KKGM (1630 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 ...

licensed 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. According ...

, and serving the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, owned and operated by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

. The station broadcasts an African American targeted news format, as one of two local affiliates, along with

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 ...

(AM 970), of the national

Black Information Network Black Information Network (BIN) is a radio network and content brand owned by iHeartMedia. Launched on June 30, 2020, it is an all-news radio network of stations targeting the African American community, carrying mostly important national news hea ...

History

KKGM 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, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with

in Fort Worth authorized to move from 970 to 1630 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. An application for the new expanded band station was filed in 1997, which was issued a Construction Permit the next year. This was assigned the call letters KBCM on March 6, 1998, which was changed to KOME on January 15, 1999, and to KNAX on March 20, 2001. The station began regular service in July 2002, initially with a Spanish religious format as "Radio Christiana"' The FCC's initial policy was that both the original station and its expanded band counterpart could 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 multiple times, and both stations have remained authorized. One policy the FCC has generally enforced is that the original stations and their expanded band counterparts must remain under common ownership, so in subsequent sales the two stations have been paired together. KNAX applied for a move to

Euless Euless ( ) is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, United States, and a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. Euless is part of the Mid-Cities region between Dallas and Fort Worth. In 2020 Census, the population of Euless was 61,032. The population of t ...

and for call letters "KHEV", but went with KKGM instead in 2004 with a

Southern Gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, as ...

format. KKGM later switched to an all-talk format in 2011 as "Better Life Radio" with a mix of

christian talk 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 program ...

and

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

programming, including the controversial

Alex Jones Alexander Emerick Jones (born February 11, 1974) is an American far-right and alt-right radio show host and prominent conspiracy theorist. He hosts ''The Alex Jones Show'' from Austin, Texas, which the Genesis Communications Network broadcas ...

show, before changing back to a mix of Southern Gospel music along with featured talk a year later. On December 2, 2020,

announced its purchase of KKGM and

from

Mortenson Broadcasting Mortenson Broadcasting was an independent media company based in Lexington, Kentucky. Mortenson primarily owned Christian radio stations in several market areas. Mortenson Broadcasting Company began with the vision of Jack M. Mortenson and his ...

for $950,000, including its translators, K221GV (92.1 MHz) and K237HD (95.3 MHz). This included a

Local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...

(LMA) that took effect on January 2, 2021, continuing until full consummation. The purchase allowed iHeartMedia to max out its DFW cluster threshold of allowable station holdings. On December 24, it was announced that both stations would become affiliates of the

on January 2, 2021, ending the black gospel formats.Dallas' BIN 1630 - Official Website
/ref> On January 2, 2021, KKGM (erroneously identified as "KKMG" during top of hour legal IDs) and KHVN began stunting with African American speeches, interspersed with messages such as "Our Voices Will Be Heard" and "Our side of the story is about to be told," with the new

(BIN) format officially launching on January 4 at Noon. The purchase was consummated on March 31, 2021.

References

External links

KKGM official website

DFW Radio/TV History
{{coord, 32, 48, 35, N, 97, 07, 24, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title KGM Radio stations established in 2002 KGM 2002 establishments in Texas Black Information Network stations IHeartMedia radio stations