KTUC (1400
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 a
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
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 ...
in
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
. The station is owned by
Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...
and airs an
adult standards 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, ...
, known as "Tucson's All Time Favorites." On Sunday mornings, it plays three hours of
big band
A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
music. Most hours begin with co-owned
Westwood One News
Westwood One News was a radio news network launched on January 1, 2015, and operated by Westwood One through its parent company Cumulus Media. Using audio from CNN reports and correspondents, and anchored by Cumulus employees, it provided radio ...
. KTUC's
studios
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial d ...
and
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 ...
are on Nixon Low Way, off Roger Road. KTUC carries live play-by-play of University of Arizona Women's Basketball games.
History
Early Years
KTUC is the oldest station in Tucson,
signing on the air on July 10, 1926. Originally it broadcast on 1370
kilocycle
The cycle per second is a once-common English name for the unit of frequency now known as the hertz (Hz). The plural form was typically used, often written cycles per second, cycles/second, c.p.s., c/s, or, ambiguously, just cycles (Cy./Cyc.). The ...
s, using 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 ...
KGAR. It was owned by Tucson Motor Services, with studios on South 6th Avenue. KGAR was the
CBS Radio
CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
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 ...
, carrying its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
s,
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
s and big band broadcasts during the "
Golden Age of Radio
The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment, entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcastin ...
."
In 1941, the
North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement
The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA, es, Convenio Regional Norteamericano de Radiodifusión) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations. These agreem ...
(NARBA) switched the station's frequency to
AM 1400
The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1400 kHz. 1400 kHz is defined as a Class C (local) frequency in the coterminous United States and such stations on this frequency are limited to 1,000 watts. U.S. stations outside t ...
, broadcasting at 250 watts. The call letters were changed to the current KTUC. It continued as a CBS news affiliate for more than half a century, even after network programming moved from radio to TV in the 1950s. At that time, KTUC switched to a
full service Full service or Full Service may refer to:
* Full-service radio, a wide range of programming
* Full Service Network, a communications company
Entertainment
* "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block''
* F ...
,
middle of the road format of popular music, news and sports.
News and Talk
In the early 1970s KTUC used the slogan "Formula 1400," which referred to its practice of airing 35 minutes of news programming and 25 minutes of music programming to round out the hour. The hour started with the news programming then went to the music programming.
In the late 1970s, the station segued to a
news/talk
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
format, airing news all day and syndicated talk shows at night. It was an affiliate of the Arizona Broadcasting System and picked up newscasts from
KTAR KTAR may refer to:
* KTAR (AM), a radio station (620 AM) licensed to Phoenix, Arizona.
* KTAR-FM, a radio station (92.3 FM) licensed to Glendale, Arizona.
* KMVP-FM, a radio station (98.7 FM) licensed to Glendale, Arizona, which formerly used the ...
in Phoenix on a phone line. By 1977, it was airing a 20-minute newsreel format, with
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
,
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and
Mutual radio newscasts all heard each hour on 20 minute intervals. ABC and Mutual were both tape-delayed.
Larry King
Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys
The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...
's Mutual Network talk show aired overnight, although those broadcasts were replaced by the short-lived
Enterprise Radio Network
Enterprise Radio Network was an all-sports radio network which operated briefly in 1981. It featured sports newscasts twice an hour, and sports talk during the evening and overnight.
Creation and programming
Enterprise Radio was created by Scott R ...
in 1981.
Tucson Toros
The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States.
The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...
baseball games were carried live, although the studio recreated road games in 1980.
It was named the AP Broadcast News Station of The Year in 1980. That year, its news staff broke the story about chemical contamination in the underground aquifers of southern Tucson, news items that prompted a major political controversy and subsequent cleanup. It also won investigative awards for breaking and following up on the story of a factory that painted glow-in-the-dark watch dials and instrument panels using tritium, a radioactive isotope that was found in school lunches prepared in a commissary across the street.
Throughout the entire period from the 1970s until the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
came into existence, KTUC was the Tucson affiliate of the
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...
radio network syndicated from
KABC radio in
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' ...
. The station also carried
California Angels
The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...
broadcasts picked up from
KMPC
KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean– ...
in Los Angeles, and would tape delay the Angels games, or air them on sister station KFMM, when the Dodgers were on the air. In the days before cable television, when baseball games could be only be seen once a week on
Major League Baseball on NBC
''Major League Baseball on NBC'' is the de facto branding for weekly broadcasts of Major League Baseball (MLB) games that are produced by NBC Sports, and televised on the NBC television network; and, as of 2022, as well as on its co-owned strea ...
, the Dodgers and Angels radio broadcasts developed a popular following in Tucson. 1970s sports director
Rory Markas
Rory Markas (December 20, 1955 – January 4, 2010) was an American sportscaster best known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's play-by-play broadcaster for eight seasons and as the radio voice of the University of Southern California men's ba ...
went to the 2002 World Series to cover the Angels for KTUC. General manager Tom Maples vowed he could sell ads for a play-by-play of two kids playing basketball with peach basket hoops. KTUC, while under Maples's leadership, aired live play-by-play of high school football and basketball games for many years sponsored by the KTUC Sports Boosters, mostly made up of small businesses throughout Tucson.
In the late 1980s, the station was the Tucson affiliate of the
Arizona State University
Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
Sun Devils radio network. In the 1990s, the station reversed affiliations and became the flagship of the
Arizona Wildcats
The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...
. KTUC also was the Tucson affiliate of the
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
radio network.
Switch from Talk to Standards
On January 21, 1998, Sloane Broadcasting bought KTUC and its FM
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
97.5 KOAZ (now
KSZR
KSZR (97.5 FM) is a radio station serving Tucson, Arizona, United States. It is licensed to broadcast from Oro Valley, Arizona, (a northern suburb of Tucson), but its reception is generally above average in most areas of Tucson. It is owned by ...
) for $6.5 million.
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-25
/ref> Sloane switched KTUC's format from talk to adult standards.
In 2001, KTUC was acquired by Citadel Broadcasting, a forerunner to today's Cumulus Media
Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...
. Citadel and Cumulus continued the adult standards format, aimed at older listeners and retirees who have settled in the Tucson metropolitan area.
References
*1992 Broadcasting Yearbook, page A-21
External links
KTUC official website
{{coord, 32, 15, 11, N, 110, 57, 44, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title
TUC
Adult standards radio stations in the United States
Oldies radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1926
Cumulus Media radio stations