KQBU (920 kHz) is an AM radio station licensed to serve

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

, 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

KQBU 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., or 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 founded by ...

(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 government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(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 would come into owning KBNA as well as KBNA-FM 97.5 and

KAMA ''Kama'' (Sanskrit: काम, ) is the concept of pleasure, enjoyment and desire in Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. It can also refer to "desire, wish, longing" in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh literature.Monier Williamsका� ...

on 750 AM. In January 2009, Univision partnered with El Paso Media Group to provide an English language 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. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

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 as ...

on December 11,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. 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 KBNA-FM. 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, due to the station losing its tower site.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