San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
, broadcasts at 1130 KHz. The station is licensed for 10,000
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 of power from a directional antenna system, but has been operating since 2016 with 2,500 watts non-directional from a different site. It is owned by Hi-Favor Broadcasting, and airs a
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 ...
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
format branded "Radio Inspiración".
History
Early years
The station began broadcasting January 24, 1947, and held the call sign KYOR.History Cards for KSDO fcc.gov. Retrieved May 26, 2019. It was owned by Silver Gate Broadcasting, and ran 250 watts during daytime hours only.
In 1949, the station was sold to San Diego Broadcasting for $75,000, and its call sign was changed to KSDO. The new owners were required to divest themselves of one station, so KSDO suspended operations.KYOR–KUSN Action , '' Broadcasting – Telecasting''. July 11, 1949. p. 79. Retrieved May 26, 2019. The station had a permit to increase daytime power and add nighttime operations, and San Diego Broadcasting intended to surrender the license of AM 1510 KUSN once construction of KSDO's new facilities was complete. In 1950, the station resumed operations, with its daytime power increased to 5,000 watts and nighttime operations added, running 1,000 watts.
In 1959, the station was sold to Gordon Broadcasting for $500,000. The station aired a
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 ...
format in the 1960s.
News talk era
By the early 1970s, KSDO had adopted
news-talk
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featu ...
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum (radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began wi ...
''. September 27, 1971. p. 54. Retrieved May 28, 2019. In 1972, the station was sold to Generation II Radio San Diego, a subsidiary of Firestone Communications, for $2.5 million. In 1976, the station was sold to Pacific and Southern, a subsidiary of
Combined Communications
Tegna Inc. (stylized in all caps as TEGNA) is an American publicly traded broadcast, digital media and marketing services company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia. It was created on June 29, 2015, when the Gannett Company split into tw ...
, for $1,576,000.
Gannett
Gannett Co., Inc. () is an American mass media holding company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.
Laurence Gross
Laurence Gross (1931 - 2003) was a television and radio broadcaster in San Diego. Initially a radio talk show host in Denver and San Diego, he was later the entertainment critic at large on KNSD. In Denver, he helped launch the radio career of A ...
hosted a midday talk show on KSDO from 1975 to 1983. From 1986 to 1997, former San Diego mayor
Roger Hedgecock
Roger Allan Hedgecock (born May 2, 1946) is an American politician and conservative talk radio host, who served as 30th mayor of San Diego between May 1983 and December 1985. His show is syndicated by Radio America.
Early life
Hedgecock was bor ...
San Diego Reader
The ''San Diego Reader'' is an alternative press
Alternative press may refer to:
Individual publications
* ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine
Alternative journalism
* Alternative media
** Alternative media (U.S. pol ...
''. April 10, 1997. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
Michael Reagan
Michael Edward Reagan (born March 18, 1945) is an American political commentator, Republican strategist, and former radio talk show host. He is the adopted son of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan and his first wife, actress Jane Wyman. He ...
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
''. January 30, 1992. Retrieved May 29, 2019. It was an affiliate of NBC Talknet in the 1980s. Syndicated hosts on KSDO over the years included
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American conservative political commentator who was the host of '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nationally syndicated on AM and FM r ...
Larry King
Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys, an Emmy and 10 Cable ACE Awards. Over his career, he hosted over 50,000 interviews. ...
, and
Tom Leykis
Tom or TOM may refer to:
* Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name)
Characters
* Tom Anderson, a character in ''Beavis and Butt-Head''
* Tom Beck, a character ...
. It was also the flagship station of the
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...
during its "
Air Coryell
In American football, Air Coryell is the offensive scheme and philosophy developed by former San Diego Chargers coach Don Coryell. The offensive philosophy has been also called the "Coryell offense" or the "vertical offense".
With Dan Fouts as qua ...
" years. As a talk station, KSDO's ratings were consistently among the top ten stations in San Diego, through 1996.Duncan, James H. San Diego: 12+ Metro Share , ''An American Radio Trilogy 1975 to 2004''. Volume 1: The Markets. Duncan's American Radio. Retrieved May 29, 2019.
In 1996, Gannett traded KSDO and five other stations to Jacor Communications for
WTSP
WTSP (channel 10) is a television station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, United States, serving the Tampa Bay area as an affiliate of CBS. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on Gandy Boulevard on St. Petersburg' ...
CBS 10 in Tampa. In 1997, Roger Hedgecock and Rush Limbaugh were moved to KOGO, and the station switched to a financial news-talk format, with programming from
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to:
People
* Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer
* Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian
* Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and m ...
and ''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
''.
Ray Lucia
Raymond Joseph Lucia, Sr. is an American former Certified Financial Planner, former Registered Investment Advisor, author, radio personality and television host. He is host of ''The Ray Lucia Show'', a nationally syndicated radio and television f ...
hosted middays, later moving to mornings. Syndicated talk shows aired at night. In 2000, syndicated talk programs replaced most financial programming. Hosts included
Michael Savage
Michael Alan Weiner (born March 31, 1942), known by his professional name Michael Savage, is a far-right author, conspiracy theorist, political commentator, activist, and former radio host. Savage is best known as the host of '' The Savage Na ...
,
Phil Hendrie
Philip Stephen Hendrie (born September 1, 1952) is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting ''The Phil Hendrie Show'', a ...
, Lionel, and Larry King. That year, the station was sold to Chase Radio Properties. In late 2001, financial talk programming began to again make up the bulk of the station's daytime schedule.
Spanish Christian era
In 2003, the station was sold to Hi-Favor Broadcasting for $10 million.Arnold, Thomas K. The Insider , ''
San Diego Magazine
''San Diego Magazine'' is a multi-platform media company covering food, arts and culture, travel, health and wellness, social progress, and life in San Diego County. Its flagship monthly magazine has won multiple regional and national awards. The ...
''. May 2003. Retrieved May 29, 2019. The station adopted a Spanish language Christian format as an affiliate of
Radio Nueva Vida
Radio Nueva Vida (''New Life'') is a Spanish-language Christian radio network based in Camarillo, California, United States. It is owned and operated by The Association for Community Education, Inc., a California non-profit 501(c)(3) organization ...
. In December, the station disaffiliated from Radio Nueva Vida, but continued to air a Spanish-language Christian format as Radio Inspiración.
In 2016, Hi-Favor Broadcasting obtained a Special Temporary Authority (STA) from the FCC to broadcast with 2,500 watts from a single non-directional wire dropped from a cable hung from the tower of
KLSD
KLSD (1360 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in San Diego, California. It is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts a talk format branded "The Patriot AM 1360". The radio studios and offices are on Granite Ridge Drive in the Serra Mesa neighbo ...
radio, while a search is conducted for an alternate site. The STA has been extended twice each year since it was originally granted.KSDO SAN DIEGO CA US AM BROADCAST 1130 kHz FCCdata.org, March 24, 2020