KUFW (106.3 FM) is a radio station

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 ...

Kingsburg, California Kingsburg is a city in Fresno County, California. Kingsburg is located southeast of Selma at an elevation of 302 feet (92 m), on the banks of the Kings River. The city is from Fresno, and about from the California Central Coast and Sierra Ne ...

, serving the

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...

, and owned by the Cesar Chavez Foundation. Recently flipping from EMF ownership and Air 1's Christian worship music programming, it is now a member station of the

Regional Mexican Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mex ...

"La Campesina" network.

History

The station signed on in 1992, and was originally owned by the

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

(EMF), airing

contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and ...

. In 2004, EMF reached an agreement to sell the station to

Mapleton Communications Mapleton Communications (MC) was a media company. It was formed in May 2001 to acquire and operate radio stations in mid-sized markets in the western United States. Mapleton owned and operated 41 radio stations (11 AM and 30 FM) in California, ...

for $2 million; the sale contained a clause requiring the payment of an additional $500,000 fee to EMF if the station is resold within the next three years. In 2006, EMF instead sold the station to ProActive Communications for $2.75 million.

''Sexy 106.3''

After the completion of the sale, KFYE began stunting as ''Porn Radio'', playing sexually-suggestive songs (such as "

I'm Too Sexy "I'm Too Sexy" is a 1991 song by British group Right Said Fred, released as their debut single from their first album, '' Up'' (1992). It peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside the United Kingdom, "I'm Too Sexy" topped the charts ...

" and " Why Don't We Do It in the Road?"), and non-sexual songs with moaning sound effects added to them. This led into the station's relaunch as

rhythmic adult contemporary Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the classic hits and hot adul ...

''Sexy 106.3'' on August 3, 2006. The format initially featured a mix of rhythmic songs, and also included some Latin rhythmic music and

rock en español Rock en español () is a term used widely in the English-speaking world to refer to any kind of rock music featuring Spanish vocals. Compared to English-speaking bands, very few acts reached worldwide success or between Spanish-speaking countrie ...

to appeal to the local Hispanic population. On March 30, 2007, KFYE changed its calls to KSXE to match the ''Sexy'' moniker.

''Power 106.3''

On October 30, 2007, the station re-branded as ''Power 106.3'', later changing its calls to KVPW to match the new branding. The following month, MackNificent Broadcasting announced its intent to acquire KVPW. On July 14, 2008, the station switched to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as 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 hits. Rhythmic contemporary never uses ...

, maintaining the ''Power'' branding. In October 2008, MackNificent pulled out of a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...

intended to lead towards its sale. At the same time, the station dropped its airstaff. Later that month, ProActive filed for

chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

protection. ProActive market coordinator Ed Monson accused MackNificent of not paying the station's bills; MackNificent owner Greg Mack denied the claim, stating that he allowed the sale to fall through so that its owner could "work his way out of his own problems" (alluding to ProActive defaulting on its purchases of Spokane's KQQB-FM and KAZZ, which prompted the stations to be taken off the air and returned to prior ownership).

Second EMF ownership

In early-2009, EMF filed to buy back the station. In June 2009, the station was briefly taken off the air due to a lease dispute with EMF as tower owner (who claimed that it had defaulted on payments). In February 2010, a trustee filed to take the station's license. EMF consummated the purchase on June 30, 2010, and the station returned to Christian music, this time, as part of the

Air1 Air1 is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), it primarily broadcasts contemporary worship music, and is a sister to the EMF's K-Love network. History In 1986, KLRD began broadcasting Christian ...

network.

''La Campesina 106.3''

On August 21, 2019, after being on hold for three years, the deal between the Farmworker Educational Radio Network and EMF to swap KUFW Woodlake/

Visalia Visalia ( ) is a city in the agricultural San Joaquin Valley of California. The population was 141,384 as per the 2020 census. Visalia is the fifth-largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, the 42nd most populous in California, and 192nd in ...

to EMF for KVPW closed with the companies swapping programming on the two frequencies. KVPW flipped to

regional Mexican Regional Mexican is a Latin music radio format encompassing the musical genres from the different parts of rural Mexico and the Southwestern United States. Genres include banda, country en español, Duranguense, grupero, mariachi, New Mex ...

as ''La Campesina'', while KUFW flipped to K-Love and applied for the call letters KLXY. On August 29, 2019, the KUFW callsign was transferred here.

References

External links

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{{coord, 36.447, N, 119.620, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title 1992 establishments in California radio stations established in 1992 UFW (FM) Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States UFW (FM)