KTSM (690 kHz) 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 to El Paso,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and airs a

talk radio 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 ...

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

. The studios are on North Mesa Drive in west central El Paso. KTSM broadcasts with 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 around the clock. Because the station operates on 690 kHz, a

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and

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

clear-channel frequency, KTSM uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performanc ...

with a four-

tower array A tower array is an arrangement of multiple radio towers which are mast radiators in a phased array. They were originally developed as ground-based tracking radars. Tower arrays can consist of free-standing or guyed towers or a mix of them. Tower ...

to avoid interfering with other stations at the same dial position. 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 off O'Brian Street near U.S. Route 54 in north east El Paso.

Programming

KTSM has one local show on weekdays, ''Talk El Paso with Andrew Polk'', heard in afternoon

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cl ...

. The rest of the schedule is made up of

nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...

talk shows, mostly supplied by

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a wholly owned subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. ...

, a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...

of iHeartMedia: '' The Glenn Beck Program,

The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show ''The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show'' is an American radio program hosted by former Fox Sports Radio personality Clay Travis and former '' America Now/The Buck Sexton Show'' host Buck Sexton. It is broadcast on over 400 talk radio stations ...

, The Sean Hannity Show, The Jesse Kelly Show, The Mark Levin Show,

Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 1 ...

with

George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is syndicated to hundreds of radio stations in ...

'' and '' This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal''. Weekends feature a mix of local and syndicated shows on money, health, technology, travel, home repair and the law. Weekend programs include '' The Kim Komando Show, Bill Handel on The Law,

At Home with Gary Sullivan ''At Home with Gary Sullivan'' is a weekly home improvement talk radio program hosted by Gary Sullivan. The program is distributed by Premiere Networks Premiere Networks (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American medi ...

, Beyond the Beltway with Bruce DuMont, Sunday Nights with Bill Cunningham, The Travel Show with Larry Gelwix'' and '' Somewhere in Time with Art Bell''. Some weekend hours are paid brokered programming. Most hours begin with an update from

Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...

History

Early years

KTSM is the oldest radio station in El Paso, signing on the air on . At first, it was powered at only 100 watts, broadcasting on 1310

kilocycle The cycle per second is a once-common English name for the unit of frequency now known as the hertz (Hz). The plural form was typically used, often written cycles per second, cycles/second, c.p.s., c/s, or, ambiguously, just cycles (Cy./Cyc.). T ...

s, and sharing time with another radio station, KDAH. Eventually, the Tri-State Broadcasting Company owned both stations. They were consolidated under the KTSM

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 ...

, which represents the words "Tri-State Media". The original studios were in the historic Hotel Paso del Norte on Sheldon Court at South Santa Fe Street. With the enactment of the

North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA, es, Convenio Regional Norteamericano de Radiodifusión) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations. These agreem ...

(NARBA) in 1941, KTSM's frequency was shifted to 1380 kHz. Daytime power was increased to 1,000 watts, and 500 watts at night, when radio waves travel farther. KTSM was a

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...

Network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or ...

, airing its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio drama ...

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

s and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s ...

broadcasts during the "

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

TV and FM stations

In 1953, KTSM added a television station, Channel 9 KTSM-TV, the second TV outlet in El Paso. Because KTSM radio was a CBS affiliate, KTSM-TV also began carrying CBS TV shows. As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950s, KTSM 1380 switched to a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * Ful ...

, middle of the road format, including popular adult music, news and sports. In 1962, an FM station was added. 99.9

KTSM-FM KTSM-FM (99.9 MHz, "Sunny 99.9") is a commercial radio station in El Paso, Texas. It airs an adult contemporary radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on North Mesa Street (Texas State Highway 20) in West Cen ...

began broadcasting with 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, separate from the AM station. The FM transmitter was co-located with the TV tower.

News and talk

In 1975,

NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first tw ...

established an

all-news radio All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news. All-news radio is available in both local and syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news stations can run t ...

network known as the "News and Information Service" (NIS). KTSM 1380 was one of the stations to join NIS, while also keeping its CBS News affiliation as well. The network failed to gain enough affiliates and was discontinued at the end of 1977. For several years, KTSM did its own all-news programming, using the services of CBS and NBC for world and national news, and a staff of local reporters for El Paso and Texas news. Over time, talk shows were added until KTSM became a

station.

Switch to AM 690

In 1947, KEPO signed on the air in El Paso at 690 kHz.Broadcasting Yearbook 1948 page 232
/ref> It was powered at 5,000 watts and was owned by H.J. Griffith, who served as station president. It later switched its call letters to KHEY, airing a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

format for many years. In 1998,

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 ...

acquired both KTSM-AM-FM and KHEY-AM-FM. Under Clear Channel management, the two AM stations' frequencies were switched in 2000. KHEY, which had still been playing country music on the AM dial, was moved to AM 1380. KTSM and its talk format took over the AM 690 frequency, giving it wider coverage. AM stations lower on the dial have a bigger range, plus AM 690 is powered at 10,000 watts, while AM 1380 broadcasts at 5,000 watts by day, 500 watts at night. The new 1380 KHEY flipped to a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on ...

format. Clear Channel Communications was renamed

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 ...

in 2014.

References

External links

News Talk 690 - Official Website
{{News/Talk Radio Stations in Texas TSM News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Texas IHeartMedia radio stations