (named for shareholders Emmie Jo Gamble and her brother-in-law Alcus Davis) filed for a construction permit to build a new radio station on 104.7 MHz in Texarkana, Arkansas. Gamble had been inspired to file after seeing a newspaper article concerning efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to promote women and minority ownership in broadcasting.[2] It was one of three applicants for the frequency, competing with B & H Broadcasting System, Inc., and Dupre' Broadcasting Co. After the three applications were designated for comparative hearing in 1990, the applicants settled, and Jo-Al was granted the frequency.[3]

Gamble, a math teacher, continued teaching while building out the station, which took the call letters KTOY and became the first black-owned station in the state of Arkansas,[4] with the same urban adult contemporary format it still carries.[2] She did not retire from teaching until 2000.[4]

In February 2005, after three years of discussions,[5] Gamble and Davis sold KTOY to Arklatex LLC, which owned four other radio stations in the market.[6] The transaction was described as putting a "jewel" in the company's crown, as KTOY had become the area's top radio station.[5] Eight years later, the stations were sold to Alaska Broadcast Communications, which was 20 percent owned by Richard Burns, for $2.75 million;[7] Burns, an Australian citizen, became the first non-American national to own 100 percent of a United States broadcast station when the FCC approved a first-of-its-kind waiver in 2017, allowing Burns and his wife Sharon to take full ownership of the Frontier Media group.[8]

As part of a series of format shifts at the Frontier Media stations in January 2019, KTFS (940 AM) relaunched as "KTOY Gospel", a gospel-formatted brand extension of KTOY.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Texarkana Radio Stations Part of Historic Foreign Ownership Deal – Texarkana FYI". 27 March 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b La'Sha, Epiphany (February 3, 2021). "Texarkana's first black radio station hit the airwaves in 1992". ArkLaTex Homepage. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  3. ^ Stirmer, Joseph (March 19, 1991). "Summary Decision (6 FCC Rcd 7)". FCC Record. pp. 1703–1705. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "TASD honors Emmie Jo Gamble as Distinguished Alumna". Texarkana Gazette. August 24, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Davis, Anthony (June 7, 2005). "Texarkana Radio picks up KTOY, city's top station". Texarkana Gazette. p. 1.
  6. ^ "Deals". RBR Morning E-paper. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  7. ^ "Deals" (PDF). Inside Radio. March 6, 2013. p. 4. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  8. ^ "FCC OKs Groundbreaking Foreign Ownership Milestone". Inside Radio. February 27, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  9. ^ Venta, Lance (January 22, 2019). "Formats On The Move In Texarkana". RadioInsight. Retrieved February 4, 2021.

External links

Radio stations in the Texarkana metropolitan area (Arkansas/Texas)
Urban contemporary radio stations in the state of Arkansas
Categories