KFCD

Summary

KFCD (990 AM) is a commercial radio station in Farmersville, Texas. It is owned by Linda Hammond, through licensee Farmersville Investments, LLC, and airs a Spanish-language Christian radio format. Blocks of time are sold to hosts who may use their shows to appeal for donations to their ministries. The system is known as brokered programming.

KFCD
Broadcast areaDallas-Fort Worth Metroplex
Sherman/ Denison
Frequency990 kHz
Programming
Language(s)Spanish
FormatBrokered Spanish language Christian radio
Ownership
Owner
  • Linda Hammond
  • (Farmersville Investments, LLC)
History
First air date
April 6, 1948 (as KFDX Wichita Falls)
2002; (current site, as KCAF Farmersville)
Former call signs
KFDF (April–October 1947)
KFDX (1947–1955)
KSYD (1955–1961)
KNIN (1961–1983, 1991-1995)
KGTM (1983–1990)
KKCR (1990–1991)
KWFT (1995–1998)
KTUB (1998–2000)
KXXL (2000–2002)
KCAF (2002–2004)
KMSR (2004)
Call sign meaning
FC Dallas (former team flagship)
Technical information
Facility ID43757
ClassB
Power7,000 watts day
920 watts night
Translator(s)99.9 K260CX (McKinney)

KFCD is powered at 7,000 watts by day. But at night, to avoid interfering with other stations on 990 AM, power is reduced to 920 watts. Programming is also heard on FM translator K260CX at 99.9 MHz in McKinney, Texas.

History edit

The station started out originally in Wichita Falls as K-Nine (KNIN), a popular Top 40 station during the 1960s and 1970s. After several format and call letter changes during the 1980s and 1990s, the station moved to Farmersville as KCAF Cafe 990 as a short-lived women's talk format. Two months later, it changed to conservative talk via Radio America. The name, however stayed the same. "Cafe 990" has the unenviable distinction of having the shortest run of any regular format in D/FW radio history, signing off the format after just three days, due to monetary problems involved with the owners of the station. After Cafe 990 signed off, Radio America programming resumed.

In 2004, the station changed its call letters to KMSR while maintaining its talk format, but that December, the station was re-imaged as KFCD. A year later, KFCD was transferred to the bankruptcy court appointed "debtor-in-possession" along with sister station KHSE.

Starting on January 15, 2007, the frequency began broadcasting Sports Talk radio.[1] In the opinion of Dallas Observer blogger Richie Whitt, the new format was "destined to fail".[2] While the call sign references the FC Dallas Major League Soccer team, the team's games no longer air on this station. KFCD was a network affiliate radio station for the Frisco RoughRiders, and a Class AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers major league baseball club. The station lasted with a sports talk format until October 29, 2007, when it abruptly switched to a gospel music format.[3][4]

As of November 29, 2009, KFCD became a 24-hour affiliate of the Biz Radio Network. Biz Radio was previously affiliated with KVCE 1160 which only carried a partial schedule intermixed with conservative and Pakistan/Indian talk programs. KFCD provided a stronger signal in the city of Dallas than KVCE, but signal quality is generally poorer than KVCE in Fort Worth due in part to the lower transmitter power of KFCD and location of transmission tower east of Dallas.

On January 1, 2010, KFCD returned to its prior religious and talk programming and the Biz Radio network moved to its former location at KMNY (1360 AM). Among specialty programs during this format's era was "ilume-A-Nation Radio", a weekly show hosted by Jack E. Jett, consisting of guilty pleasure songs.[5]

As of June 8, 2013, KFCD has aired a brokered format, featuring mainly Spanish language programming.

Ownership edit

On December 28, 2006, the FCC accepted a voluntary license transfer from DFW Radio License, LLC to Bernard Dallas LLC.[6] On February 27, 2007, an application was filed with the FCC to transfer the license from Bernard Dallas LLC to Principle Broadcasting Network - Dallas, LLC,[7] which has entered into a transaction to acquire the two stations from the bankruptcy court. The FCC approved the sale February 19, 2008, denying a formal Petition to Deny, filed by parties seeking to stop the sale. A series of further filings resulted in the objectors being admonished by the commission for "frivolous and obstructive pleadings" on May 28, 2009. However, the transaction was never consummated.

Effective October 30, 2015, Bernard Dallas LLC sold KFCD and sister station KHSE to Mark Jorgenson's ACM Dallas V LLC for $475,000. Jorgenson then sold KFCD to Vikram Shah Broadcasting, Inc. effective December 3, 2015 for $800,000.

Effective October 29, 2019, Vikram Shah Broadcasting sold KFCD and translator K260CX to Linda Hammond's Farmersville Investments, LLC for $2 million.

References edit

  1. ^ Wilonsky, Robert (January 15, 2007). "What's That You Say, Richie? You're On a New Sports-Talk Radio Station? Do Tell". Dallas Observer.
  2. ^ Williams, Patrick (January 18, 2007). "Radio Experiment = Failed". Dallas Observer.
  3. ^ Horn, Barry (November 5, 2007). "Hot air: Punch is a smooth operator". Dallas Morning News. Dallas-Fort Worth is down to two all-sports radio stations with the demise Monday of KFCD-AM 990's sports format. The underfinanced station with a weak signal debuted in January and never made a dent in the ratings.
  4. ^ Pulle, Matt (November 14, 2007). "Hopes for Minority-Owned Sports Radio Station Fizzle". Dallas Observer.
  5. ^ Dallas radio jock Jack E. Jett’s new show features songs so bad, they’re good - Pegasus News (published May 24, 2010, archived via WayBack Machine)
  6. ^ http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/view_auth.pl?Application_id=1148547&File_number=BAL-20060117ACU&Callsign=KFCD&Facility=43757[permanent dead link]
  7. ^ http://www.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2007/db0227/DOC-270789A1.pdf[permanent dead link]

External links edit

  • KFCD in the FCC AM station database
  • KFCD in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
  • DFW Radio/TV History
  • K260CX in the FCC FM station database
  • K260CX at FCCdata.org

33°07′01″N 96°16′47″W / 33.11694°N 96.27972°W / 33.11694; -96.27972