 | |
| Broadcast area | Greater Houston Golden Triangle |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 103.7MHz |
| Branding | Air1 |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Christian worship music |
| Affiliations | Air1 |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Educational Media Foundation |
| KLTW,KLVH | |
| History | |
First air date | September 15, 1992; 33 years ago (1992-09-15) (license; as 103.5KVSTHuntsville) October 27, 2005 (current tower; as KUST La Porte) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 103.5 MHz |
Call sign meaning | "Houston's Jack" (former format) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 48676 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 590 m (1,936 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 29°56′9″N94°30′39″W / 29.93583°N 94.51083°W /29.93583; -94.51083 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | air1.com |
KHJK (103.7FM) is a non-commercialradio station,licensed toLaPorte, Texas and serving bothGreater Houston and theGolden Triangle (Beaumont-Port Arthur-Orange). It is owned by theEducational Media Foundation (EMF). KHJK relays EMF's nationallysyndicated "Air1"radio format featuringChristian worship music. Air1 holds periodicfundraisers on the air to support the broadcasts.
KHJK has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the highest permitted for non-grandfathered FM stations. Thetransmitter is off Route 1410 inDevers, Texas, about halfway between Houston and Beaumont.[2] KHJK also rebroadcasts its programming onFM translator station 95.3 K237FS inConroe, Texas.[3]
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | FCC info | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K237FS | 95.3 FM | Conroe, Texas | 148663 | 75 | 127 m (417 ft) | D | LMS | First air date: June 6, 2016 |
KHJK-FM previously operated as KVST, "K-Star Country 103.7", which was licensed to serviceMontgomery County, Texas, prior to being purchased byCumulus Media in 2005.
Originally owned by Ben Amato of Conroe (who sold his chain of grocery stores around that area to finance the radio station), it signed on as KVST inHuntsville on 103.5; however, interference from KEYI (nowKBPA) inAustin caused the station not to reach down to the intended audience of Conroe and a look at a move-in frequency was done. Amato moved the station's frequency up one channel to 103.7, and also physically moved the tower site south toWillis.
This resulted in an excellent signal in Conroe, Willis, and the exploding community ofThe Woodlands. However, the signal was all but lost in Huntsville, which was solved by Amato bringing a new station to life, licensed to Huntsville, in order to simulcast KVST. That station became KUST at 99.7 MHz.
Ironically, in 2005, Cumulus Media purchased the license for 103.7, and once KVST relocated to La Porte, 99.7 made the same journey downInterstate 45 that 103.7 had made in the years before it ultimately moved to the Devers tower, east of Houston.
Since then, 99.7 KVST has reversed the move and returned to Huntsville, transmitting from the original 103.5 tower.
As a part of the move of 103.7, KUST switched call letters with KVST, resulting in the new 99.7 in Willis becoming KVST, while the KUST calls were shipped to this facility. These calls were short lived as they were only used for the "TV 103" stunt format utilized while Cumulus prepared for the move of 97.5 KIOL's rock format and call letters to the debuting 103.7 signal in Houston and The Golden Triangle.KBIU inLake Charles was also affected by the move of this facility as it also operated on the 103.7 frequency. This was resolved by Cumulus downgrading KBIU, which the company also owned, and also moving its operating frequency to 103.3.
103.7 KUST soon wentdark while Cumulus moved the facility to its current location in Devers, Texas to service the Houston andGolden Triangle areas.
KUST officially returned to the air on May 23, 2005, simulcasting 97.5KIOL until May 31, when KIOL'sAOR format moved to 103.7 (which adopted the KIOL calls as a result) entirely, and the new station on 97.5,KFNC, signed on with an all-news format.
Prior to the KIOL move, KUST tested the new transmitting site with nonstop commercial free television themes as "TV 103".
On August 30, 2007, theHouston Chronicle reported that KIOL would be switching to theJack FM format at 10:37 a.m. the following day, and adopting new call letters,KHJKJack FM to make Houston debut. The final three songs on "Rock 103.7" were "Mary Jane's Last Dance byTom Petty, "Cold As Ice" byForeigner (followed by a promo that "your world will change after this song" and to "tell everyone you know to listen"), and "Fire" byJimi Hendrix, while the first two songs on "Jack" were "Jumpin' Jack Flash" byThe Rolling Stones" and "Let's Go Crazy" byPrince.
On May 6, 2009, KHJK shifted from adult hits toAAA as "103-7FM."[4]
As part of a prepackaged bankruptcy filing, the lenders took over the license of four Cumulus Media Partners stations; two in the Kansas City metro area (KCHZ andKMJK) and the two rimshot signals in the Houston metro, KHJK and KFNC, in November 2011.[5] Station broker Larry Patrick became majority owner and set out to sell the stations to recover the value for the lenders. After the filing, Cumulus continued to program the stations under LMA. While Cumulus could have purchased the stations back, the highest bidder for KFNC was David Gow, owner of KGOW (1560 The Game) and the highest bidder for KHJK was Educational Media Foundation, who programs Christian AC and Christian Rock formats.[6]
EMF switched the format of KHJK toAir 1 at 5:00 p.m. on July 17, 2012.[7]The last songs played on 103.7 FM wereThe Old Apartment byBarenaked Ladies,Eyes Wide Open byGotye,Mary Jane's Last Dance byTom Petty and the Heartbreakers,In The End byLinkin Park,Closing Time bySemisonic, andIt's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine) byR.E.M.[8]
BetweenIn The End andClosing Time, KHJK voiceover Mike McKay gave this goodbye message:
"Houston, thank you. It's been an amazing ride. Steve, Donna, and the entire 103-7FM crew want to say thanks for being there for us. Attending our events, coming to our shows, and just for listening to Houston's adult alternative, 103-7FM. It's been our pleasure serving you some of the best new music out there and playing music you can't hear anywhere else but 103-7FM. You are the best listeners we could have ever asked for, and we'll miss you. Thanks again. And are you hiring?"
The first song on "Air 1" was "Me Without You" byTobyMac.[4] The purchase of KHJK by EMF was consummated on October 15, 2012 at a price of $5 million. Because the station rimshots from Devers (where its transmitter is located), KHJK's signal is either marginal or weak in the northern and western areas of the Houston metropolitan area.
Cumulus Broadcasting began upgrading its stations to HD Radio broadcasting in 2005. One of the first ten stations to be upgraded was KIOL.[9] The station had been simulcast on KRBE HD-2, but this was replaced by a feed of theTrue Oldies Channel in June 2012.[10]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)