KQRT (La Tricolor 105.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. The station is currently owned by Entravision Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Entravision Communications.[2] Its studios are in the unincorporated community of Paradise in Clark County near Harry Reid International Airport, and its transmitter is on the northwest edge of the Las Vegas Valley.
![]() | |
| |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Las Vegas Valley |
Frequency | 105.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | La Tricolor 105.1 |
Programming | |
Format | Regional Mexican |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
KRNV-FM, KRRN | |
History | |
First air date | September 1993 |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | For "Radio Tricolor" |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 51731 |
Class | C2 |
ERP | 50,000 watts |
HAAT | 19 meters (62 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 36°19′59″N 115°21′44″W / 36.33306°N 115.36222°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Website | elboton |
KQRT began broadcasting in 1993 as KRBO with an oldies format. From 1995 to 1999, the station was run as a news/talk outlet in a relationship with local television station KVBC. After being sold, it changed to a Spanish-language operation and adopted its present format in 2003.
History
editOn April 13, 1989, the Federal Communications Commission granted a construction permit to the Patmor Broadcast Group, a consortium of two formerly competing applicants for the frequency that included Washington lawyers, a businessman from Wisconsin, and Frank Sinatra.[3] More than four years passed before the station went on the air as KRBO in September 1993, airing an oldies format.[4]
The oldies format continued for two years before Compass Communications, owned by Gerald Proctor, took over operations of the frequency under a local marketing agreement in 1995. The station then contracted with Radio News Co., a subsidiary of Sunbelt Communications Company; local news was contributed by Sunbelt's Las Vegas television station, KVBC (channel 3). KVBC reporters were heard on the radio station, as was the TV station's 5 p.m. local newscast.[5] The reformatted station provided FM competition to KNUU (970 AM).[6] Compass then entered into an agreement to purchase KRBO-FM outright.[5] After Compass purchased the station, its ties to KVBC deepened. The station adopted the moniker "All News 3 FM"[7] and the station changed its call sign to KVBC-FM on October 25, 1996.[8] KVBC-FM continued as a news/talk station with local and national talk shows, with notable syndicated offerings including Imus in the Morning[9] and Art Bell.[10] During the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal, KVBC-FM offered Monica Lewinsky $5 million if she would do a tell-all interview with the station.[11]
While a restructuring of Compass's ownership involving Meridian Communications in 1999 was said by Proctor to give the company the potential to expand,[12] the sale of the station to EXCL Communications of San Jose, California, later that year sounded the death knell for the talk station. EXCL exclusively ran Spanish-language radio stations, and consequently, the entire air staff of KVBC-FM was dismissed in early December when the station was switched to a satellite-fed music format from EXCL's headquarters.[10] KRNV-FM in Reno, which like KVBC-FM was a news/talk station utilizing resources from Sunbelt's local TV station, was also part of the deal and was switched to Spanish-language programming from EXCL at the same time.[13] The actual sale of KVBC-FM for $3.25 million took place the next year.[14] EXCL was in turn already in the process of merging with Entravision Communications.[15]
In 2002, Entravision entered into an agreement to acquire KRCY (92.7 FM), a station rimshotting the Las Vegas market from Kingman, Arizona.[16] It then changed that station's call sign to KQRT before announcing that it would move KRRN and its Spanish-language contemporary hit radio format to 92.7 MHz, with 105.1 MHz becoming KQRT and Radio Tricolor.[17]
Programming
editKQRT was one of 14 Entravision-owned launch stations for the return of El Show de Piolín, hosted by Eddie "Piolín" Sotelo, in January 2015.[18] It also airs El Show del Ratón, which Entravision syndicates from KDLD/KDLE in Los Angeles to 11 of its La Tricolor stations.[19]
References
edit- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KQRT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "KQRT Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Archived from the original on March 3, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- ^ White, Ken (July 28, 1993). "More clips, less backslapping needed in show". Las Vegas Review-Journal. p. 5D. ProQuest 259898370.
- ^ White, Ken (October 6, 1993). "Local talent is sounding better after Mark & Brian debut". Las Vegas Review-Journal. p. 7C. ProQuest 259928474.
- ^ a b White, Ken (December 4, 1995). "News radio". Las Vegas Review-Journal. p. 1C. ProQuest 260014696.
- ^ Moore, Thomas (June 19, 1995). "FM battling AM in news radio wars". Las Vegas Business Press. p. 1. ProQuest 199303968.
- ^ "Show aims to meet non-gaming needs". Las Vegas Sun. June 13, 1996.
- ^ "KQRT Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Archived from the original on January 19, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- ^ White, Ken (July 23, 1997). "Imus program returns to Las Vegas". Las Vegas Review-Journal. p. 7B. ProQuest 260022695.
- ^ a b White, Ken (December 2, 1999). "KVBC-FM to close". Las Vegas Review-Journal. p. 7E. ProQuest 260136891.
- ^ "Street Talk" (PDF). Radio & Records. February 27, 1998. p. 28. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ "KVBC-FM Radio station preparing for expansion". Las Vegas Sun. March 11, 1999. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ Melton, Wayne (December 1, 1999). "First Spanish FM radio station to begin broadcast". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. p. 1E. Archived from the original on May 21, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. February 4, 2000. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ Yorke, Jeffrey (April 28, 2000). "Entravision Buys Z-Spanish, Files For $615 Million IPO" (PDF). Radio & Records. pp. 1, 16. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ "Inside Business". Las Vegas Review-Journal. July 17, 2002. p. 2D. ProQuest 260152244.
- ^ "Inside Business". Las Vegas Review-Journal. December 2, 2002. p. 2D. ProQuest 260155497.
- ^ Venta, Lance (December 9, 2014). "Entravision Signs Piolin in 14 Markets". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on January 24, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- ^ Venta, Lance (October 18, 2021). "Entravision Launches El Show del Raton From KDLD/KDLE Los Angeles To Eleven Additional Markets". RadioInsight. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
External links
edit- Facility details for Facility ID 51731 (KQRT) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- KQRT in Nielsen Audio's FM station database