KGSR (93.3 FM, "Vibe 93.3") is a radio station

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) 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 part ...

Cedar Park, Texas Cedar Park is a city and a suburb of Austin, Texas, Austin in the U.S. state of Texas, approximately northwest of the center of Austin. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 77,595, and in 2022 ...

, and serving the

Austin-Round Rock metropolitan area The Austin–Round Rock–San Marcos metropolitan statistical area, or Greater Austin, is a five-county metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Texas, as defined by the Office of Management and Budget. The metropolitan area is situated in Ce ...

. Owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc.

d/b/a A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...

Waterloo Media Group, it broadcasts a

rhythmic adult contemporary Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic contemporary, rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the cla ...

format. KGSR's studios and offices are located off

Interstate 35 Interstate 35 (I-35) is a major Interstate Highway in the central United States. As with most primary Interstates that end in a five, it is a major cross-country, north–south route. It stretches from Laredo, Texas, near the Mexican bo ...

in North Austin, and its

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 ...

site is located off Route 206 in

Bertram Bertram may refer to: Places *Bertram, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Australia *Bertram, Iowa, United States, a city *Bertram, Texas, United States, a city *Bertram Glacier, Palmer Land, Antarctica Other uses *Bertram (name), a list of peo ...

. KGSR broadcasts in the

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

format - its HD2 subchannel broadcasts a freeform format inspired by the ''

Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...

'' television series and

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

. KGSR-HD3 broadcasts ''The Party'', a

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

format launched in September 2021 before rebranding on January 18, 2022. KGSR-HD4 broadcasts ''Latino 97.1'', a Bilingual AC format launched in October 2024.

History

KLEN-FM and KIXS-FM

KGSR signed on in August 1961, as KLEN-FM, owned by Clear Channel Campuses and Highlite Broadcasting. Its original

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

was Killeen, Texas, serving the Killeen-Fort Hood area. KLEN-FM was co-owned with KLEN-AM (was KRMY until 2023). Since KLEN-AM was a daytime-only station, KLEN-FM allowed listeners to hear the station at night after the AM transmitter had signed off. In 1973, the stations were acquired by Accent Radio, which switched them to a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

format, and changed the call signs to KIXS and KIXS-FM in June 1973. In 1986, the two stations were acquired by Duffy Broadcasting, which asked the FCC for a major power increase for the FM station.

Top 40 and Smooth Jazz

On October 2, 1986, KIXS-FM upgraded its signal to 100,000 watts, allowing it to move in to the more lucrative Austin

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

while still covering Killeen. It would then relaunch its Top 40 format with the new

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 ...

KBTS, "B93", in December, and was an immediate success. However, four years later, B93 came into common ownership with competing top 40 station

KHFI KHFI-FM (96.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Georgetown, Texas, and serving the Greater Austin market. Owned by iHeartMedia, it airs a contemporary hit radio format, branded as "KISS-FM". It shares studios and offices with other ...

, with KBTS flipping to

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

as KMMX ("Mix 93.3"). Right before the switch in December 1991, an Urban/Rhythmic format was tried until "B93" ceased to exist in February 1992. Stunting went on for a few months after, until KMMX went on the air in May 1992. In 1993, the station was bought by LBJ, Inc. for $2.5 million. The company was owned by the family of former President

Lyndon Baines Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after assassination of John F. Kennedy, the assassination of John F. Ken ...

and also owned

KLBJ (AM) KLBJ (590 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 i ...

and

KLBJ-FM KLBJ-FM (93.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station in Austin, Texas. It broadcasts an Mainstream Rock radio format billed as "The Rock of Austin." It is owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc. (unrelated to television broadcaster Sinclair Broadcast Gro ...

. Shortly after the sale, the station flipped to an All-

1970s File:1970s decade montage.jpg, Clockwise from top left: U.S. President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office following the Watergate scandal in 1974; The United States was still involved in the Vietnam War ...

hits format as KHHT. That was followed in 1996 by KAJZ, playing

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

. Two years later, the station flipped to

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

as KLNC.

Rhythmic KXMG and KDHT

On August 3, 2001, the station tried to appeal to Austin's growing Hispanic community with a dance format as KXMG, known as ''Mega 93.3''. It was also at this time that the

changed to Cedar Park. The stations were part of a larger cluster co-owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc. (d/b/a Sinclair Communications; unrelated to television broadcaster

Sinclair Broadcast Group Sinclair, Inc., doing business as Sinclair Broadcast Group, is a publicly traded American telecommunications conglomerate that is controlled by the descendants of company founder Julian Sinclair Smith. Headquartered in the Baltimore suburb o ...

, who owns CBS station KEYE), and LBJ Holdings Co. (owned by

Luci Baines Johnson Luci Baines Johnson (born July 2, 1947) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the younger daughter of U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his wife, former First Lady Lady Bird Johnson. Early years Born in Washington, D.C., ...

, the daughter of former President

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States, serving from 1963 to 1969. He became president after the assassination of John F. Kennedy, under whom he had served a ...

and

Lady Bird Johnson Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Johnson (; December 22, 1912 – July 11, 2007) was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 as the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson. She had previously been Second Lady of the United States from 1961 to 196 ...

). In 2003, the

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

-based

Emmis Communications Emmis Corporation is an American media conglomerate based in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Emmis, based on the Hebrew word for "Truth" (''Emet'') was founded by Jeff Smulyan in 1980. Emmis has owned many radio stations, including KPWR ...

acquired the LBJ Holdings controlling stake in the stations. KXMG would shift to a hip hop-leaning

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

format, changed call letters to KDHT, and rebranded as ''Hot 93.3''.

Adult Alternative KGSR

On November 17, 2009, KDHT began stunting, leading to speculation that it would flip to 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. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

format. However, on November 20, Emmis revealed that the

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...

format heard on KGSR in Bastrop would move to the more powerful signal on 93.3. The two stations simulcast for a 10-day period until December 1, when KGSR's former 107.1 FM signal switched to a

regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

format as

KLZT KLZT (107.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Bastrop, Texas, United States, the station serves the Austin area. The station is owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc. (not related to television broadcaster Sin ...

. On December 13, 2010, KGSR began simulcasting on FM translator K274AX (102.7 FM). This lasted until October 20, 2011, when K274AX switched to a

comedy radio Radio comedy, or comedic radio programming, is a radio broadcast that may involve variety show, sitcom elements, sketches, and various types of comedy found in other media. It may also include more surreal or fantastic elements, as these can be c ...

format, relaying KGSR-HD3. The comedy format proved to be quite successful in the Austin

Arbitron ratings Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

, peaking with a 3.8 share. For a time, it was believed to be the highest-rated HD Radio-fed FM translator station in the United States. On May 30, 2013, K274AX began relaying KLZT-HD2's

Spanish-language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

hits format as ''Latino 102.7''.

Austin City Limits Radio

On September 5, 2018, KGSR began promoting a major announcement to come at 5:00 pm the following day. At the same time, Sinclair closed on its purchase of translator 97.1 K246BD and began simulcasting KGSR on that frequency. At the promised time, after playing "

Changes Changes may refer to: Books * '' Changes: A Love Story'', 1991 novel by Ama Ata Aidoo * ''Changes'' (The Dresden Files) (2010), the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a 1983 novel by Danielle Steel * ''Chan ...

" by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, the two stations re-launched as ''Austin City Limits Radio'', co-branded with the ''

'' television series and

under a multi-year licensing agreement. The station shifted to an "aesthetic" focus on musicians associated with the television series and festival rather than falling within a strictly-defined

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 ...

, with a broad mix of music that can range from

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana music, a genre or style of American music * Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1981 film), an American drama film * ''Americana'' (20 ...

and country music, to

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

and

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

, as well as contemporary

hip-hop music Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music Music genre, genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African Americans, African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide r ...

and

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

. The first song played under the new branding was

Willie Nelson Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...

's recording of " Whiskey River"—the first song to be performed on ''Austin City Limits''. Tom Gimbel, general manager of the ''Austin City Limits'' program, stated that the new format reflected the listening habits associated with online music streaming platforms, explaining that "people are not tying themselves to Triple A or hip-hop or rock or country. They're all over the map. I think we're going to see a lot of people in Austin listening the same way."

Adult contemporary: ''Star'', ''Austin'', and ''Lucy''

On March 7, 2019, KGSR began running promos directing ''Austin City Limits Radio'' listeners to the 97.1 signal. The next day, KGSR flipped to

soft AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, ...

as ''Star 93.3'', launching with 9,300 songs in a row. The station primarily targeted women in the 35-54 age demographic, and carried the syndicated ''

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ; ) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved by Samson, a Nazirite who possesses great strength and serves as t ...

'' in evenings. The previous ''Austin City Limits Radio'' format continues to air on KGSR-HD2 and the 97.1 translator. In June 2019, Emmis announced that it would sell its stake in the Austin joint venture to Sinclair for $39.3 million. Sinclair will operate the stations under the licensee Waterloo Media. On February 14, 2020, the station segued back to

hot AC Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, ...

while maintaining the ''Star 93.3'' branding, but with the new slogan "Nothing But the Hits". On September 18, 2020, KGSR flipped back to

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 ...

as ''93.3 Austin'', with the first song being " WAP" by

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

featuring

Megan Thee Stallion Megan Jovon Ruth Pete (born February 15, 1995), known professionally as Megan Thee Stallion, is an American rapper and singer-songwriter. Megan initially gained recognition when videos of her freestyling began to circulate widely on social me ...

. After recording only a 1.0 share in

Nielsen Audio Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

ratings during its first month on-air, the station segued back to hot AC again on November 18, maintaining the existing ''93.3 Austin'' branding and airstaff. On January 4, 2021, KGSR rebranded once more to ''Lucy 93.3'', maintaining the hot AC format. The new brand was a nod to Luci Baines Johnson, daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson, whose family owned the group of stations that would later include KGSR. ''Lucy'' was positioned as a female counterpart to sister adult hits station

KBPA KBPA (103.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Austin, Texas, United States. Owned by Sinclair Telecable and operated under the name Waterloo Media, it broadcasts an adult hits radio format. Its radio studios and offices are loca ...

(''Bob FM''). The move marked KGSR's fourth change in branding or format in just shy of a year. On August 21, 2021, KGSR added ''

Elvis Duran and the Morning Show ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show'' (formerly known as ''The Z Morning Zoo'') is an American syndicated weekday morning radio program hosted by Elvis Duran. The show originates from the studios of Newark-licensed WHTZ in New York City, a To ...

''. Duran was part of the station in the early 1990s (as Top 40/CHR KBTS) as both the station's morning show host and program director.

''Latino 93.3''

On July 12, 2023, at 9:33 am, KGSR shifted to a Spanish-language CHR format focused on

bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a musical genre which originated in the Dominican Republic ** Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music ** Bachata (dance), a dance form * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bach ...

Latin pop Latin pop () is a pop music subgenre that is a fusion of US–style music production with Latin music genres from anywhere in Latin America and Spain. It originates with List of countries where Spanish is an official language, Spanish-speaking ...

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ) is a modern style of popular music, popular and electronic music that originated in Panamanian reggaetón, Panama during the late 1980s, and which rose to prominence in the late 1990s and early 2000s through a plethora of Puert ...

, and

tropical music Tropical music () is a term in the Latin music industry that refers to music genres deriving from or influenced by the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean. It includes the islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean ...

as ''Latino 93.3'', reviving a format heard on K274AX/

-HD2 from 2013 to 2021, then briefly again from January to June 2022.

''Vibe 93.3''

On August 30, 2024, KGSR's Spanish CHR format moved to translator K246BD (97.1 FM) and KGSR-HD4 as ''Latino 97.1'', displacing the "Austin City Limits" branding and AAA format, which moved online. Concurrently, KGSR flipped to

, branded as ''Vibe 93.3''. In October 2024, the ''Latino 97.1'' subchannel flipped to a mix of

and English-language adult contemporary in the vein of

WMIA-FM WMIA-FM (93.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to Miami Beach, Florida. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia, the station carries a Spanish-language format featuring a mixture of Latin pop and English-language adult contemporary hits. Its studios ...

; the change was undone in February 2025, with the station reverting to its previous Spanish CHR format.

References

External links

* * * ( Guide to reading History Cards) {{Authority control 1961 establishments in Texas Cedar Park, Texas Radio stations established in 1961 GSR Rhythmic adult contemporary radio stations