KNSN (1240

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...

) is an AM

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 ...

licensed to

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, United States. The station is owned by

Crawford Broadcasting Crawford Broadcasting is a family-owned media company based in Denver, Colorado.Contact information
crawfordbro ...

, through licensee Kiertron, Inc. It airs a brokered

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

, mostly

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

with co-owned

KBRT KBRT (740 AM, known on-air as KBRITE) is a Southern Californian Christian radio station. It airs Christian talk radio programming from Costa Mesa, California to Los Angeles, Orange County, the Inland Empire, San Diego, and Santa Barbara. The ...

(740 AM) in Costa Mesa. Programs include half-hour weekday shows from

Charles Stanley Charles Frazier Stanley (born 1932) is Pastor Emeritus of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, after serving as senior pastor for 49 years. He is the founder and president of In Touch Ministries, which widely broadcasts his sermons through te ...

, Joyce Meyer and

David Jeremiah David Jeremiah is an American evangelical Christian author, founder of Turning Point Radio and Television Ministries and senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church, a Southern Baptist megachurch in El Cajon, California, a suburb of San D ...

. Studios for KBRT and KNSN are on Airway Avenue in Costa Mesa. KNSN transmits with a power of 550

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s, day and night, with its

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...

off Newton Avenue in San Diego, at the intersection of Route 15 and Interstate 5. KNSN shares the tower with KURS (1040 AM). Programming on KNSN is also heard on 15-watt FM translator station K277DG at 103.3

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

in San Diego.

History

The station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

in 1947 as KSON. KSON used a 250-watt RCA transmitter with a tower that was 250 feet tall. The station was owned and operated by Fred Rebal. Through the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, KSON was a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

station, mostly simulcast with

KSON-FM KSON (103.7 FM, "103-7 KSON") is a commercial radio station licensed to San Diego, California. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station broadcasts a country music format. The station's current call letters and programming originate from a sister stat ...

(97.3 FM, now on 103.7 FM). In 1985, KSON-AM-FM were acquired by Jefferson Pilot Broadcasting. On July 24, 1996, the AM station's format was changed to

children's radio Children's radio is a radio format aimed primarily at preteen children. Examples include the now defunct Radio Disney network of radio stations, Kids Place Live satellite radio channel and in the UK Fun Kids. Stations See also *List of children ...

as KDDZ, with the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

standing for "Kids." It started as a KidStar Radio

Network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

; that network was short-lived and merged with

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

. During a heavy rain and wind storm near the end of December 2004, approximately half of the radio antenna tower collapsed and fell, leaving the tower at a height of about 200 feet. It had been 442 feet tall. Later, KNSN was a

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

radio station, having that format from January 2007 until July 2007. The station was sold to

Multicultural Broadcasting Multicultural Broadcasting is a media company based in New York City founded by Chinese-American businessman Arthur Liu. It caters mostly to the Asian American community and owns television and radio stations in several of the top markets in mul ...

Inc., owned by Arthur Liu, on June 1, 2009. In the early 2000s, it shifted to a

Spanish-language Spanish ( or , Castilian) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European language family that evolved from colloquial Latin spoken on the Iberian peninsula. Today, it is a world language, global language with more than 500 millio ...

Christian radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk progra ...

format. On May 22,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Crawford Broadcasting Crawford Broadcasting is a family-owned media company based in Denver, Colorado.Contact information
crawfordbro ...

announced it would acquire KNSN for $1.5 million through licensee Kiertron, Inc. The sale was consummated on July 25, 2014, with the Spanish Christian programming shifting to 1040 KURS.http://www.crawfordbroadcasting.com/Local_Oscillator/June%202014%20Local%20Oscillator.pdf KNSN went silent in late July 2014 in preparation for a new format under Crawford Broadcasting ownership. KNSN returned to air on September 29, 2014. The format ended up being the previous religious format, this time in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. It is mostly a simulcast of co-owned

in Costa Mesa. In 2017, a 15-watt FM translator station was added, 103.3

K277DG. It shares the same broadcast tower as the AM signal. The translator is often cut off as distant station KRUZ in Santa Barbara, the dominant station at 103.3, often hashes out K277DG's signal in tropospheric ducting.

References

External links

FCC History Cards for KNSNK-BriteThe Soul of San Diego (website of previous gospel format)
{{San Diego Radio NSN Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in California NSN