XETRA-FM (91.1
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 ...
), branded as 91X, and sometimes identified as XTRA-FM, is an English-language
radio station
Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
licensed to
Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. It airs an
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
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, ...
. The studios and offices are on Cornerstone Court in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
's
Sorrento Valley neighborhood. The station is one of three Mexican outlets programmed by Local Media San Diego LLC, along with
XHITZ-FM and
XHRM-FM, in which an affiliated company owns a 49 percent non-voting stake. It is Mexico's first alternative radio station, and has influenced other radio stations (including
XHMORE-FM) to create the
Spanish-language rock radio format in 1994 .
As a Mexican station, XETRA-FM must carry mandated public service announcements, most of which are translated into English by 91X, electoral advertising, the
Mexican National Anthem
The "Mexican National Anthem", also known by its incipit "Mexicans, at the Cry of War", is the official national anthem of the United Mexican States. Its lyrics, composed by poet Francisco González Bocanegra after a Federal contest in 1853, ...
at midnight and 5 a.m. daily, and ''
La Hora Nacional'' on Sunday nights. The station transmits with an effective radiated power of 100,000
watt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
s.
It is considered a
border blaster, covering the majority of
San Diego County
San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...
, as well as southwestern
Riverside County, from its tower located atop Mount San Antonio in Tijuana.
History
Formation and early years
On November 20, 1968, Radiodifusora del Pacífico, S.A. de C.V., then-owner of
AM 690
The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 690 kHz: 690 AM is a Canadian and Mexican clear-channel frequency. CKGM Montreal and XEWW Tijuana share Class A status of 690 kHz.
In Argentina
* LRA4 in Salta, Salta.
* L ...
XETRA (now
XEWW), received a concession for a new FM station with the
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 ...
, XETRA-FM on 91.3 MHz. At first, the station broadcast with 3,000 watts from the AM transmitter site in
Playas de Rosarito.
Album-oriented rock (1978–1983)
In 1978, XETRA-FM's programming and sales rights were purchased by the San Diego–based Noble Broadcast Group. On September 5, 1978, XETRA-FM moved to 91.1 MHz and began broadcasting with 100,000 watts from a new transmitter site atop Mount San Antonio. The signal was aimed squarely at the San Diego
radio market. XETRA-FM programmed an
album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
US rad ...
(AOR) format. Initially, programming was recorded at the downtown San Diego studios in the
Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich Building and driven across the border to the transmitter site several times a day. That proved to be unworkable.
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
s then began commuting from San Diego to Tijuana for each shift.
In 1979, Frank Felix started consulting programming at 91X. His format was based on a highly rated concept he developed as Programming Director at
KBPI. His programming list consisted of 239
AOR tracks and deemphasized DJ personality and station promotions. "Every time a jock opens his mouth, he runs the chance of alienating someone," Felix said. "Most promotions are designed to sell a record album or record company, or to help out the sales department, none of which are my concerns. My concern is Arbitron." Ultimately, AOR would not last on 91X, and then-Executive Vice President and General Manager
John Lynch would again reformat the station a few years later.
Introduction of modern rock format (1983–1985)
On January 11, 1983, at 6 p.m., 91X followed in the footsteps of
KROQ-FM in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and flipped to the "Rock of the 80s"
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
...
format. KROQ Program Director
Rick Carroll was hired as station consultant. 91X played "
Stairway to Heaven
"Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971 on the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''), by Atlantic Records. Composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy ...
" by
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...
as the final song of the AOR format. Immediately afterward, John Lynch made the announcement of the format change, and DJ Todd Ralston went right into "
Sex (I'm a ...)" by
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
. Former 91X on-air personality Jim LaMarca recounts the transition:
:"The day 91X (then known as XETRA-FM) went "Rock of the 80s," almost no one knew it was coming, so there was no speculation. An air staff meeting was called for 3 pm. These really straight liner-card jocks were sitting around the conference room when in walks wild Rick Carroll with a cardboard box. He dumps it on the table and says, 'I'm Rick from Los Angeles and this is your new format.' The first song was played at 6 p.m. by Todd Tolkoff who was given the name Mad Max. He said, 'This is 91X "Rock of the 80s" and this is "Sex" from Berlin.' Everyone at the station (remember, he is now in Mexico 30 minutes away) thought this song was too weird. It seemed slow and goofy, but hey this was all new to us. It also took forever. Well no wonder, he was playing a long-play version so the LP should have been playing at 45 rpm. Since we had never heard the song no one knew. This happened a lot."
The "Rock of the '80s" format eventually evolved to the
alternative music Alternative music may refer to the following types of music:
*Independent music
*Alternative rock
*Alternative pop
*Alternative R&B
*Neo soul, sometimes known as alternative soul
*Alternative reggaeton
*Alternative hip hop
*Alternative dance
*Alter ...
format of today. Towards the end of the 1980s, 91X dropped the "Rock of the '80s" branding in favor of a new tagline, "The Cutting Edge of Rock." The format would remain largely unchanged.
Ownership and programming changes
John Lynch/Noble Broadcasting (1985–1996)
In 1985, Noble Broadcast Group's owner, Ed Noble, passed away. Following this, Lynch, who had continued to manage 91X's programming operations, purchased the company. Under Lynch's management, 91X was one of the top-rated and most influential alternative stations in America throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Jacor Communications (1996–1999)
On February 6, 1996,
Jacor Communications announced plans to acquire Noble Broadcast Group Inc, including the U.S. marketing and operating rights to 91X, for $152 million. The acquisition was completed later the same year; simultaneously, the Mexican concession was transferred to XETRA Comunicaciones, S.A. de C.V.
Clear Channel Communications (1999–2005)
In 1999, Jacor was acquired by
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 ...
. The modern rock format of 91X was retained, but tweaked to prevent overlap with Clear Channel's other San Diego rock outlets
KIOZ and
KGB-FM.
In 2005, the FCC amended its ownership rules to make leases of foreign stations attributable to ownership within the U.S. market they serve; this placed Clear Channel over the FCC's 8-station limit for the San Diego market. This also included
LMA deals on domestic stations. Because of this, Clear Channel was forced to spin off the operating rights to 3 of its Mexican stations.
A new entity was formed to operate XETRA-FM, along with sister stations
XHRM-FM and
XHITZ, and a wall was put up in Clear Channel's San Diego office to physically separate studios, operations, and staff of the newly formed cluster. A new entrance was built at the back of the building to access the studios for the divested stations.
Return to local ownership
Finest City Broadcasting (2005–2009)
Finest City Broadcasting, a new company under the direction of former Clear Channel San Diego VP/Market Manager Mike Glickenhaus, took over operations of three of the four Mexican stations; Clear Channel temporarily retained the fourth,
XHOCL-FM, before selling it to
MVS Radio
MVS Radio are a group of four international Spanish-language radio networks owned by the mass media conglomerate MVS Comunicaciones. The group of radio networks consists of Exa FM, La Mejor FM, Globo and MVS Noticias and are broadcast in a variou ...
. Simultaneously, the concession was transferred to a new company, Comunicación XERSA, S.A. de C.V., owned 51% by silent Mexican investors and 49% by a Mexican company owned by Finest City (Controladora Finest City, S. de R.L. de C.V.). Glickenhaus left FCB in May 2007.
Local Media San Diego acquisition (2010)
In December 2009, Finest City, faced with considerable debt and foreclosure, was forced to put the entire cluster up for sale after defaulting on a loan. On January 7, 2010, Local Media of America LLC, backed by private equity firm Thoma Bravo, emerged as the buyer in the foreclosure sale.
John Lynch, who had previously owned and operated XETRA-FM and its sister station XETRA (now
XEWW-AM), was named CEO of Local Media and took control of operations for XETRA-FM,
XHITZ, and
XHRM-FM. Lynch simultaneously owned Broadcast Company of the Americas, another cluster of border blaster stations in the San Diego/Tijuana market. Operations between the two companies were combined during this period of time, essentially creating a single larger cluster. Later the same year, the partnership dissolved and the two companies split operations. LMA then rebranded itself as Local Media San Diego LLC to reflect its focus on the San Diego market.
As of 2022, Local Media San Diego continues to operate 91X and its sister stations.
Joint operating agreement with Midwest Television (2015–2016)
On October 6, 2015, Midwest Television (owners of
KFMB and
KFMB-FM) announced that it had entered into a
joint operating agreement with Local Media San Diego LLC, forming an entity known as SDLocal, to manage their collective cluster of stations. The intent of this short-lived agreement was to "
reserve thelocal ownership and operation of San Diego's top-rated radio stations".
The agreement ended at the end of 2016.
Local Media San Diego eventually acquired KFMB and KFMB-FM outright from
Tegna, Inc. on March 17, 2020, with KFMB (AM) being concurrently divested to Clear Channel's successor,
iHeartMedia
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 ...
;
Tegna had purchased Midwest Television's stations in 2018.
Later history
In early 2019, XETRA-FM changed their slogan to "Local. Independent. Alternative." to further solidify its continued local operations, and noticeably leaned towards
AAA. However, it continued to air currents in the
alternative radio
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
...
format.
Transition to classic alternative (Since 2022)
On February 14, 2022, XETRA-FM began running an "A to XYZ" alphabetical music marathon of the station's biggest hits from its nearly 40-year run, beginning with "
A Forest" by
The Cure
The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...
, and concluding with
“Zooropa” by
U2. On the evening of February 23, following the marathon's conclusion, XETRA-FM shifted its format to one focused more on 1980/1990s classic alternative while keeping the "91X" moniker, with the new slogan "The Original"; the move was officially announced on-air at 10 a.m. the following day. The revised format continues to incorporate some current music, but otherwise de-emphasizes songs newer than the early 2000s. The "official" first song after the on-air announcement was "
Once in a Lifetime" by
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1975.[Talking Heads](_blank) .
Past programming and personalities
When
Howard Stern was hosting a
syndicated morning show on
terrestrial radio, 91X was his original San Diego
network affiliate
In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...
. He was pulled from XETRA-FM in 1997 and moved to then-
sister station
In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement.
Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...
KIOZ after Stern's discussions ran afoul of the
Dirección General de Radio, Televisión y Cinematografía, Mexico's broadcast content regulator. RTC threatened to sanction XETRA-FM for airing Stern's program, which on several occasions in late 1996 included what the Mexican government believed were anti-Mexican remarks that violated the Federal Radio and Television Law.
On December 27, 2007, Chris Cantore was let go from the alternative rocker after a decade of service.
On April 1, 2008, "The 91X Morning Show", hosted by Mat Diablo, debuted after a month-long marketing campaign that centered on the question "Who is Mat Diablo?" On May 7, 2010, the "91X Morning Show" was canceled after control of XETRA-FM was transferred to BCA.
"Music In The Morning" was hosted by Oz Medina, who previously worked as 91X's Music Director and Afternoon Host from 1987 to 1993. Medina was later replaced by Matt Stone.
Until 2008, 91X aired ''Reggae Makossa'', a program featuring
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
and roots music that is now heard on
XHUAN-FM. The program was originally hosted by Makeda Dread and Demaja Le. Demaja Le left in 1998 to program
KSDS. Makeda Dread still hosts the show.
Up until January 2012, 91X carried the syndicated ''
Loveline
''Loveline'' is a radio syndication, syndicated radio Talk show, call-in program in North America that features medical and relationship advice, often with guest appearances by actors and musicians. For most of its original run until ending in ...
'', heard on weeknights.
References
External links
The Official WebsiteAudio of 91X IDs from 1984-1989
{{DEFAULTSORT:Xetra-Fm
Radio stations in Tijuana
Modern rock radio stations
Radio stations established in 1968
1968 establishments in Mexico