KNSN (AM)

KNSN
San Diego, California;
Broadcast area	San Diego, California
Frequency	1240 kHz
Branding	"K-Brite"
Programming
Format	Christian radio
Ownership
Owner	Crawford Broadcasting; (Kiertron, Inc.);
Sister stations	KBRT
History
First air date	1947 as KSON
Former call signs	KSON (1947–1996); KDDZ (1996–1997); KSON (1997–2009)
Call sign meaning	ESNE Radio (previous branding)
Technical information
Facility ID	30831
Class	C
Power	550 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates	32°41′39″N 117°7′17″W / 32.69417°N 117.12139°W
Translator(s)	103.3 K277DG (San Diego)
Links
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	KBriteRadio.com

KNSN (1240 kHz, "K-Brite") is an AM radio station licensed to San Diego, California, United States. The station is owned by Crawford Broadcasting, through licensee Kiertron, Inc. It airs a brokered Christian radio format, mostly simulcast with co-owned AM 740 KBRT in Costa Mesa. Programs include half-hour weekday shows from Charles Stanley, Joyce Meyer and David Jeremiah. Studios for KBRT and KNSN are on Airway Avenue in Costa Mesa.^[2]

KNSN is powered at 550 watts, day and night, with its transmitter off Newton Avenue in San Diego, at the intersection of Route 15 and Interstate 5.^[3] It shares that tower with AM 1040 KURS. Programming on KNSN is also heard on 15 watt FM translator station K277DG at 103.3 MHz in San Diego.^[4]

History

The station signed on in 1947 as KSON.^[5] KSON used a 250-watt RCA transmitter with a tower that was 250 feet tall. The station was owned and operated by Fred Rebal.

Through the 1960s, 70s and 80s, KSON was a country music station, mostly simulcast with 97.3 KSON-FM, now heard on 103.7 MHz. In 1985, KSON-AM-FM were acquired by Jefferson Pilot Broadcasting. On July 24, 1996, the AM station's format was changed to children's radio, as KDDZ, with the call sign standing for "Kids."^[6] It started as a KidStar Radio Network affiliate. But that network was short-lived and merged with Radio Disney.

During a heavy rain and wind storm near the end of December 2004, approximately half of the radio antenna tower collapsed and fell, leaving the tower at a height of about 200 feet. It had been 442 feet tall.

Later, KNSN was a gospel music radio station, having that format from January 2007 until July 2007. The station was sold to Multicultural Broadcasting Inc., owned by Arthur Liu, on June 1, 2009.^[7]^[8] In the early 2000s, it shifted to a Spanish-language Christian radio format.

On May 22, 2014, Crawford Broadcasting announced it would acquire KNSN for $1.5 million through licensee Kiertron, Inc.^[9] The sale was consummated on July 25, 2014, with the Spanish Christian programming shifting to 1040 KURS.^[10] KNSN went silent in late-July 2014 in preparation for a new format under Crawford Broadcasting ownership. KNSN returned on September 29, 2014. The format ended up being the previous religious format, this time in English. It is mostly a simulcast of co-owned AM 740 KBRT in Costa Mesa, California.

In 2017, a 15 watt FM translator station was added, 103.3 MHz K277DG. It shares the same broadcast tower as the AM signal. The translator is often cut off as distant station KRUZ, the dominant station at 103.3, often hashes out K277DG's signal in tropospheric ducting.

References

External links

K-Brite
The Soul of San Diego (website of previous gospel format)
Facility details for Facility ID KNSN ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
{{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's AM station database

[fcc1-1] "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.

[2] KBriteRadio.com/employment

[3] Radio-Locator.com/KNSN

[4] Radio-Locator.com/K277DG

[5] Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 page B-28

[6] Broadcasting Yearbook 1997 page B-58

[7] ttp://www.fybush.com/sites/2005/site-050114.html

[8] ttp://www.sbe36.org/2004/12_kson_tower.html

[9] ttp://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/88747/crawford-acquires-knsn-san-diego/

[10] ttp://www.crawfordbroadcasting.com/Local_Oscillator/June%202014%20Local%20Oscillator.pdf

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