KTMZ (1220
AM) is a commercial
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
Pomona, California
Pomona is a city in Los Angeles County, California. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 151,713. The main campus of California State Polyte ...
. Owned by
Lotus Communications
Lotus Communications Corporation is a media company that owns numerous radio stations and a few TV stations, and is one of the largest privately owned radio station groups in the United States. Headquarters are located in Los Angeles, and the comp ...
, KTMZ operates as a simulcast of
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
-licensed
KWKW
KWKW (1330 AM) is a commercial Spanish language radio station licensed to serve Los Angeles, California, featuring a sports format known as "Tu Liga Radio 1330". Owned by Lotus Communications, the station services Greater Los Angeles and muc ...
, carrying that station's
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 ...
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
format as an affiliate of
TUDN Radio
TUDN Radio (formerly Univision Deportes Radio) is a U.S. Spanish-language sports radio network operated by Uforia Audio Network, a division of TelevisaUnivision. It launched on March 15, 2017 on ten AM and FM radio stations, most of which previ ...
.
History
The station began broadcasting December 23, 1960 as KKAR.
1971 Broadcasting Yearbook
', Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution (business), distribution of sound, audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic medium (communication), mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio ...
, 1971. p. B-24. Retrieved September 13, 2019.[History Cards for KTMZ](_blank)
fcc.gov. Retrieved September 13, 2019. It ran 250 watts, during daytime hours only, and was owned by Intrastate Broadcasters.
The station was initially intended to offer "FM listening on AM radio", with a "good music" format.
Intrastate sold KKAR to West Coast Communications, Inc. in late 1966; the $160,000 sale closed on January 1, 1967. Under West Coast, the station flipped to a
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
format. In late 1970, Elizabeth Schirmer, a former employee of
KFMB-TV
KFMB-TV (channel 8) is a television station in San Diego, San Diego, California, United States, affiliated with CBS, The CW, and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Tegna Inc., it has studios on Engineer Road in the Kearny Mesa, San Diego, Kearny Mesa section ...
San Diego, acquired KKAR for $250,000. The ownership and format wheels spun again in 1973 when the station flipped to country on February 24 and the Schirmers sold the station to Bassett Broadcasting. In 1976, it began airing a
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
contemporary 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.
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 religious outlet, KLIT. In 1983, its call sign was changed to KTSJ.
[Call Sign History](_blank)
fcc.gov. Retrieved September 15, 2019. 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 religious format until 1994, when it adopted a Spanish hits format.
Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1985
', Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1985. p. B-32. Retrieved September 15, 2019.
In 1996, the station’s call sign was changed to KWPA
after Personal Achievement Radio bought the station from American Sunrise for $875,000. (Personal Achievement briefly held the call letters KWPA,
KXPA
KXPA (1540 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Bellevue, Washington, and serving the Seattle metropolitan area. It is part of the nationwide Multicultural Radio Broadcasting network, one of 30 stations owned by Arthur Liu, which ca ...
and
KYPA
KYPA (1230 AM ''AM 1230 JBC'') is a Korean-language radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by Woori Media Group, LLC.
KYPA is one of four radio stations in the greater Los Angeles area that broadcast entirely in Korean; the other ...
, 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.
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 ...
would acquire KWPA and KYPA in 1997.
Spanish-language sports
Lotus acquired KWPA from Multicultural at the end of 1999 for $750,000.
In 2000, KWPA became KWKU, and it began simulcasting Lotus's Spanish-language sports outlet
KWKW
KWKW (1330 AM) is a commercial Spanish language radio station licensed to serve Los Angeles, California, featuring a sports format known as "Tu Liga Radio 1330". Owned by Lotus Communications, the station services Greater Los Angeles and muc ...
,
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2002-2003
', Broadcasting & Cable
''Broadcasting & Cable'' (or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') is a weekly telecommunications industry trade magazine published by Future US. Previous names included ''Broadcasting-Telecasting'', ''Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising'', and ''Broadcast ...
, 2002-2003. p. D-56. Retrieved September 15, 2019. improving reception in Pomona and
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, in addition to serving as an overflow station for KWKW sports coverage; KWKU also exclusively carried broadcasts of the
Los Angeles Sparks
The Los Angeles Sparks (LA Sparks) are an American professional basketball team based in Los Angeles. The Sparks compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member club of the league's Western Conference. The team was foun ...
of the
WNBA.
The KWKU nominal main studio in Pomona would prove 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 cluster, caused extensive electrical damage to the building, which 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.
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
Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusemen ...
to be fitted out for its operation.
In 2015, its call sign was changed to KTMZ.
References
External links
*
{{TUDN Radio
TMZ
TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, 202 ...
Lotus Communications stations
TMZ
TMZ is a tabloid news website owned by Fox Corporation. It made its debut on November 8, 2005, originally as a collaboration between AOL and Telepictures, a division of Warner Bros., until Time Warner divested AOL in 2009. On September 13, 202 ...
Sports radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1960
1960 establishments in California