KQBU (920

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one h ...

) is an AM

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 serve

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

, United States. The station is owned by 97.5 Licensee TX, LLC, an American subsidiary of

Grupo Radio Centro Grupo Radio Centro is a Mexico City-based owner and operator of radio stations. It owns 30 radio stations in Mexico and the United States, including 8 radio stations in Mexico City. History Radio Centro's origins date to 1946, when Francisco Agu ...

(GRC).

History

KWBU received its first license, as KELP, and signed on in 1947 as a 1,000 watt daytime-only station. After ownership by Paso Broadcasting Company and Trinity Broadcasting Corporation, it was sold to Gordon McLendon in 1954. McLendon added a couple of transmission towers in order to add night authority with 500 watts power, as well as to add an antenna for a new TV station, KILT. The old tower site was 4530 Delta Drive on the property used for the city of El Paso sewage treatment plant. In 1957, KELP and its TV station were sold to KELP Radio Corporation, which changed the TV station's calls to KELP-TV. Sales of KELP-AM-TV to Northern Pacific Radio Corporation (in 1961) and John B. Walton (in 1966), and of the AM station to

Clear Channel Communications 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 ...

(in 1977), followed. On August 20, 1982, KELP became KYSR. In 1987 the station became KBNA, marking its first Spanish-language format. The station was relocated to its current site in 1989-1990 by then-station engineer David Stewart and then-director of Engineering Marvin Fiedler. The phasing equipment was designed by Harry Seabrooke at Silliman and Silliman, and built by Fiedler and Stewart.

Expanded Band assignment

On March 17, 1997, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

(FCC) announced that eighty-eight stations had been given permission to move to newly available " Expanded Band" transmitting frequencies, ranging from 1610 to 1700 kHz, with KBNA authorized to move from 920 to 1680 kHz."FCC Public Notice: Mass Media Bureau Announces Revised AM Expanded Band Allotment Plan and Filing Window for Eligible Stations"
(FCC DA 97-537), March 17, 1997. However, the station never procured the Construction Permit needed to implement the authorization, so the expanded band station was never built.

Later history

Univision Radio Uforia Audio Network () is the radio broadcasting and music events division of TelevisaUnivision USA. Formerly known as Hispanic Broadcasting Corporation and Univision Radio, it is the eighth-largest radio broadcaster in the United States, and ...

would come into owning KBNA as well as

KBNA-FM KBNA-FM (97.5 Hertz, MHz ''"Ké Buena 97.5"'') is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in El Paso, Texas. The station is owned by Grupo Radio Centro and it airs a Regional Mexican radio format. KBNA-FM's transmitter is located in the Fran ...

97.5 and

KAMA ''Kama'' (Sanskrit ) means "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsकाम, kāmaMonier-Williams Sanskrit English Dictionary, pp 271, see 3rd column Kama often connotes sensual pleasure, se ...

on 750 AM. In January 2009, Univision partnered with El Paso Media Group to provide an

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to t ...

morning

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 ...

format, known as TalkBack Radio. Infighting between competing factions resulted in a host lineup change in early April 2009 and Univision canceling the talk radio format on April 15, 2009. The station was assigned the KQBU

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 ...

on December 11,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

. By 2016, KQBU was airing national programs from the Univisión América talk network. In 2016, Univision Radio exited El Paso by selling its stations to affiliates of Mexican radio broadcaster

for $2 million, with GRC taking over operations via LMA on November 8. Rafael Márquez, a United States citizen, owns 75 percent of the licensee, 97.5 Licensee TX, LLC, with the remainder being owned by Grupo Radio Centro TX, LLC. Under GRC ownership, KQBU has been a simulcast of

. On September 13, 2018, KQBU dropped the KBNA-FM simulcast and changed their format to sports, branded as "Lone Star Sports 920". On September 19, 2022, KQBU ceased operations.Lone Star Sports 920 El Paso Goes Dark
Radioinsight - September 19, 2022

References

External links

FCC History Cards for KQBU
(covering 1946-1980 as KELP)
KQBU TalkBack Radio launch announcement
{{El Paso QBU El Paso County, Texas Grupo Radio Centro Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Texas