KLAQ

Summary

KLAQ (95.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to El Paso, Texas and airing a mainstream rock radio format. The station is owned by Townsquare Media and has studios and offices on North Mesa Street (Texas Route 20) in northwest El Paso.

KLAQ
Broadcast areaEl Paso metropolitan area - Las Cruces, New Mexico - Ciudad Juárez
Frequency95.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding95.5 KLAQ
Programming
FormatMainstream rock
SubchannelsHD2: Classic rock "Q2"
AffiliationsCompass Media Networks
Dallas Cowboys Radio Network
Ownership
Owner
KROD, KSII
History
First air date
September 15, 1978
Former call signs
KUOE (never used, 1976-78)
Call sign meaning
EL PAso Q
Technical information
Facility ID48670
ClassC
ERP88,000 watts
100,000 with beam tilt
HAAT424 meters (1391 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
HD2: Listen Live
Websiteklaq.com

KLAQ's transmitter is located in the Franklin Mountains, off Scenic Drive in El Paso.[1] The station has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 88,000 watts (100,000 with beam tilt).[2] The signal extends north to Las Cruces, New Mexico and south through Ciudad Juárez and the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Programming edit

KLAQ calls itself "El Paso's Best Rock," and frequently hosts largest events and concerts in El Paso. The station is home to the Buzz Adams Morning Show, which is syndicated to other Texas rock stations. The show is heard weekdays, with a "Best of" show on Saturday mornings. Sunday evenings feature "Q Connected - The New Music Show." KLAQ also carries Dallas Cowboys football

History edit

On September 15, 1978, the station first signed on.[3] It was owned by Rex Broadcasting, along with KROD (600 AM). When it was still a construction permit issued by the Federal Communications Commission, the unbuilt station used the call sign KUOE. Throughout its on-air history, the station's call letters have always been KLAQ and it has always carried a rock format, originally album rock.

KPAS (93.9 FM, now KINT), owned by the El Paso Broadcasting Corporation, was El Paso's original FM rock station. KLAQ's sign-on put it in competition with KPAS. But with the shift in contemporary music listening from AM radio to the FM band, KPAS switched to a Top 40 format in 1981, making KLAQ the sole rock outlet in El Paso. For a few years in the early 2000s, Mexican radio station XHEPR-FM (99.1 MHz), licensed to Ciudad Juárez, aired an English-language classic rock format that targeted the El Paso radio market.[4]

In 1989, KLAQ and KROD were acquired by D & F Broadcasting.[5] KLAQ joined the ABC Rock Radio Network.

The stations changed hands again in 1997, going to New Wave Broadcasting L.P.[6] In the 2010s, KLAQ was acquired by Townsquare Media, along with KROD.[7]

References edit

  1. ^ Radio-Locator.com/KLAQ
  2. ^ FCC.gov/KLAQ
  3. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1980 page C-222
  4. ^ Newspapers.com "Classic Rock Finds Radio Voice" El Paso Times, Feb. 22, 2000, page 21
  5. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1990 page B-301
  6. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2000 page D-435
  7. ^ "Chichuahuas and Townsquare Extend Partnership" El Paso Herald Post, Feb. 17, 2017

External links edit

  • KLAQ official website
  • KLAQ Social Networking Portal
  • KLAQ in the FCC FM station database
  • KLAQ in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

31°47′49″N 106°28′55″W / 31.797°N 106.482°W / 31.797; -106.482