KTTO (970

kHz 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 uni ...

) is an

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

station in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...

, serving the

Spokane metropolitan area The Spokane–Spokane Valley Metropolitan Statistical Area, as defined by the United States Census Bureau, is an area consisting of Spokane and Stevens counties in Washington state, anchored by the city of Spokane and its largest suburb, Spokan ...

. The station is currently owned by Sacred Heart Radio, Inc. It airs a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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, ...

with most programming provided by the

EWTN Radio The Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) is an American basic cable television network which presents around-the-clock Catholic programming. It is the largest Catholic television network in America, and is purported to be "the world's larges ...

Network. KTTO's

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 located off East Thurston Avenue in Spokane. Programming is also heard on FM

translator station A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

K291CO, powered at 155 watts, broadcasting at 106.1

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 ...

History

The station first

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 ...

as KREM in 1946. It originally broadcast at 1340 kHz, at a power of 250 watts. KREM was owned by Cole E. Wylie, who served as president and general manager. By the 1950s, it had moved to its current spot on the dial, AM 970, powered at 5,000 watts by day, 1,000 watts at night. In 1955, it put Spokane's first FM station on the air, 92.9 KREM-FM (now

KZZU-FM KZZU-FM (92.9 MHz 92.9 ZZU) is a commercial FM radio station in Spokane, Washington. The station airs an adult top 40 radio format which the station describes as "Today's Modern Hit Music". KZZU-FM is owned by Morgan Murphy Media, with the ...

). They were joined by

KREM-TV KREM (channel 2) is a television station in Spokane, Washington, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside CW affiliate KSKN (channel 22). The two stations share studios on South Regal Street in the Southgate ...

in 1954. In the 1950s and 1960s, when few people owned FM radios, KREM-FM

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) ...

the AM station's programming. In 1957, KREM-AM-FM-TV were acquired by

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

-based

King Broadcasting Company King Broadcasting Company is an American former media conglomerate founded in 1946 by Dorothy Bullitt. The company was owned by the Bullitt family until it was sold to the Providence Journal Company in 1991; it is currently a subsidiary of T ...

. In the 1960s, KREM became a

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

station, vying with

KJRB KJRB (790 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Spokane, Washington, Spokane, Washington (state), Washington. KJRB is owned by Stephens Media Group (broadcasting), Stephens Media Group, through licensee SMG-S ...

for Spokane's young radio listeners. KREM-FM switched to a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

sound in the late 1960s. On October 16, 1987, the station changed its

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 ...

to KHIT, playing hits of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. On February 22, 1988, it became KTRW, playing

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 ...

. The

KTRW KTRW (630 Hertz, kHz) is a locally owned AM radio, AM radio station city of license, licensed to Opportunity, Washington, and serving the Spokane metropolitan area. It airs a Christian talk and teaching radio format for part of its day, with ad ...

call letters are now on a

Christian radio Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

station at

AM 630 The following radio stations Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the rad ...

. On September 29, 2005, it switched to the current KTTO. On November 20, 2015, 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 ...

granted KTTO a

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 increase daytime power to 5,300 watts and decrease nighttime power to 750 watts. In 2017, KTTO added an FM

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

at 106.1

References

External links

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FCC History Cards for KTTO
Radio stations established in 1947 1947 establishments in Washington (state) TTO TTO Catholic radio stations {{Washington-radio-station-stub