KBSZ

KBSZ (1260 kHz; "The Rattler") is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a classic rock radio format. Licensed to Apache Junction, Arizona, United States, the station is owned by 1TV.com.[1]

For the Hungarian government agency, see Transportation Safety Bureau.
KBSZ
CityApache Junction, Arizona
Broadcast areaEast Valley (Phoenix metropolitan area)
Frequency1260 kHz
Branding97.3/1260 The Rattler
SloganRocks the East Valley
Programming
FormatClassic rock
Ownership
OwnerJohn Low
(1TV.com, Inc.)
History
First air date1968 (as KSWW)
Former call signsKSWW (1968-1981)
KUUK (1981-1987)
KCIW (1987-1989)
KTIM (1989-1996)
Technical information
Facility ID11217
ClassD
Power4,500 watts day
50 watts night
Transmitter coordinates33°22′56.00″N 111°32′09.00″W
Translator(s)K247CF 97.3 FM Payson
Links
Websiterattler973.com

In 2012, KBSZ was issued a U.S. Federal Communications Commission construction permit to increase day power to 4,500 watts from its previous 3,500 watts.[2] But to protect other stations on AM 1260, it must reduce power at night to 50 watts. KBSZ uses an extremely short (85-foot (26 m)) lower efficiency fiberglass whip antenna, broadcasting a non-directional pattern day and night.

History

In Wickenburg

The Wickenburg Radio Company received a construction permit for a new radio station in Wickenburg on October 25, 1967, signing on early in 1968. KSWW broadcast as a 500-watt station during the day at 1250 kHz.[3] The majority stockholder was W. Schuyler Thurber, a former department store owner.[4]

KSWW was the second attempt to build a radio station on the frequency in Wickenburg. The first was KAKA, which had signed on August 28, 1960.[5] It was owned by Mamie Gander and Paul Mullenix; Lowell F. Beer bought out Gander in 1962.[6] However, KAKA and short-lived sister station KTPM in Sun City went into receivership and were shuttered in 1963.[7]

Thurber's share in KSWW was bought in 1972 by Joyce Stirling, but it went bankrupt in December 1979 and was silent for 16 months.[8] Lee Shoblom bought the silent KSWW for $80,000 and returned it to air on March 11, 1981, as country music station KUUK.[8] Shoblom lost out on its first attempt to acquire an FM counterpart to KUUK in 1982 when Hassayampa Broadcasting was awarded the permit.[9] However, the two stations would eventually be united. In 1983, Shoblom sold KUUK to the Wickenburg Broadcasting Company, and two years later, the same principals acquired the FM permit. On January 1, 1987, the FM station launched, and the two stations became KCIW-AM-FM with a country music format.[10] Kenyon Communications bought the stations in 1988; upon the occasion of an FM power increase to 50,000 watts, on August 2, 1989, the two stations changed to a big-band format as KTIM-AM-FM.[11]

Interstate Broadcasting Systems of Arizona acquired both stations in the fall of 1990, but the acquisition was primarily for KTIM-FM, which Interstate planned to use as an FM counterpart to its KRDS 1190 AM. On November 27, 1990,[12] KTIM-FM became KRDS-FM (today's KHOV-FM). With no plans for the AM station, Interstate sold it to Circle S Broadcasting, owned by Harold Shumway. Shumway renovated a former Big W restaurant to serve as station offices.[13] Shumway then obtained an FM construction permit for Wickenburg on 93.7 MHz and signed it on as KFMA in 1992.

On March 1, 1996, KTIM became KBSZ, call letters then in use by the sister FM station;[14] soon after, however, the FM flipped to country as KSWG.[15]

The next year, Circle S sold KBSZ to SBD Broadcasting; four years later, SBD sold the station to Richard (Pete) and Joann Peterson. The Petersons relaunched the station with entirely local programming, including Wickenburg High School football games.[16]

In Apache Junction

On November 7, 2007, the Petersons filed to move KBSZ's transmitter and city of license from Wickenburg (about 60 miles northwest of downtown Phoenix) to Apache Junction (35 miles east of downtown Phoenix), accompanied by a frequency change to 1260 kHz on the AM dial. A month later, the station was sold to 1TV.com, Inc., owned by John Low.

In 2010, KBSZ signed on from its new Apache Junction location with a Classic Hits/Oldies format targeting the residents of Apache Junction and adjacent communities.[17] After only four months, the station adopted the a talk format on September 7, before switching to an all-comedy format.[18] It was the first radio station on the frequency in Pinal County since KFAS Casa Grande signed off in the mid-1990s.

The station had used a syndicated comedy programming service known as "24/7 Comedy." When it ceased operations, the station wanted to keep its comedy format, so it switched programming to "Today's Comedy."

Around July 1, 2019, KBSZ fell silent without any explanation. On July 8, 2019, they posted a message on their website that they had ceased broadcasting the comedy format "due to circumstances beyond our control," and that they would be simulcasting sister station KIKO-FM's oldies format.[19] After nearly two weeks of broadcasting with dead air, KBSZ returned to the air with a classic rock format named "The Rattler".

Former logos

References
  1. "KBSZ Facility Record". U.S. Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  2. FCC.gov/KBSZ
  3. FCC History Cards for KBSZ
  4. "Radio Permit Sought for Wickenburg". Arizona Republic. December 14, 1966. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  5. "Wickenburg Radio Station Opening Set". Arizona Republic. August 27, 1960. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  6. "KAKA, Wickenburg Bcstg Inc., Wickenburg, Ariz" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 11, 1962. p. 121. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  7. "Actions By FCC" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 17, 1963. p. 138. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  8. Wilkinson, Bud (March 17, 1981). "Former anchor for Channel 3 now working weekends at 10". Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  9. "Wickenburg FM station wins FCC board approval". Arizona Republic. November 30, 1982. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  10. Wilkinson, Bud (November 12, 1987). "HBO mystery maze keeps viewer guessing till end". Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  11. "'Roseanne' is skipped by Emmys — rightly so". Arizona Republic. August 4, 1989. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  12. Newberg, Julie (November 10, 1990). "KGRX waves goodbye to soft sounds". Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  13. Newberg, Julie (April 3, 1993). "KMEO appearance: Wickenburg owner sets sights on big city". Arizona Republic.
  14. "KBSZ Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  15. Van Dyke, Charlie (July 27, 1996). "KSWG throws its hat into country-radio ring". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  16. Craig, Michelle (November 23, 2001). "Homegrown radio". Arizona Republic. Retrieved July 20, 2019. (Continued)
  17. Fuoco-Karasinski, Christina (2010-05-03). "Apache Junction Radio Station To Debut" (PDF). Apache Junction-Gold Canyon News. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-07.
  18. "Host Says KBSZ To Flip To Talk". All Access. September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 3, 2010.
  19. "Thank you to our loyal comedy listeners". funny1260am.com.
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