KMVK (107.5
FM, "La Grande 107.5"), 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 radi ...
licensed
A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit).
A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
to
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. Accord ...
and serving the
Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The station is owned and operated by
Audacy, Inc.
Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
KMVK broadcasts in
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
and airs a
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 was compelle ...
featuring
Regional Mexican music. The station's studios are located along
North Central Expressway
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.
Etymology
The word ''north'' i ...
in
Uptown Dallas
Uptown is a PID (public improvement district) and a dense neighborhood in Dallas, Texas. Uptown is north of and adjacent to downtown Dallas, and is bordered by US 75 ( Central Expressway) on the east, N Haskell Avenue on the northeast, the Katy ...
and the
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...
site is in
Cedar Hill.
KMVK has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 17,000 watts. Its signal is limited in that most Dallas-Fort Worth area FM stations run at 100,000 watts, but KMVK broadcasts from a tall tower at 574.2 meters (1,884 feet) in height above average terrain (HAAT), which helps improve coverage in the surrounding suburbs of Dallas and Fort Worth. The station broadcasts in
HD; its HD-2 signal carries a
Tejano music
Tejano music ( es, música tejana), also known as Tex-Mex music, is a popular music style fusing Mexican and US influences. Typically, Tejano combines Mexican Spanish vocal styles with dance rhythms from Czech and German genres – particular ...
format known as "Fierro", while
Latin pop music is heard on its HD-3 signal, known as "Dale!."
History
KNOK/KDLZ
On February 18, 1965, 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 ...
the air as KNOK-FM, an
R&B and
Soul music
Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became ...
station. It
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, simulta ...
ed its AM
sister station KNOK (now
KHVN
KHVN (970 AM) is a radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. It airs an African American targeted all-news radio format, simulcast with co-owned KKGM ...
), with both stations owned by the Chatham Corporation. The station was later sold to
Black Enterprise
''Black Enterprise'' is a black-owned multimedia company. Since the 1970s, its flagship product ''Black Enterprise'' magazine has covered African-American businesses with a readership of 3.7 million. The company was founded in 1970 by Earl ...
magazine founder
Earl G. Graves Sr. under the company name EGG Dallas Broadcasting Inc. (EGG are Graves' initials). KNOK-FM originally broadcast with 100,000 watts but from a tower only 450 feet in
height above average terrain
Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site is above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it i ...
. In 1985, the station became KDLZ while retaining its R&B format. The coverage area was increased and the studios were moved to Cedar Hill after the original studios in Fort Worth were destroyed by fire.
EZ 107.5/The Oasis
In December 1988, Gilmore Broadcasting purchased KDLZ. On December 23 of that year, Gilmore picked up the
easy listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
format and KMEZ
call letters
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 ...
from 100.3 FM (now
KJKK
KJKK (100.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Dallas, Dallas, Texas and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs an adult hits radio format known as "Jack FM." The stati ...
) and moved them to 107.5. The station was then sold to Granum Communications in 1991; on July 4 of that year, Granum flipped the station and format to KCDU ("CD 107.5") with a short-lived
classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...
format. A
Smooth Jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s.
History
Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...
format began on November 2, 1992, moving over from 106.1 FM (now
KHKS
KHKS (106.1 FM) is a Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex radio station broadcasting a Top 40 (CHR) format, licensed to Denton, Texas, and is under ownership of iHeartMedia, (formerly Clear Channel Communications). It is known as " Kiss FM". The statio ...
). The smooth jazz station took the call letters KOAI as "The Oasis." (The
KMEZ call letters are now assigned to a
station, which airs an
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary, often abbreviated as urban AC or UAC, (also known as adult R&B,) is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have hip hop music ...
format.) In 1996, KOAI was one of three radio stations that fell victim to the radio tower collapse in
Cedar Hill on October 12 of that year. KOAI, as well as sister stations KRBV (now
KJKK
KJKK (100.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Dallas, Dallas, Texas and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs an adult hits radio format known as "Jack FM." The stati ...
) and KYNG (now
KRLD-FM
KRLD-FM (, "105.3 The Fan") is a commercial radio station licensed to Dallas, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. KRLD-FM is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs a sports radio format. The station's studios and offices are located a ...
), scrambled to get their stations back on the air through an auxiliary tower. "The Oasis"' ratings seemed to escape unscathed in the Fall ratings book that year, but the fate was not as good at the other two stations.
MOViN/Mega era
"107.5 The Oasis" remained on air until October 2, 2006, at 5 p.m., when KOAI flipped to
Rhythmic Adult Contemporary
Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the classic hits and hot adul ...
as "MOViN' 107.5." "The Oasis" then moved to 107.5 HD-2 (and today, is on an HD sub-channel of
KVIL
KVIL (103.7 FM, ''Alt 103.7'') is a commercial radio station dual-licensed to Highland Park and Dallas, Texas. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. The station's studios are located along ...
). The station's logo and branding was identical to
MOViN' radio station KVMX (now
KXJM) in
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
(then owned by CBS Radio, but is now owned by
iHeartMedia). The initial format change to "MOViN'" caused a lot of criticism by listeners of "The Oasis", many of them demanded that the smooth jazz format be reinstated on the traditional signal. On October 9, 2006, KOAI changed call letters to KMVK to match the "MOViN'" branding.
On February 17, 2009, at Noon, after playing "
Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
" by
Madonna, KMVK flipped to a Spanish
Hot adult contemporary
Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quiet ...
format as "Mega 107.5." In 2010, KMVK shifted to a Spanish
rhythmic contemporary format (similar to its MOViN' predecessor) with a few English-language hits. It competed head-on with
KESS-FM (''La Kalle 107.9'') for over two years, until that station's owner,
Univision Radio, switched it to a simulcast of
KDXX, leaving KMVK the only
Latin Pop-formatted station in the Metroplex for a short time. In late June 2012, it gained another competitor from Univision Radio with
KDXX.
By mid-summer 2012, the Metroplex had three Spanish-language CHR stations and three English-language CHR outlets, with one of those English-language stations targeted towards Latino listeners. The former "La Kalle 107.9" from
Univision Radio changed KESS (now
KFZO
KFZO (99.1 FM "ZonaMX 99.1") is a commercial radio station licensed to Denton, Texas and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. The station airs a Regional Mexican radio format and is owned and operated by Latino Media Network. The stati ...
) to "Radio H2O" in late June 2012.
KTCY (previously owned by
Liberman, now owned by
EMF) was one of its short-term competitors until February 8, 2013, when that station's format was changed.
On March 8, 2012, the station's website displayed a message stating "Todo va a cambiar!" (Translation: Everything will change!), hinting at a possible format flip in the near future. However, the next morning, it was nothing more than a
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time (DST), also referred to as daylight savings time or simply daylight time (United States, Canada, and Australia), and summer time (United Kingdom, European Union, and others), is the practice of advancing clocks (typicall ...
announcement.
On May 21, 2012, CBS hinted at a possible format flip on either KMVK or
KRLD-FM
KRLD-FM (, "105.3 The Fan") is a commercial radio station licensed to Dallas, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. KRLD-FM is owned by Audacy, Inc., and airs a sports radio format. The station's studios and offices are located a ...
to "AMP Radio", much like its
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
CHR/Top 40
Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...
sister station
KAMP-FM, having registered three web domains. This format change instead happened four years later in 2016, when sister
KVIL
KVIL (103.7 FM, ''Alt 103.7'') is a commercial radio station dual-licensed to Highland Park and Dallas, Texas. It is owned by Audacy, Inc. and it serves the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in North Texas. The station's studios are located along ...
evolved to Top 40, though they would flip to Alternative the following year.
107.5 today
On July 26, 2013, KMVK did flip formats, though to a
Regional Mexican format as "La Grande 107.5", making it the third format flip since 2006. The Latin pop format is now heard on the KMVK's third HD Radio sub-channel.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom (now known as Audacy). The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.
Months after, Entercom struck a new content deal with
NBCUniversal
NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States.
NBCUniversal is primaril ...
-
owned-and-operated stations
KXAS-TV
KXAS-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States, broadcasting NBC programming to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division along ...
(
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
) and
KXTX-TV
KXTX-TV (channel 39) is a television station licensed to Dallas, Texas, United States, broadcasting the Spanish-language Telemundo network to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is owned and operated by NBCUniversal's Telemundo Station Group ...
(
Telemundo
Telemundo (; formerly NetSpan) is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises, a division of NBCUniversal, which in turn is owned by Comcast. It provides content nationally with pr ...
). The latter will partner with KMVK to bring enhanced Spanish-language news, weather and entertainment information to its listeners, in addition to the current Regional Mexican music format.
KMVK HD channels
In early 2006, 107.5 HD2 began as a
Traditional Jazz
Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a reviva ...
format to complement "The Oasis" before the station's smooth jazz format was relocated to the sub-channel.
On November 11, 2015, KMVK-HD2 began airing a
Tejano format under the name "Fierro".
[http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=10 HD Radio Guide for Dallas-Ft. Worth]
In early February 2016, KMVK launched an HD-3 subchannel, originally named "Mega 107.5 HD3" using the slogan "Numero Uno En Exitos" (English translation: "Number One in Hits"), broadcasting a
Latin Pop format that previously aired on KMVK's main frequency from 2010 to 2013. As of 2018, the channel was renamed "Dale!" (Spanish for "Go ahead") while keeping the current Latin Pop format.
References
External links
*
DFW Radio Archives DFW Radio/TV History
{{Entercom
MVK
Radio stations established in 1965
1965 establishments in Texas
Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States
Audacy, Inc. radio stations