KXXM

KXXM (96.1 FM, "Mix 96.1") is a commercial radio station in San Antonio, Texas, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It broadcasts a Spanish-language format focusing on Latin pop and English-language adult contemporary music. Its studios are located in the Stone Oak neighborhood in Far North San Antonio.

KXXM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for most FM stations. The transmitter tower is off Heuermann Road in Frederich Wilderness Park on the city's northwest side.

History

Classical and Christian

The station signed on the air on .''Broadcasting Yearbook 1966'' page B-152. Retrieved Jan. 27, 2025.
/REF> Its original call sign was KMFM. It was a stand-alone FM station in an era when most FM stations were co-owned with an AM station or newspaper. It aired a classical music format and was owned by the Pennington family, broadcasting from studios at 134 East Agarita Avenue.

In 1976, Harry Pennington, Jr. died, and his wife Rosa Lee took over the station before selling it to Classic Media in 1977. Classic built a new, 100,000 watt transmitter for the station. Six years later, the station was sold to C&W Wireless, which programmed a Contemporary Christian format known as "Son Light Radio FM 96". The call letters were changed to KSLR to match the new moniker.

Inner City Broadcasting

Inner City Broadcasting, which already owned then-Top 40 radio station KSJL 760 AM, bought KSLR in 1986. In the Spring of that same year, the two stations began simulcasting the same CHR format with an upgrade, known as "Super Q96 FM" and "Super Q76 AM". The FM station's call sign was changed to KSAQ. In 1988, the simulcast was split, with 96.1 FM becoming known by the short name Q96 FM, retaining its Top 40 format. During this time, a long segment of news known as "Cruz News" aired weekday mornings at 7 a.m. on Q96. In late-1989, the station briefly went towards rock-lean by adding alternate rock titles, but the station continued to retain most mainstream Billboard Top 40 titles and formulas in both playlist and surveys. The alternate titles were dropped in September 1990.

At midnight on February 3, 1991, the station dropped its CHR format and was changed to album-oriented rock (AOR) under the "96 Rock" name. The station filled the void left by KISS-FM's flip from AOR to oldies the previous year. It was the only FM rock station in San Antonio until KISS reverted to rock at the end of 1991.

In 1993, Inner City sold 760 AM to Clear Channel Communications and moved its format of urban adult contemporary music to 96.1 FM, with the station changing its call letters to KSJL-FM. Unlike KSJL at 760 AM, the new KSJL-FM did not use "The Touch" urban AC format from Satellite Music Networks. KSJL-FM added more mainstream Urban Contemporary tracks as well as "The Mix Show" with Ricco and D-Street, which was heard Monday through Saturday from 7 to 10 p.m.

Clear Channel Communications

In 1998, another series of shuffles occurred when Inner City sold KSJL-FM to Clear Channel for $10 million. The Mix show was dropped on July 4 of that year, and the station reverted to an urban contemporary format. The format was simulcast on a leased station, 810 AM KCHG, which would soon change its call sign to KSJL. In addition, KTXX-FM, a rimshot station located in Devine, Texas, increased its power to reach the San Antonio market. That station took the KSJL-FM call letters.

All this movement made way for a new format on 96.1 FM. On September 4, the station flipped to a modern adult contemporary-leaning contemporary hit radio (CHR) format as "Mix 96.1". On June 30, 2017, KXXM rebranded as "96.1 Now", maintaining a CHR format. The station was successful for several years. But by 2024, the ratings had begun to slip.

Spanish/English AC

On November 1, 2024, at noon, KXXM rebranded back to "Mix 96.1". This time, the station flipped to a Spanish-language format modeled after Magic 93.9 WMIA-FM, a ratings hit in Miami, owned by iHeartMedia. Mix 96.1 began playing Latin pop mixed with English-language adult contemporary hits.NOW 96.1 San Antonio Flips to Bilingual AC
/ref> It uses DJs who mostly speak Spanish, with the majority of commercials in Spanish but some airing in English. It uses the slogan "Tus Favoritas de Siempre" or "Your All-Time Favorites."

The flip left San Antonio without a Top 40 station in the market, although hot adult contemporary station 105.3 KSMG, owned by Cox Media, shifted to a more hit-oriented format a few hours later.

KXXM-HD2

KXXM-HD2 had broadcast the former "Mix" brand format that originally aired on 96.1 from 1998 to 2017. It switched to a bilingual format of classic hits known as "Retro".

References

External links

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{{IHeartMedia

1964 establishments in Texas
IHeartMedia radio stations
Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1964
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