KHOV-FM is a radio station on 105.1

MHz 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 u ...

Wickenburg, Arizona Wickenburg is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, Maricopa and Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapai counties, Arizona, United States. The population was 7,474 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, and was estimated to be 7,920 in 2022. H ...

, serving the

Phoenix metropolitan area The Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the c ...

. It is owned by

TelevisaUnivision TelevisaUnivision (formerly known as Univision Communications) is a Mexican-American media company headquartered in Miami and Mexico City that owns American Spanish language broadcast network Univision and free-to-air channels in Mexico such as ...

through its Uforia brand and carries a simulcast with sister station

KHOT-FM KHOT-FM (105.9 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Paradise Valley, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. It airs a regional Mexican radio format, and is owned by TelevisaUnivision, calling itself "Que Buena 105.9 y 105 ...

, playing the

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.

History

KHOV-FM began in 1983 with the callsign KHBC, broadcasting at 105.5 MHz and named for initial owners Hassayampa Broadcasting Corporation. On January 1, 1987, it became KCIW-FM, the FM counterpart to sister station KCIW at 1250 kHz. The

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 ...

format of the station continued in 1989 with a callsign change to KRDS-FM. In 1990, KRDS-FM changed formats to

Contemporary Christian Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

. KRDS-FM moved from 105.5 to 105.3

and increased its signal from a class A to class B. On March 21, 1997, the format was changed to

Adult Standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

with a change of call sign to KMYL-FM to complement their "Music of Your Life" slogan and simulcast of KMYL 1190 AM. In 2000, it switched to Spanish hits. In 2001, the station was acquired by Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation, and flipped to a simulcast of

. On January 2, 2013, KHOV-FM switched from a simulcast with KHOT-FM to a simulcast with

KQMR KQMR (100.3 FM) is a radio station in Globe, Arizona, United States, owned by TelevisaUnivision and licensed to Univision Radio Illinois, Inc. The station was assigned the KQMR call sign by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Se ...

, in order to provide coverage of its "La Kalle" Latin Pop format in the West Valley. On September 28, 2014, KQMR/KHOV-FM rebranded as "100.3 Latino Mix". In 2016, KHOV-FM applied for an FCC

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

to move to 105.1 MHz, increase ERP to 46,000 watts and decrease HAAT to 410 meters. KHOV-FM began transmitting from these upgraded facilities on October 20, 2016. On December 20, 2016, Univision announced that KHOV-FM would soon split from its simulcast and become one of the charter affiliates of

Univision Deportes Radio TUDN Radio (formerly Univision Deportes Radio) is a U.S. Spanish-language sports radio network operated by Uforia Audio Network, a division of TelevisaUnivision. It launched on March 15, 2017 on ten AM and FM radio stations, most of which pre ...

, their new Spanish-language sports network launched in April 2017. The station began to air games of the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

and

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

professional teams. On July 20, 2019, Univision Deportes Radio rebranded as TUDN Radio.

In January 2021, KHOV-FM returned to simulcasting KQMR's Latin Pop format. It split from the simulcast to air

games. On May 24, 2023, KHOV-FM split its simulcast with KQMR, and resimulcasted with former partner and Regional Mexican sister station

, making the two stations rebranded as ''Qué Buena 105.9 y 105.1,'' and making the two stations having full coverage of the Phoenix area, with this station covering the western parts of Phoenix.

References

External links

{{Univision Communications Univision Radio Network stations HOV-FM Radio stations established in 1988 1988 establishments in Arizona Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States Spanish-language radio stations in Arizona