KXAI

KXAI (103.7 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Christian Worship format through the nationally programmed Air 1 network. The station is licensed to Refugio, Texas, United States, and serves the Corpus Christi area. KXAI is owned by the Educational Media Foundation.[2]

KXAI
CityRefugio, Texas
Broadcast areaCorpus Christi, Texas
BrandingAir 1
SloganWorship Now
Frequency103.7 MHz
Repeater(s)K224EH (92.7 MHz, Victoria)
First air dateMay 20, 1968[1] (as KCTA-FM in Sinton)
FormatChristian Worship
ERP100 kW
HAAT290.3 meters (952 ft)
ClassC1
Facility ID7084
Transmitter coordinates28°02′07″N 97°26′11″W
Call sign meaningTeXas Air1 (I resembles 1)
Former call signsKCTA-FM (1968–1970)
KOUL (1970–2013)
AffiliationsAir 1
OwnerEducational Media Foundation

History

The KXAI license went on the air as KCTA-FM 103.3, a 100,000-watt FM station licensed to Sinton, on May 20, 1968.[1] Owned by the Broadcasting Company of the Southwest alongside its Corpus Christi station KCTA (1030 AM), the station broke from simulcasting its daytime-only AM partner and became country[3] outlet KOUL on October 2, 1970.[4] An agreement was reached to sell KOUL to J. W. Brauer in 1975,[5] but the two parties mutually agreed to dismiss the sale attempt on February 12, 1976.[4] KOUL moved to 103.7 MHz in the early 1980s as part of a multi-city allocation shuffle to resolve a conflict involving allocations in Freeport,[6] and in 2005, it was approved to change its city of license from Sinton to Refugio in a move designed to allowed KTKY to upgrade its own facility.[7]

In 1997, Broadcast Corporation of the Southwest sold its three Corpus Christi FM stations and one AM to Harpole Broadcast Holdings of Texas in a $5.2 million transaction.[8] Harpole sold the three FMs to Texrock Radio the next year for $7 million.[9] 2001 saw another sale of the FMs, this time to Rodriguez Communications for $6.5 million.[10]

Sale to EMF and 2020 move to San Antonio

On April 5, 2013, Tejas Broadcasting, which had become the owner of KOUL and other stations in 2004,[11] announced it would sell KOUL to the Educational Media Foundation for $1.25 million; the deal included a $500,000 loan to Tejas that allowed it to build out two construction permits on its other stations in the market and perform deferred maintenance on the KOUL facility. On May 3, 2013, KOUL dropped its longtime country format and began broadcasting Air 1 programming, with new KXAI call letters instituted.[12] Tejas would later exit broadcasting by selling one of those stations, KMJR (licensed to Odem), to EMF in 2019 for $432,000.[13]

With EMF in control of KMJR and KXAI, the company saw an opportunity. In partnership with Emmis Communications, owner of KBPA in the Austin market, a series of applications were filed. KXAI would move from Refugio to a new city of license, Balcones Heights, and broadcast with 4,300 watts of power—a relocation into the heart of the San Antonio metropolitan area,[13] giving EMF a city-grade signal in San Antonio.[14] To make the move possible, Emmis's KBPA would slightly downgrade its facility. Meanwhile, KMJR at 98.3 would move to 103.7 using KXAI's antenna.[13] In January 2020, the relocation and other facilities changes were approved by the Federal Communications Commission.[15][14]

References
  1. "KCTA-FM" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1970. p. B-204 (404). Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  2. "KOUL Country Flips to Christian Air 1". All Access. May 6, 2013. Retrieved 2013-05-07.
  3. "Area Radio". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. February 7, 1971. p. 13. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  4. FCC History Cards for KXAI
  5. "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 8, 1975. p. 51. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  6. FCC (November 19, 1981). "FM Broadcast Station in Freeport,Tex.; Proposed Changes in Table of Assignments" (PDF). Federal Register. p. 56833 (67). Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  7. FCC (May 25, 2005). "70 FR 29984 - Radio Broadcasting Services; Refugio, Sinton and Taft, TX". Federal Register. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  8. "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. August 22, 1997. p. 6. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  9. "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. February 27, 1998. p. 10. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  10. "FMs". Broadcasting & Cable. March 11, 2001. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  11. "$20,000,000 KLTG-FM, KOUL-FM, KMJR-FM & KLHB-FM Corpus Christi (Corpus Christi, Sinton, Portland, Orem TX); and KTNZ-AM/KBZD-FM, KQFX-FM & KGRW-FM Amarillo (Amarillo, Borger, Friona TX)". RBR Epaper. October 2004. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  12. Venta, Lance (May 3, 2013). "KOUL Flips To Air1". RadioInsight. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  13. Venta, Lance (February 12, 2019). "Emmis Amends Austin Portion of Three Market Signal Modification Plan". RadioInsight. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  14. Jacobson, Adam (January 16, 2020). "EMF Frequency Change Wins Signal Alamo City Gain". RBR. Retrieved February 2, 2020.
  15. Venta, Lance (January 26, 2020). "FCC Report 1/26: Three Way Texas Allocation Change Approved". RadioInsight. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.