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KROD

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Coordinates:31°54′56″N106°23′33″W/ 31.91556°N 106.39250°W/31.91556; -106.39250
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the El Paso, Texas talk radio station. For other uses, seeKrod (disambiguation).
KROD
Broadcast areaEl Paso metropolitan area
Frequency600kHz
BrandingSports 600 ESPN
Programming
FormatSports
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
KLAQ,KSII
History
First air date
June 1,1940
Former frequencies
1500 kHz (1941–1948)
Call signmeaning
Dorance D. Roderick (original owner)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID14908
ClassB
Power5,000watts
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Websitekrod.com

KROD(600kHz) is acommercialAMradio stationinEl Paso,Texas,United States.It airs asportsformatand is owned and operated byTownsquare Media.The offices and studios are located on North Mesa Street (Texas State Highway 20) in Northwest El Paso.

KROD broadcasts at 5,000wattsaround the clock. At night, when radio waves travel farther, it uses adirectional antennato avoid interfering with other stations onAM 600.It is the West Texas primary entry point station for theEmergency Alert System.Thetransmitteris located off Dyer Street (U.S. Business Route 54) in far north El Paso.[2]

Programming

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The station is anetwork affiliateofESPN Radio.KROD breaks from ESPN Radio on weekday afternoondrive timefor "KROD Sportstalk with Steve Kaplowitz". The station carriesPacific Coast Leaguebaseball games as theflagship stationof theEl Paso Chihuahuas.[3]It also broadcasts theEl Paso Rhinosin theWestern States Hockey League,UTEP Miners football,UTEP Miners men's basketball,UTEP Miners women's basketball,theNFL on Westwood OneandTexas Longhorns football.[4]

History

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Early years

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Aconstruction permitfor KROD was issued in 1936, to operate on 1500 kHz, then a local channel, with 100 watts full-time.[5]The stationsigned onthe air on June 1, 1940, as El Paso's second radio station afterKTSM,which was established in 1929.[6]Thecall signKRODstood for Dorrance D. Roderick, the station's original owner and the publisher of theEl Paso Timesnewspaper. The studios were at 2201 Wyoming Street, now the home of Channel 38KSCE.KROD was aCBS RadioNetwork affiliate,carrying its schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,soap operas,game showsandbig bandbroadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio".

A short time after going on the air, KROD increased its power to 250 watts and had a construction permit to move to 600 kHz. The move to AM 600 was coupled with an increase in power to 1,000 watts by day, 500 watts at night. A new fourtower arraywas constructed during 1941.[7]The 600 kHz transmitter was on Dyer Street in Northeast El Paso, where the Sunrise Shopping Center now stands. The transmitter moved to 10420 Dyer in the late 1960s.

Adding TV and FM stations

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By 1950, KROD had increased its power to 5,000 watts full time. An advertisement in the 1953Broadcasting Yearbooksaid that KROD had the "greatest coverage of any radio station in El Paso," with the biggest audience, the largest dollar value and unrivaled local programs.[8]In 1952, a television station was added, Channel 4 KROD-TV (nowKDBC-TV). Because KROD was a CBS affiliate, KROD-TV also aired CBS programming.

As network programming moved from radio to television, KROD began playing music. In 1959, KROD-AM-TV were acquired by Trigg-Vaughn Stations, with Cecil Trigg serving as President.[9]KROD moved to afull servicemiddle of the road(MOR) format of popular music, news and sports. The station used the catch phrase "The Big 600". The station also airedUniversity of Texas at El Paso(UTEP) sports, specifically,NCAA Division I Men's FootballandNCAA Division I Men's Basketball,for much of its history. This is depicted by the KROD banners in the movieGlory Road.

Channel 4 was sold to theDoubleday Broadcasting Companyin 1973, changing its call letters to KDBC-TV, while KROD was sold to Desert Horizons, Inc. In 1978, KROD added an FM station, 95.5KLAQ.[10]While KROD continued its MOR format, KLAQ began by playingprogressive rockmusic, later switching toalbum rock.

Oldies, talk, sports

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In the 1980s, KROD switched tooldiesmusic. New Wave Communications acquired KROD and KLAQ in 1995, switching AM 600 to atalkandsportsformat. In 1999, KROD and KLAQ changed hands again, this time to Regent Communications, Inc.[11]

On January 18, 2011, KROD dropped its talk programming, changing to all sports, with programming fromESPN Radio.KROD and KLAQ were also acquired byTownsquare Media.[12]

References

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  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for KROD".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^Radio-Locator.com/KROD
  3. ^"Dodgers Radio Network".Los Angeles Dodgers.RetrievedJanuary 28,2010.
  4. ^"KROD to broadcast Texas Longhorn football games".El Paso Times.
  5. ^Broadcasting Yearbook.Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. February 1937. p. 108.
  6. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1941 page 160
  7. ^"Digging Dividends from Isolation (advertisement)".Broadcasting and Broadcast Advertising.21(20). Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc.: 48 November 17, 1941.
  8. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1953 page 286
  9. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1960 page A-233
  10. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 page C-222
  11. ^Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010 page D-524
  12. ^"Chichuahuas and Townsquare Extend Partnership" El Paso Herald Post, Feb. 17, 2017
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31°54′56″N106°23′33″W/ 31.91556°N 106.39250°W/31.91556; -106.39250

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