KYOK (1140 AM) 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 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 ...

Conroe, Texas Conroe is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Texas, United States, about north of Houston. It is a principal city in the metropolitan area. As of 2021, the population was 98,081, up from 56,207 in 2010. Since 2007, the ...

, and serving

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...

. It is currently owned by Salt of the Earth Broadcasting and airs an

urban contemporary gospel Urban/contemporary gospel is a modern subgenre of gospel music. Although the style developed gradually, early forms are generally dated to the 1970s, and the genre was well established by the end of the 1980s. The radio format is pitched prima ...

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 ...

. KYOK broadcasts at 5,000

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s by day, using a directional antenna with its

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 ...

off Bryant Road in Conroe. But because AM 1140 is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A XEMR

Monterrey, Mexico Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

, and WRVA Richmond, Virginia, KYOK is a

daytimer A clear-channel station is an AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The system exists to ensure the viability of cross-co ...

, required to go off the air at sunset to avoid interference. Programming can be heard around the clock on KYOK's

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tra ...

, 92.3 K222CX in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

1140 history

The station signed on the air June 1, 1984, as KMUV. The station has always had a highly eastward directional signal that operates during daylight hours only. The directional signal is a result of protection that KYOK must afford the adjacent operating facility 1150 KZNE College Station, which signed on as WTAW in 1922. KYOK had a construction permit (CP) granted by the

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(FCC) to move its transmission facilities from Conroe to Katy in an effort to cover more of the Houston Metropolitan area, and introduce night time service to the 1140 facility for the first time. KYOK would have dropped from its current licensed power of 5,000 watts to 800 watts daytime. Initial authorization for KYOK night power was to be 9 watts. The CP was not built out and expired, effectively leaving KYOK in Conroe. A translator for KYOK was purchased by Salt of the Earth at 92.3 FM, licensed as K222CX in

Spring, Texas Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, part of the metropolitan area. The population was 62,559 at the 2020 census. While the name "Spring" is popu ...

. The city of license was later changed to Houston.

KYOK history

From 1954 to 1999, the KYOK calls were located at 1590. What was 1590 KATL at the time, was sold in 1954 to two Louisiana businessmen, Jules Paglin and Stanley Ray, for their "OK" group of stations targeted at African American listeners. 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 assign ...

was changed to KYOK, to reflect the new ownership and alliance. This also brought an end to 1590's relationship with the Liberty Broadcasting System. The urban contemporary gospel format featured on KYOK lasted on and off for over four decades. KYOK also aired an interspersed Urban Contemporary (or Soul) format within the same time frame. While still at 1590, from 1988 to 1992, KYOK was known as "The New YO! 1590 Raps" playing a hip hop music urban format. From the Fall of 1992 to the Fall of 1994, KYOK aired 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 as "AM 1590 The New KHYS, playing the Hits & Dusties", and was

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 ...

along with 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 98.5 KHYS. From Fall of 1994 to 1996, KYOK played

Urban Oldies 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 on ...

as "AM 1590 Solid Gold Soul". In late 1996, KYOK returned to Urban Gospel as "Gospel 1590 KYOK". This lasted until 1999, when the owners sold the 1590 facility to

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

/ ABC Radio and switched it to the national network of Radio Disney children's programming. It got new call letters

KMIC KMIC (1590 AM) is an English language South Asian music and spoken word formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Houston, Texas, serving the Greater Houston area. The station, which began broadcasting in 1947, is owned and operated by DAIJ ...

in July 1999, representing Mickey Mouse. The KYOK call sign and its Gospel format were moved to this facility, in August 1999, owned by Faith Broadcasting, Inc. Alvin "Brother Al" McCottry was 1140 KYOK's first general manager. Alan H. Lee served as the station's first program director and host of a midday talk show, also serving as its first program director. Both "Brother Al" and Alan Lee are often credited as major pioneers of the urban contemporary gospel radio sound.

Disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

s included: Michael Mosley (mornings), Ed Grice (music director and afternoons), Seneca Gilbert (promotions director and middays), Jeffrey L. Boney a.k.a. "JBoney" (on-air personality and teen talk show host), Corliss A. Rabb (weekends), Adrienne Rowe (weekends), Barry "T" Thomas (Friday Night Praise party), Nzinga Rideaux, Anthony Valery, Eric Taylor and Gene Moore, Jr. Stacy Macardell was the first sales manager with Sheronda Harrell also in sales. KYOK AMen Radio

The station was bought by Marin Broadcasting in 1992 for $175,000.Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010 page D-520
/ref> In the 2010s, it was acquired by Salt of the Earth Broadcasting, which also owns

KZZB KZZB (990 AM) is a radio station licensed to Beaumont, Texas. The station airs a Gospel music format and is owned by Martin Broadcasting, Inc.KWWJ, and

KANI KANI (1500 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format. Licensed to Wharton, Texas, United States, it serves the Houston, Texas area. The station is currently owned by Martin Broadcasting. History KANI was first proposed, and a constr ...

in the Houston market. KYOK has more than two decades as a community based Gospel station.

References

External links

KYOK Radio Official Site

{{Daytime-only radio stations in Texas YOK Radio stations established in 1954 Gospel radio stations in the United States Conroe, Texas YOK YOK