KTJM (98.5 MHz) 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 ...

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 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 ...

Port Arthur, Texas Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County, Texas, Orange County; it is east of Housto ...

. It is owned by Estrella Media and airs 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 Mex ...

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 ...

. The

studio 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 design ...

s and offices are located at 3000 Bering Drive in

Southwest Houston Southwest Houston is a region in Houston, Texas, United States. The area is considered to be from Texas State Highway 6, south of Westpark Tollway to north of U.S. Route 90. Many Section 8 (housing) complexes are located in Southwest Houston. ...

. Programming is

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, simul ...

with

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 ...

101.7 KNTE

Bay City, Texas Bay City is a city in Matagorda County, Texas, United States. The population was 17,614 at the 2010 census and 18,061 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Matagorda County. The current mayor is Robert Nelson. Geography According to ...

. KTJM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

(ERP) of 100,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s, the highest permitted for non-

grandfathered A grandfather clause, also known as grandfather policy, grandfathering, or grandfathered in, is a provision in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations while a new rule will apply to all future cases. Those exempt from t ...

FM stations in the U.S. 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 ...

is on Cleveland Street in

Devers, Texas Devers is a city in Liberty County, Texas, United States. The population was 447 at the 2010 census. Geography Devers is located at (30.026379, –94.591642). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all lan ...

. The

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specific ...

gives KTJM a

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 ...

(HAAT) of . With the tall tower located roughly halfway between Houston and Beaumont, KTJM is able to cover both radio markets.

History

The station

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature, placing one's name on a document * Signature (disambiguation) * Manual communication, signing as a form of communication using the hands in place of the voice * Digital signature A digi ...

in 1963 as KPAC-FM, owned by Port Arthur College,

ing

1250 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1250 kHz: 1250 AM is a Regional broadcast frequency. Argentina * Estirpe Nacional in San Justo Canada Mexico * XEDK-AM in Guadalajara, Jalisco * XETEJ-AM in Tejupilco, Mexico ...

KPAC. It operated with a 960-watt signal on a 500-foot tower it shared with 1250 AM. Afterwards, KPAC-FM became an

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

Beautiful Music Beautiful music (sometimes abbreviated as BM, B/EZ or BM/EZ for "beautiful music/easy listening") is a mostly instrumental music format that was prominent in North American radio from the late 1950s through the 1980s. Easy listening, elevator mu ...

station, playing instrumental

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of popular songs, as well as

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

show tunes. The station changed its

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 ass ...

to KHYS in 1978, flipping to an

album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. Album-orient ...

format after the AM and FM pair were bought by

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

based-

Clear Channel Communications 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 ...

. In the mid 1980s, the format changed again, this time to

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 ...

as "Y98.5, The Best Variety Of Hits and Dusties." In 1988, a 2,000-foot tower was built near Devers for the station. The format changed to

Urban Contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

, using the moniker "Kiss 98.5." That put KHYS in head-to-head competition with

KMJQ KMJQ (102.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Houston, Texas. Owned by Urban One, "Majic 102" has an urban adult contemporary radio format. KMJQ is co-owned with 97.9 KBXX and 92.1 KROI, with studios and offices located in the Greenway Plaza ...

, "Majic 102". KYOK 1590 AM flipped from Gospel to Rap as "Yo 1590 Raps!" in February 1991, leading KHYS to change back to "Y98.5", with the slogan "Y98.5 Is Back, playing the best variety of Hits and Dusties." In 1993, 103.3

KJOJ-FM KJOJ-FM (103.3 MHz) was a radio station licensed to Freeport, Texas, United States, operating as a rimshot into the Greater Houston area. It was last owned by Estrella Media and operated in tandem with KTJM (98.5 FM) in Port Arthur, with its ...

and 1590 KYOK began simulcasting "Y98.5". KJOJ-FM continued to simulcast with 98.5 until December 2020. The station would play Smooth Jazz on Sundays. The station started playing

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 ...

on Sundays. It proved so popular that on March 8, 1995, the simulcast flipped full time to

, known as "Smooth FM 98.5 and 103.3". On February 24, 1997, after stunting with continuous play of the song ''

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

'' by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

, the station's format changed to

Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and upbeat R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

as "Kiss 98-5, Kiss Again 103-3". The stations targeted the Hispanic youth market by playing heavy doses of Latin Freestyle and

House music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by Disc jockey, DJs and music producers from Chicago metropolitan area, Chicago' ...

, mimicking the style of

WPOW WPOW (96.5 FM) – branded Power 96 – is a commercial rhythmic top 40 radio station licensed to Miami, Florida. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Miami-Dade County, the Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area, and much of surroundin ...

Power 96 in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. In June 1998, the "Kiss 98-5, Kiss Again 103-3" format was tweaked again to rival 104.1

KRBE KRBE (104.1 FM) is a commercial radio station in Houston, Texas. It is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a Top 40 (CHR) radio format. The studios are located in Suite 700 of the Chase Building at 9801 Westheimer Road in the Westchase D ...

, by playing Rock and Pop based Top 40. On January 1, 1999, the station jumped on the

Rhythmic Oldies Rhythmic oldies is a radio format that concentrates on the rhythmic, R&B, disco, or dance genres of music. Playlists can span from the 1960s through the 2000s and, depending on market conditions, may be designed for African-American or Hispan ...

bandwagon as "98.5 The Jam". The call letters were changed to KTJM to match the new branding, becoming only the third set of call letters assigned to the facility since its sign on. From 1999 to 2001, the station's moniker changed to "Houston's Jammin' Oldies," then to "Houston's Jammin' Hits", accompanied by a slight tweak in the

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sev ...

each time. In July 2001, the station flipped to the current

"La Raza" format after being bought by Liberman Broadcasting. In 2019, Liberman ran into financial problems and declared

Chapter 11 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code (Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, wheth ...

. After reorganization, the corporate name changed to Estrella Media.

References

External links

LaRaza Radio of Houston
* {{Liberman Broadcasting Mexican-American culture in Houston TJM Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1977 Estrella Media stations