KKPS (99.5 FM) "Fuego 99.5" 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 ...

broadcasting a Bilingual Rhythmic CHR format. Licensed to

Brownsville, Texas Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

, United States, the station serves the McAllen-Brownsville-Harlingen area. The station is currently owned by Entravision Holdings, LLC. It shares a studio with its sister stations,

KFRQ KFRQ (94.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Harlingen, Texas, United States, the station serves the Rio Grande Valley area. The station is currently owned by Entravision. It shares a studio with its sister ...

KNVO-FM KNVO-FM (101.1 FM, "La Suavecita 101.1") is a radio station licensed to serve Port Isabel, Texas, United States. The station is owned by Entravision Communications. KNVO-FM broadcasts a Spanish adult hits music format to the Rio Grande Valley a ...

, and

KVLY KVLY may refer to: * KVLY-TV, a television station (digital channel 36, virtual 11) licensed to Fargo, North Dakota, United States :See also: KVLY-TV mast, transmitter for the station and second highest man made structure in the world * KVLY (FM) ...

, located in

McAllen, Texas McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

, while its transmitter is located near

Bluetown, Texas Bluetown is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cameron County, in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 356 at the 2010 census. Prior to the 2010 census the community was part of the Bluetown-Iglesia Antigua CDP. It is part of the Browns ...

History

KRIX signed on in January 1978. The station was initially co-owned with KRIO and aired a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

format under the name "99X" through the 1980s. KRIX was sold twice in the decade, to H&H Communications in 1982 and Norman Drubner's Daytona Group in 1986. In February 1991, KRIX flipped to

Rhythmic CHR Rhythmic may refer to: * Related to rhythm * Rhythmic contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic adult contemporary, a radio format * Rhythmic gymnastics, a form of gymnastics * Rhythmic (chart) The Rhythmic chart (also called Rhythmic Airplay, a ...

as KRGY "Energy 99.5" under Sunbelt Media ownership. KRGY made an immediate dent in the ratings of established CHR station

KBFM KBFM (104.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Edinburg, Texas, carrying a bilingual English/Spanish language rhythmic contemporary format known as "Wild 104". Owned by iHeartMedia, the station serves the Lower Rio Grande Valley. KBFM ...

and boosted its own ratings from a 3.6 as KRIX in the summer of 1990 to 6.5 with the new format in 1991. Despite the improvement, KRGY relaunched again as KVSE "Sunny 99.5" on September 1, 1992. However, the format and call letters would be short-lived. On December 28, 1992, upon the acquisition of KVSE by Spectrum Broadcasting of the Valley, the station relaunched as a

Tejano Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...

-formatted station in Spanish known as ''Qué Pasa 99'' ("What's Up 99") with new KKPS call letters. In 2011, KKPS dropped most of the Tejano music content from the 1990s, thus becoming more of a

Regional Mexican Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mexico ...

radio station than just a Tejano radio station. The format change gave the American side of the Rio Grande Valley area two

radio stations, with KKPS competing against

KGBT-FM KGBT-FM (98.5 MHz) is an American radio station in McAllen, Texas owned by Latino Media Network, which offers a Regional Mexican music format. The station has had a Regional Mexican format since 1997. It is a sister to KGBT and a former sister ...

. Later in the year, the station rebranded as ''La Nueva 99.5'' ("The New 99.5"). On January 8, 2018, another name change took place, this time to ''La Tricolor 99.5''. On March 30, 2020, Entravision dropped the La Tricolor format and branding for the Fuego format and branding found on sister stations

KHHM KHHM (101.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Shingle Springs, California, and serving the Sacramento metropolitan area. It is owned by Entravision Communications and airs a Bilingual Rhythmic CHR radio format branded as "Fueg ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

and simulcaster

KCVR-FM KCVR-FM (98.9 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Columbia, California, and broadcasting to the Central Valley cities of Modesto and Stockton, in addition to the Sierra Nevada foothills surrounding Columbia, where the transmitter site is located. ...

Modesto, California Modesto () is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,464 at the 2020 census, it is the 19th largest city in the state of California and forms part of the Sacramento-Stockton- ...

, which broadcast a Bilingual Rhythmic CHR format. The change comes after the station received a 3.1 share in the Fall 2019 Nielsen Audio ratings, behind rival

, which received a 4.8 share.

References

FCC History Cards for KKPS

External links

KPS KPS Radio stations established in 1978 Entravision Communications stations 1978 establishments in Texas Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States {{Texas-radio-station-stub