KLTW (105.3

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 ...

) is a

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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 ...

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 ...

Winnie, Texas Winnie is a census-designated place (CDP) in Chambers County, Texas, Chambers County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,162 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The town plat was filed in 1895 by the ''Gulf and Inter-st ...

and serving the

Golden Triangle Golden Triangle may refer to: Places Asia * Golden Triangle (Southeast Asia), named for its opium production * Golden Triangle (Yangtze), China, named for its rapid economic development * Golden Triangle (India), comprising the popular tourist sp ...

. It airs a

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 ...

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 and operated by

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...

. KLTW 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 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. 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 Route 73 at Azalea Drive in Winnie.

History

The

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(FCC) granted a

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to start a new FM station in

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

on July 14, 1987. The 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 KRTX and it broadcast on 104.9 MHz, with a power of 3,000

s. In November 1989, it

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. It was owned by the Breckenridge Broadcasting Company and it aired a

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. On July 19, 1996, the call sign was changed to KLTP. The call sign was changed to KLTO on August 1, 1998. In 2003, the station was acquired by Tichenor Media, which flipped it to a

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 ...

format. Tichenor was later acquired by

Univision Univision () is an American Spanish-language terrestrial television, free-to-air television network owned by TelevisaUnivision. It is the United States' largest provider of Spanish-language content. The network's programming is aimed at the L ...

, the biggest Spanish-language television network in the U.S. The station's

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 changed to Winnie, serving the Golden Triangle, including Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange. The dial position switched to 105.3. On November 8, 2004, the call sign was changed to KPTI and the station began

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

ing the

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 of its

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 ...

KPTY 104.9 FM in

Deer Park, Texas Deer Park is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The city is located in southeast Harris County. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Deer Park was 34,495. Deer P ...

. KPTI was re-constructed after being destroyed by

Hurricane Ike Hurricane Ike () was a powerful tropical cyclone that swept through portions of the Greater Antilles and Northern America in September 2008, wreaking havoc on infrastructure and agriculture, particularly in Cuba and Texas. Ike took a sim ...

in September 2008. On February 28, 2014, Excel Media purchased KPTY from

for $525,000. Excel Media changed the call sign to KXXF on March 21, 2014. Excel was owned by Jim Walton, who launched the station with continuous plays of the ''Walton & Johnson'' syndicated wake-up show, which he co-hosted. KXXF logo

On April 8, 2014, KXXF ended stunting with Walton & Johnson episodes. It switched to a Texas-focused adult hits format (encompassing country,

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

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 ...

and classic hits) and branded as "105.3 Free." It continued to carry The Walton & Johnson Show for AM

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...

. On August 16, 2017, Jim King (Jim King of the Road) was hired by John Walton to host middays on KXXF. King's show began airing in mid-September, 2017. On September 4, 2017, the station moved from adult hits to classic country while keeping the "105.3 Free" branding. Owner John Walton died on July 1, 2019. On December 1, 2019, KXXF became a classic hits station, adding more rock and pop

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 ...

to its

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

. On May 10, 2023, Excel Media and Walton's estate sold the station to

for $610,000. EMF debuted its

K-Love K-Love (stylized as K-LOVE) is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry, it primarily broadcasts contemporary Christian music. As of June 2019, the network's progr ...

programming there on June 1, 2023. The sale to Educational Media Foundation was consummated on September 19, 2023. On October 20, 2023, the station changed its call sign to KLTW.

References

External links

*
Launch of then-Party 104.9Courtesy of The Format Change ArchiveStudio 104.9 opening
{{K-LOVE LTW Radio stations established in 1990 Contemporary Christian radio stations in the United States 1990 establishments in Texas Educational Media Foundation radio stations K-Love radio stations