KBCQ-FM (97.1 FM) is a

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting 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 rad ...

broadcasting a

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

music format licensed to

Roswell, New Mexico Roswell () is a city in and the county seat of Chaves County, New Mexico, Chaves County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 48,422 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fi ...

, United States. The station is currently owned by Majestic Communications.

History

Troy Raymond Moran received the construction permit for a new radio station in Roswell on June 29, 1976. ( Guide to reading History Cards) The new station, designated KRSY-FM and an adjunct to KRSY (1230 AM), went on the air October 5, 1977. A year later, on October 15, 1978, the station changed its call letters to KRIZ and began airing an

album-oriented rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock. US rad ...

format. Two years later, Gary Acker and his Good News Broadcasting Company acquired KRIZ, resulting in a flip to contemporary religious music and other programming from local churches. The sale of KRIZ to Acker formed half of a transaction by which Moran acquired the construction permit for channel 14 in Amarillo, Texas and Acker received the radio station as well as $325,000 in cash. Gary L. Acker sold KRIZ to Ronald Strother for $550,000 in 1984. On June 1 of that year, the station changed its call letters to KCKN and ditched its religious programming, which had not been very profitable, to adopt a 24-hour country music format; KRIZ, in contrast, only operated from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. A year later, Strother sold the station to Sudbrink Broadcasting of New Mexico for $500,000. Sudbrink traded KCKN and KBCQ (1020 AM) to National Capital Christian Broadcasting the next year in order to acquire WTLL, a television station it owned in

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

; National Capital Christian then sold the Roswell radio pair to Ardman Communications for $600,000. In April 1987, Ardman flipped the formats of the two stations: KBCQ and its

format moved from 1020 AM to 97.1 FM, while KCKN's country programming moved to 1020 AM. In 1990, the group agreed to sell its Roswell stations and WVSR-AM-FM in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in West Virginia, most populous city of the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Kanawha County, West Virginia, Kanawha County and ...

, for $5.75 million to ML Media. KCKN-KBCQ were spun off to Roswell Radio, owned by John and Trisha Dunn, in 1993 for $600,000. In 2010, Roswell Radio went into receivership. Receiver Tasha Ingalls ultimately acquired Roswell Radio's six stations in Roswell and Tucumcari in 2010 for $340,000, after having been the only bidder in the bankruptcy proceedings. A year later, the Ingalls family sold the stations for $260,000 to Majestic Communications, owned by the Matteucci family.

References

External links

{{Contemporary Hit Radio Stations in New Mexico Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States BCQ-FM Radio stations established in 1977 1977 establishments in New Mexico