KGOL (1180
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 ...
to
Humble, Texas
Humble ( ) is a city located in the Greater Houston, Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an Boomtown, oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing ...
, 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 ...
.
KGOL is one of only two 50,000
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 Wa ...
AM facilities serving the Houston area, the other being
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 featur ...
station 740
KTRH
KTRH () is a commercial radio station licensed to Houston, Texas and owned by iHeartMedia that airs a talk radio format. Programming is also heard on co-owned KODA's HD 2 channel at , and the station uses the iHeartRadio platform to stre ...
, owned by
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 ...
, which runs 50,000 watts full-time. Because
AM 1180 is a
clear channel frequency reserved for
Class A WHAM in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...
, KGOL must reduce power at night to 3,000 watts to avoid interference. KGOL 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 performan ...
at all times. 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 ...
is on Route 1314 in
Porter, Texas
Porter is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County in southeastern Texas within the metropolitan area. In 2010, its population was estimated at 25,769.[Texas State Highway 99
State Highway 99 (SH 99), also known as the Grand Parkway, is a ring road in the U.S. state of Texas. Its first section opened on August 31, 1994. When the route is completed, it will be the longest beltway in the U.S., the world's seventh-lon ...]
(Grand Parkway).
History
KGOL debuted in 1983 as "1180 K-TUN", airing a
middle of the road (MOR) format of popular adult music. For a time it broadcasting in
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, United States. After having lost $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009, the company split into two independent public companies, Motorola ...
C-QUAM
Stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
. While KTUN was moderately successful in the Humble/Kingwood area, the signal was poor in most parts of Greater Houston during daylight operations, and at night was only listenable in Humble itself.
In 1986, FM
Christian radio
Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk prog ...
station KGOL, then at 107.3 in
Lake Jackson, Texas
Lake Jackson is a city in Brazoria County, Texas, United States, within the Greater Houston metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 28,177.
In 1942 a portion of Lake Jackson was first developed as a company town for wor ...
, was sold and became
Classic Rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prim ...
"Z-107" KZFX on 107.5 FM (now
KGLK). As a result, KGOL and its Christian format was moved to AM 1180, shifting the KGOL
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 assig ...
from 107.3 to 1180 in the process. KGOL's call letters stand for God Of Love.
KGOL has been a brokered facility for the majority of the last 20 years, having aired formats such as Business News "Biz Radio Network", South Asian formatted "Hum Tum City", several different variations of Spanish language talk and music, and Vietnamese programming.
In the mid-2010s, KGOL carried the
ESPN Deportes Radio
ESPN Deportes Radio was an American Spanish language sports radio network created and produced by Disney-owned ESPN. Programming included call-in talk shows and commentary from hosts about a full range of sporting events, including soccer, Amer ...
Network. In mid-September 2017, ESPN Deportes moved to
AM 1230
The following radio stations
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 br ...
KCOH, when KGOL began carrying the Entravision
Regional Mexican
Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mex ...
"La Tricolor" format. But La Tricolor lasted only a few months as Entravision made sweeping changes to its stations across the U.S. KGOL then shifted to its "La Suavecita" Spanish-language AC format.
On August 30, 2021, Entravision sold the station to FM Media Ventures, LLC, a company owned by Pakistani media and entertainment businessman Rehan Siddiqui. Siddiqui, who is the producer of "Hum Tum Radio", was recently blacklisted by the
Indian Ministry of Home Affairs due to "
terrorism
Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
" and "producing and funding anti-Indian propaganda".
[2 Indian-Origin Men In US "Blacklisted" For Anti-India Activities: Report]
/ref>
References
External links
*
Asian-American culture in Houston
Indian-American culture in Texas
Pakistani-American culture in Texas
GOL
Radio stations established in 1992
1992 establishments in Texas
{{Texas-radio-station-stub