| Broadcast area | San Francisco Bay Area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1400kHz |
| Programming | |
| Language | Chinese |
| Affiliations | Sing Tao Chinese Radio Bay Area Metro Radio Bay Area Chinese Radio Global Chinese Radio Sound of Hope |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KLIV,KVVN | |
| History | |
First air date | 1922 (as KRE) |
Former call signs | KRE (1922–1963) KPAT (1963–1972) KRE (1972–1986) KBLX (1986–1989) KBFN (1989–1990) KBLX (1990–1994) |
Call sign meaning | "Voice of the Orient" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 28681 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000watts unlimited |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°50′58″N122°17′44″W / 37.84944°N 122.29556°W /37.84944; -122.29556 |
| Translator | 93.7 K229DD (San Francisco) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | kvto.net |
KVTO (1400AM) is aradio station broadcasting aChinese format. Licensed toBerkeley, California, United States, the station serves theSan Francisco Bay Area. The station is currently owned by Phuong Pham, through licensee Pham Radio Communication LLC.[2] Its tower is located inBerkeley, California, and is shared withKEAR.[3]
It is an affiliate ofCantonese-languageSing Tao Chinese Radio, and leases additional programming from other groups.[citation needed]
The station began in Berkeley in 1922 as KRE, the formercallsign of amarine radio station aboard aWorld War Imerchant marinesteamship,Florence H.,[4] destroyed in an April 17, 1918 explosion atQuiberon Bay,France.[5] The Maxwell Electric Company put KRE on the air on March 11, 1922, with studios and transmitter at theClaremont Resort Hotel. In May of that year, KRE was sold to theBerkeley Daily Gazette; the station was sold again in January 1927, this time to theFirst Congregational Church of Berkeley, which moved the studios and built a new transmitter. In January 1930, theChapel of the Chimes (an Oakland funeral home) bought KRE; ownership passed in December 1936 to Central California Broadcasters, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chapel of the Chimes. New studios and a transmitter were built in 1937-38 at the foot ofAshby Avenue (601 Ashby) adjacent to Berkeley'sAquatic Park.
KRE-FM went on the air on February 14, 1949, with a transmitter on Round Top, a peak in the hills above Berkeley and Oakland in Contra Costa County. In 1950 the transmitter was moved to the site of KRE (AM) in Berkeley.
In March 1963, KRE was taken over by the Wright Broadcasting Company ofPaterson, New Jersey.[6] The new principal owner, Dickens J. Wright, had previously been the principal owner ofWPAT in Paterson,[7] and on April 14, 1963 KRE's call letters were changed to KPAT. Later programming was simulcast on KRE-FM and there were occasional AM/FM stereo broadcasts, including some classical music programming. The call sign was changed back to KRE in 1972. The call letters KBLX were adopted in 1986, then changed to KBFN in 1989 and back to KBLX in 1990. The current call letters, KVTO, were adopted in 1994;[8] the 1400 AM frequency was a simulcast ofKBLX-FM 102.9, which was a sister station of KVTO until May 1, 2012, whenEntercom Communications officially took overKBLX.[citation needed]
In the summer of 1972, George Lucas filmed radio legendWolfman Jack at the KRE studios for the film,American Graffiti. (Some artistic license was employed for the movie: the Wolfman is shown doing his program live from California, although theBrinkley Act made such broadcasting illegal.)