KZOM (96.5

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 ...

) is a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) 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 part ...

to Claypool, Arizona. KZOM is owned by Orozco Broadcasting and programs a

Regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...

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, ...

. It has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 30,000 watts, heard in parts of the

Phoenix metropolitan area The Phoenix metropolitan area, also known as the Valley of the Sun, the Salt River Valley, metro Phoenix, or The Valley, is the largest metropolitan statistical area in the Southwestern United States, with its largest principal city being the c ...

and the

Tucson metropolitan area Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson metropolitan s ...

. Its

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 Route 651 in the

Pinal Mountains The Pinal Mountains (Yavapai: Walkame – "pine mountains", Western Apache: Dził Nnilchí' Diyiléé – "pine-burdened mountain") are a mountain range located in Gila County, Arizona. They have a maximum elevation of at Pinal Peak and a promine ...

, at in

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

(HAAT). The station was initially assigned the KIKO-FM call letters by 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 ...

on April 19,

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

History

In December 2007, 1TV.Com (John Low, president) reached an agreement to acquire KIKO (1340 AM) and KIKO-FM (then at 106.1 FM) from Shoecraft Broadcasting for a reported $1.025 million. ''

Broadcasting & Cable ''Broadcasting & Cable'' (''B&C'', or ''Broadcasting+Cable'') was a telecommunications industry monthly trade magazine and, later, news website published by Future US. Founded in 1931 as ''Broadcasting'', subsequent mergers, acquisitions and ...

'' reported that the deal called for a $50,000 escrow deposit plus $725,000 cash at closing, then an additional $250,000 upon the FCC's issuance of 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 ...

allowing 1TV.com to upgrade the facilities of KIKO-FM to Class C3 and moved from 106.1 to 97.3. The FCC granted this voluntary transfer of license on February 19, 2008. and the transfer was completed April 30, 200

The station made the move to its new frequency. On January 27, 2012, 97.3 KIKO-FM changed its format to comedy radio, comedy, branded as "Funny 97.3". The station was taken

dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...

on March 17, 2014. After being silent for nearly four months, KIKO-FM returned to the air on July 8, 2014, with an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

format, branded as "Oldies 97.3". In August 2017, KIKO-FM moved from 97.3 FM to

96.5 FM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on FM broadcasting, FM frequency 96.5 MHz: Argentina * Acqua (radio station), Acqua in Pinamar, Buenos Aires * Aire de San Javier in San Javier, Santa Fe * Arequito (radio station), A ...

. KIKO-FM was approved to change from a class C2 to a class C and increase its power from 670 watts to 34,000 watts, while decreasing height from 1,015 meters to 966 meters (3,169 ft). The upgrade allows KIKO-FM's signal to reach parts of the Phoenix and Tucson

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

s. The station was finally licensed on August 28, 2019, with a minor change to 30,000 watts with

horizontal polarization , or , is a property of transverse waves which specifies the geometrical orientation of the oscillations. In a transverse wave, the direction of the oscillation is perpendicular to the direction of motion of the wave. One example of a polarize ...

only, which allows them to run with less

transmitter power output In radio transmission, transmitter power output (TPO) is the actual amount of power (in watts) of radio frequency (RF) energy that a transmitter produces at its output. TPO is a concept related to effective radiated power (ERP), but refers t ...

at the expense of reception, especially in cars. In July 2024, KIKO-FM was sold to Orozco Broadcasting. At the same time, they acquired translator K243BN (which previously carried programing from KAIZ) as part of a settlement over interference caused by the two stations being on the same frequency, expanding the station's reach into most of the Phoenix area. On December 13, 2024, KIKO-FM changed its format from oldies to Regional Mexican, branded as "La Z 96.5" under new KZOM call letters.La Z Debuts in Phoenix
Radioinsight - December 13, 2024

References

External links

{{Spanish Radio Stations in Arizona

ZOM Zabu Zadkiel Zadkiel is a former archangel in the service of Heaven and an enemy of the Ghost Rider, named after the Zadkiel, mythical angel of the same name. Created by Jason Aaron, the character debuted in ''Ghost Rider (comic book), Ghost Ri ...

Mass media in Gila County, Arizona Radio stations established in 1991 1991 establishments in Arizona Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States