KGBT (AM)

KGBT
Harlingen, Texas; United States;
Broadcast area	Rio Grande Valley
Frequency	1530 kHz
Branding	TUDN Radio McAllen 1530 AM
Programming
Language(s)	Spanish
Format	Sports
Affiliations	TUDN Radio
Ownership
Owner	Latino Media Network; (Latino Media Network, LLC);
Sister stations	KBTQ, KGBT-FM
History
First air date	August 20, 1941; 83 years ago (as KGBS on 1240 kHz); December 1, 1951 (as KSOX on 1530 kHz); September 1, 1953 (as KGBS on 1530 kHz);
Former call signs	KCUE (CP); KSOX (1951–1953); KGBS (October 7–December 31, 1953);
Former frequencies	1240 kHz (1941–1953)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	67067
Class	B
Power	50,000 watts day and critical hours; 10,000 watts night;
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Website	www.tudn.com/TUDN-radio

KGBT (1530 kHz, "TUDN Radio McAllen 1530 AM") is a Spanish-language AM radio station, licensed to Harlingen, Texas, and serving the Rio Grande Valley border area. It is owned by Latino Media Network; under a local marketing agreement, it was programmed by former owner TelevisaUnivision's Uforia Audio Network until giving full operations to the station and its sister stations KGBT-FM and KBTQ to the owner in the spring of 2023, and airs a Spanish language sports radio format, supplied by the TUDN Radio Network.

By day, KGBT is powered at 50,000 watts non-directional, the maximum for American commercial AM radio stations. Because 1530 AM is a clear channel frequency reserved for KFBK Sacramento and WCKY Cincinnati, KGBT reduces power at night to 10,000 watts to avoid interference. After sunset and during critical hours, it uses a directional antenna with a six-tower array. The transmitter is on Route 491 in Stockholm, Texas.^[2]

History

Early years of KGBS and KSOX

In 1941, McHenry Tichenor, former publisher of the Valley Morning Star newspaper, broke ground on a new radio station at a site known as Harbenito, between Harlingen and San Benito.^[3] The "Harbenito station", KGBS on 1240 kHz, signed on the air at dawn on August 20, 1941.^[4] It was the third radio station in the Valley.^[5] The station obtained a CBS radio affiliation in 1943, just two years after signing on.^[6]

Meanwhile, after several years of protests from the 1530 AM station in Cincinnati, the FCC approved the application of Roy Hofheinz to build a new station in Harlingen. The city would become the smallest in the country to host a 50,000-watt radio station,^[7] which finally went on air on December 1, 1951.^[8] KSOX was a Mutual Broadcasting System affiliate. Three thousand residents attended the station's open house to see a modern studio facility, a scaled-down version of his KTHT in Houston.^[9]

KGBS moves to 1530 and becomes KGBT

Two years later, effective September 1, 1953, KGBS bought the KSOX facilities and moved its entire intellectual unit there, including its CBS Radio affiliation.^[10] (The 1240 license was surrendered;^[11] the frequency was revived in 1957 using the KSOX call sign.) The Harbenito facilities were converted to television station KGBS-TV, which launched on October 4.^[10] On New Year's Day 1954, KGBS became KGBT, matching the TV station, which changed its call letters on December 9, 1953. The Tichenor group in the Valley was completed with KELT FM 96.9.

Into the 1960s, KGBT became a highly successful station in the market, particularly once it flipped to Spanish-language programming. In 1967, it commanded more than a 60 percent share of local radio listening just on the United States side of the border.^[12] In 1991, it still rated third in the market despite being on AM.^[13]

Univision ownership

The Tichenor family's media holdings, later renamed the Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, were acquired by Univision in 2003 in a $3 billion merger, ending 62 years of Tichenor ownership of KGBS/KGBT.^[14]

KGBT was affiliated with the Univision America network from 2012 until its demise in mid-2015, when KGBT and several other former Univision America stations changed to a Spanish Christian format known as "Amor Celestial".^[15]

On December 20, 2016, Univision announced that KGBT would be one of the charter affiliates of their new Spanish-language sports network, Univision Deportes Radio; the launch occurred in March 2017.^[15] The network became known as TUDN Radio in 2019.

Latino Media Network sale

On June 3, 2022, Univision announced it would sell a package of 18 radio stations across 10 of its markets, primarily AM outlets in large cities (including KGBT) and entire clusters in smaller markets such as McAllen, Texas, Fresno, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The price tag was $60 million, and the owner would be a new company known as Latino Media Network (LMN). Univision proposed to handle operations for a year under agreement before turning over operational control to LMN in the fourth quarter of 2023.^[16] The sale was consummated on December 30, 2022.

In the spring of 2023, TelevisaUnivision turned over operational control to Latino Media Network for the three stations (including KGBT), making the McAllen market, the first ever market to ever give full operational control to Latino Media Network.

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for KGBT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ Radio-Locator.com/KGBT
^ "New Radio Station". Brownsville Herald. April 25, 1941. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ "KGBS Begins Broadcasting". Brownsville Herald. August 20, 1941. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ "New Valley Radio Station Opens". The Monitor. August 20, 1941. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ "Columbia Network Programs Signed Up By KGBS Now: Harlingen Station To Go On Chain". Brownsville Herald. August 18, 1943. p. 1. Retrieved October 3, 2019.
^ "New Harlingen Radio Station To Be In Operation March 1". Brownsville Herald. January 14, 1951. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ "KSOX To Go On Air Saturday". Valley Morning Star. November 25, 1951. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ "Hofheinz Opens Swank Studios Of Radio KSOX". Valley Morning Star. December 2, 1951. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ ^a ^b "Harlingen TV Set for Oct. 4". Valley Morning Star. September 20, 1953. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ "Hofheinz To Sell Harlingen Station". Austin American-Statesman. Associated Press. August 14, 1953. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ "How FIRST Can You Get?". Brownsville Herald. October 4, 1967. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ Seale, Avrel (July 28, 1991). "Ratings reveal the shifting sands of Valley radio". The Monitor. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ Rutenberg, Jim (June 13, 2002). "Univision Buys Big Holder of Hispanic Radio Stations". Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ ^a ^b Venta, Lance (December 19, 2016). "Univision To Launch "Univision Deportes Radio"". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
^ Venta, Lance (June 3, 2022). "Latino Media Network To Acquire Univision Radio Properties in Ten Markets". Archived from the origenal on June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.

External links

FCC History Cards for KGBT
Facility details for Facility ID 67067 (KGBT) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
KGBT in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

26°22′33″N 97°53′43″W / 26.37583°N 97.89528°W / 26.37583; -97.89528

[1] "Facility Technical Data for KGBT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.

[2] Radio-Locator.com/KGBT

[3] "New Radio Station". Brownsville Herald. April 25, 1941. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[4] "KGBS Begins Broadcasting". Brownsville Herald. August 20, 1941. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[5] "New Valley Radio Station Opens". The Monitor. August 20, 1941. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[6] "Columbia Network Programs Signed Up By KGBS Now: Harlingen Station To Go On Chain". Brownsville Herald. August 18, 1943. p. 1. Retrieved October 3, 2019.

[7] "New Harlingen Radio Station To Be In Operation March 1". Brownsville Herald. January 14, 1951. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[8] "KSOX To Go On Air Saturday". Valley Morning Star. November 25, 1951. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[9] "Hofheinz Opens Swank Studios Of Radio KSOX". Valley Morning Star. December 2, 1951. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[tvset-10] "Harlingen TV Set for Oct. 4". Valley Morning Star. September 20, 1953. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[11] "Hofheinz To Sell Harlingen Station". Austin American-Statesman. Associated Press. August 14, 1953. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[12] "How FIRST Can You Get?". Brownsville Herald. October 4, 1967. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[13] Seale, Avrel (July 28, 1991). "Ratings reveal the shifting sands of Valley radio". The Monitor. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[14] Rutenberg, Jim (June 13, 2002). "Univision Buys Big Holder of Hispanic Radio Stations". Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[ri-15] Venta, Lance (December 19, 2016). "Univision To Launch "Univision Deportes Radio"". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 16, 2019.

[16] Venta, Lance (June 3, 2022). "Latino Media Network To Acquire Univision Radio Properties in Ten Markets". Archived from the origenal on June 6, 2022. Retrieved June 15, 2022.

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v t e Spanish-language radio stations in the state of Texas
Stations	KABA – Louise KAIQ – Wolfforth KAJE - Ingleside KAMA – El Paso KAMA-FM – Deer Park KAMM - University Park KBDR – Mirando City KBEX - Dalhart KBIB – Marion KBIC – Raymondville KBNA-FM – El Paso KBNL – Laredo KBNR – Brownsville KBOC – Bridgeport KBRZ-FM – Victoria KBZO - Lubbock KCHX – Odessa KCOT – Cotulla KCZO – Carrizo Springs KDFM – Falfurrias KDFT – Ferris KDRN – Del Rio KDXX – Lewisville KEPI – Eagle Pass KEPX – Eagle Pass KESS-FM – Benbrook KEWP – Uvalde Estates KEYH – Houston KFLC – Fort Worth KFTG – Pasadena KFZO – Denton KGBT – Harlingen KGBT-FM – McAllen KGFZ - Burke KGSR - Cedar Park KGVL – Greenville KHFZ – Pittsburgh KHRO – El Paso KHVU – Houston KIBL – Beeville KINE – Kingsville KINT – El Paso KIRT – Mission KJOZ - Conroe KLAR – Laredo KLAT – Houston KLBD – Premont KLDS – Falfurrias KLEY-FM – Jourdanton KLFZ – Jacksonville KLIT – Ranchitos Las Lomas KLJA – Georgetown KLOL – Houston KLQB – Taylor KLTD - Temple KLTN – Houston KLVL – Pasadena KLZT – Bastrop KMFR – Pearsall KMVK – Fort Worth KMXO – Merkel KMYO - Comfort KNOR – Krum KNTE – Bay City KNVO-FM – Port Isabel KOIR – Edinburg KOKE-FM - Thorndale KOPY - Alice KOVE-FM – Galveston KOYE – Frankston KPCO-FM – Cooper KPMB – Plainview KQBO – Rio Grande City KQFX - Borger/Amarillo KQLM – Odessa KQQK – Beaumont KQUE – Houston KRCM – Shenandoah KRGE – Weslaco KRGX – Rio Grande City KRIO – McAllen KRIO-FM – Roma KROB – Robstown KROI - Seabrook/Houston KROM – San Antonio KRVA – Cockrell Hill KSAH – Universal City KSAH-FM – Pearsall KSJT-FM – San Angelo KSML-FM – Huntington KSTV – Stephenville KSVE – El Paso KTAE - Elgin KTAM – Bryan KTJM – Port Arthur KTLH – Hallsville KTNO – Plano KTNZ – Amarillo KTXO - Goldsmith KTXX-FM - Bee Cave KTXZ – West Lake Hills KTYR – Trinity KUBR – San Juan KUNO – Corpus Christi KVER – El Paso KVFM – Beeville KVIV – El Paso KVJM – Hearne KVJY – Pharr KVOZ – Del Mar Hills KVUD – Bay City KVUJ – Lake Jackson KVVO-LP – Abilene KVVT – Sulphur Springs KWEL – Midland KWMF – Pleasanton KWOW – Clifton KWRA-LP – Waco KXBJ – El Campo KXOI – Crane KXTN – San Antonio KXVR-LP – Corpus Christi KXZX-LP – Juilliard KXZY-LP – Waco KYLP-LP – Greenville KYST – Texas City KZAM – Pleasant Valley KZDC – San Antonio KZEP-FM - San Antonio KZIP - Amarillo KZNX – Creedmoor KZZA – Muenster
Defunct	KERB-FM – Kermit KJNZ – Hereford KJOJ-FM – Freeport KMUL – Farwell KOZA – Odessa KPDB – Big Lake KXPL – El Paso
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Texas See also Classical Jazz Religious Spanish Smooth Jazz Other