KLNZ (103.5 FM, "La Tricolor 103.5") 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 ...

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

Entravision Entravision Communications Corporation is an American media company based in Santa Monica, California. Entravision primarily caters to the Spanish-speaking Hispanic community and owns television and radio stations and outdoor media, in several o ...

Communications and is

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 ...

to the nearby suburb of Glendale. It broadcasts 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 ...

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, ...

, primarily from Entravision's California-based "Radio Tricolor" network. (Tricolor refers to the three colors on the

Flag of Mexico The national flag, national flag of Mexico () is a vertical Tricolour (flag), tricolor of green, white, and red with Coat of arms of Mexico, the national coat of arms charge (heraldry), charged in the center of the white stripe. While the meani ...

.) The

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s are near Sky Harbor Airport. KLNZ is a Class C station. It has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 48,000

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. 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 off North Tower Road in Buckeye among the

White Tank Mountains The White Tank Mountains are a mountain range in Maricopa County, Arizona. The mountains are on the western periphery of the Phoenix metropolitan area, primarily flanked by the suburban cities of Buckeye to the southwest, and Surprise to the n ...

. KLNZ broadcasts using

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 ...

technology. Its HD2

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...

rebroadcasts

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

107.1

KVVA-FM KVVA-FM (107.1 MHz, "La Suavecita 107.1") is a commercial radio station licensed to Sun Lakes, Arizona, serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. The station is owned by Entravision Communications, with studios near Sky Harbor Airport. KVVA-FM h ...

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

Adult Hits format.

History

Oldies and Smooth Jazz

FM 103.5

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 on May 18, 1994, under the

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 KTWC ("Twice 103.5"). The station aired an eclectic

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

format with music ranging from the 1950s through the 1980s. The station was owned by Newmountain II Broadcasting Co. of Phoenix. Newmountain tapped MAC America Communications, owners of KESZ and

KTVK KTVK (channel 3) is an independent television station in Phoenix, Arizona, United States. It is owned by Gray Media alongside CBS affiliate KPHO-TV (channel 5) and low-power station KPHE-LD (channel 44), a grouping known as "Arizona's Fam ...

, to build the facility and sell ad time while Newmountain handled programming. In 1996, KTWC was purchased outright by MAC America Communications (now renamed Media America). On May 17, the station switched to a

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 ...

format as KOAZ ("The Oasis"), and competed against KYOT-FM.

Wild Country

In 1997, MAC America decided to sell half its interest in the station to Owens Broadcasting, owners of heritage

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

station KNIX-FM. (Owens Broadcasting was headed by country singer and television host

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar "Buck" Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was the frontman for The Buckaroos, which had 21 No. 1 hits on the ''Billboard'' country music chart. He pioneered what came ...

.) On September 2, KOAZ switched to a more-contemporary country format, targeting a younger audience. It called itself "Wild Country" using the call sign KWCY. A large marketing campaign coincided with the change. It publicized the return of popular morning hosts Tim Hattrick and Willy D. Loon, who were at competing country station

KMLE KMLE (107.9 FM) is a commercial radio station, licensed to Chandler, Arizona, and serving the Phoenix metropolitan area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and airs a country music radio format. The studios and offices are on North Central ...

for a few years before a brief stint in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. KWCY was put up for sale in June 1998. Tim and Willy eventually became morning hosts at KNIX.

Entravision

Z-Spanish Radio Networks bought the station in late 1998. The company placed its

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

-based "La Zeta"

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 on 103.5 in December. The call letters became KLNZ.Michael Clancy, "Owner, personality shifts keeps radio dial spinning", ''The Arizona Republic'', December 26, 1998.

Entravision Communications Entravision Communications Corporation is an American media company based in Santa Monica, California. Entravision primarily caters to the Spanish language in the United States, Spanish-speaking Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic community ...

merged with Z-Spanish a year later. Its Zeta-formatted stations switched their slogan and format to "Radio Tricolor."

Previous logo

References

External links

{{Entravision Communications Hispanic and Latino American culture in Phoenix, Arizona Mexican-American culture in Arizona LNZ Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States Entravision Communications stations