KCTA (1030

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 ...

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

. It airs a

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

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 broadcasting, ...

and is owned by the Broadcasting Corporation of the Southwest. National religious leaders heard on KCTA include

Alistair Begg Alistair Begg (born May 22, 1952) is an American pastor of Scottish birth. He is the senior pastor of Cleveland's Parkside Church (located in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio), a position he has held since 1983. He is the voice behind ...

, Jim Daly,

Charles Stanley Charles Frazier Stanley Jr. (September 25, 1932 – April 18, 2023) was an American Southern Baptist pastor and writer. He was senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta for 49 years and took on ''emeritus'' status in 2020. He founded a ...

Chuck Swindoll Charles Rozell Swindoll (born October 18, 1934) is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher. He founded Insight for Living, headquartered in Frisco, Texas, which airs a radio program of the same name on more than 2 ...

, John MacArthur,

Adrian Rogers Adrian Pierce Rogers (September 12, 1931 – November 15, 2005) was an American Baptist pastor and conservative author. He served three terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention (1979–1980 and 1986–1988). Early life and educatio ...

and

Erwin Lutzer Erwin W. Lutzer (born October 3, 1941) is a Canadian-born evangelical Christian speaker, radio broadcaster, and author. He is the pastor emeritus of The Moody Church in Chicago, Illinois (19802016). Career Born in Saskatchewan, Canada, Lutzer ...

. KCTA's studios and offices are on South Brownlee Boulevard in Corpus Christi. KCTA is a

daytimer A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure the viability of cross ...

station. It is powered at 50,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s non-directional, the maximum for commercial AM stations. But because

1030 AM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 1030 kHz: 1030 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency. WBZ (AM), WBZ Boston is the dominant list of broadcast station classes, Class A station ...

is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A station WBZ

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, KCTA must go off the air at night to avoid interference. The station holds an unusual "limited time" license (se
FCC regulation 73.1725
which would allow operation at night during hours not used by WBZ. Since WBZ operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, there is in practice no difference between KCTA's "limited time" license and a traditional "daytime only" license. (Se

) The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is on Grace Lane in

Gregory, Texas Gregory is a city in San Patricio County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,740 at the 2020 census. Geography Gregory is located at (27.920604, –97.292480). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area o ...

History

The station

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air in . Its original

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 as ...

was KWBU and it broadcast in the daytime on 1010

kilocycle The cycle per second is a once-common English name for the unit of frequency now known as the ''hertz'' (Hz). Cycles per second may be denoted by c.p.s., c/s, or, ambiguously, just "cycles" (Cyc., Cy., C, or c). The term comes from repetitive ph ...

s. The station was co-owned by

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

and Carr P. Collins, which later formed the Century Broadcasting Company. Its studios were in the White Plaza Hotel.''

Broadcasting Yearbook ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (''B&C'', or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') was a telecommunications industry monthly trade magazine and, later, news website published by Future US. Founded in 1931 as ''Broadcasting'', subsequent mergers, acquisitions and in ...

1953'
page 282
Retrieved November 7, 2023. The station moved to 1030 kHz in 1945 under a series of Special Service Authorizations (SSAs). Two years later, Baylor University bought back the station. It attempted to move KWBU to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

in a docket that was dismissed in 1949. As the FCC continued to grant the station SSAs to operate, KWBU's license and ownership was transferred to the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 1950. It would not be until 1954 that KWBU was properly licensed. On January 1, 1957, concurrent with the sale of the station to Broadcasters, Inc., KWBU became KATR. On November 2, 1959, following a sale to Broadcasting Corporation of the Southwest, KATR became KCTA. For most of its history, KCTA has been a

Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

station.

References

External links

KCTA Radio Website
{{coord, 27, 55, 59, N, 97, 15, 35, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title CTA CTA Radio stations established in 1944 1944 establishments in Texas CTA