KSMH (1620 AM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

broadcasting a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

religious

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as a member of the Relevant Radio network. Licensed to West Sacramento, California, United States, it serves the

Sacramento metropolitan area The Greater Sacramento area refers to a metropolitan region in Northern California comprising either the U.S. Census Bureau defined Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade metropolitan statistical area or the larger Sacramento–Roseville combined ...

. The station is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc. KSMH broadcasts at 10,000

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s by day, 1,000 watts at night, using a

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. The

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is on 28th Street in Sacramento, near the American River and The Capital Freeway.

History

KSMH originated as the expanded band "twin" of an existing station on the standard AM band. On March 17, 1997 the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...

(FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available " Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with

AM 950 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 950 kHz: The Federal Communications Commission categorizes 950 AM as a regional frequency. Argentina * CNN Radio Argentina in Buenos Aires * LT16 RSP in Presidente Roque Saenz Peña B ...

KAHI in Auburn, California authorized to move to 1620 kHz."FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997. The expanded band operation on 1620 kHz

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the air in February 1999 as KSMH. The FCC initially provided that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could optionally operate simultaneously for up to five years, after which owners would have to turn in one of the two licenses, depending on whether they preferred the new assignment or elected to remain on the original frequency. However, this deadline has been extended numerous times, and both stations have remained authorized. One restriction is that the FCC has generally required paired original and expanded band stations to remain under common ownership."FCC Rejects Clear Channel-Withers Deal For WDDD-A"
September 1, 2010 (allaccess.com)

Immaculate Heart Radio IHR Educational Broadcasting dba Immaculate Heart Radio operates a network of radio stations in the Western United States, airing Roman Catholic religious programming. The network provides a 24-hour a day schedule consisting of call-in talk ...

bought the station only months after KSMH went on the air. In April 1999, it paid $475,000 for KSMH and KAHI. KSMH was initially located in Auburn; it moved to West Sacramento in 2001, but FCC regulations require that it continue to be co-owned with KAHI, which remains operated by the stations' former owner under a time brokerage agreement. Immaculate Heart Radio merged with Relevant Radio in 2017.

References

External links

SMH SMH Radio stations established in 1974 Relevant Radio stations Catholic Church in California West Sacramento, California {{Christian-radio-station-stub