| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Houston |
| Frequency | 103.3MHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Defunct |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| Radio:KTJM,KQQK,KEYH,KNTE TV:KZJL | |
| History | |
First air date | 1987 (38 years ago) (1987) |
Last air date | December 14, 2020 (4 years ago) (2020-12-14) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Joy of Jesus", from previousChristian format |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 69565 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 303 m (994 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 28°48′58″N95°36′4″W / 28.81611°N 95.60111°W /28.81611; -95.60111 (KJOJ-FM) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
KJOJ-FM (103.3MHz) was aradio station licensed toFreeport, Texas, United States, operating as arimshot into theGreater Houston area. It was last owned byEstrella Media and operated in tandem withKTJM (98.5 FM) inPort Arthur, with its transmitter to the east of the Houston area. The KJOJ-FM transmitter was located off Sgt. Joe Parks Memorial Highway inSargent, Texas; the studios were inBay City.
The station began broadcasting in 1987. It operated for the vast majority of its history as asimulcast partner with KTJM, enabling greater coverage of the Houston area; both stations aired aRegional Mexican format for the last 19 years of KJOJ-FM's existence. It continued in this service until December 14, 2020, when a catastrophic tower failure felled its mast at Sargent. It never returned.
The FCC granted aconstruction permit in 1985 for a new station in Freeport. Bayport Broadcasting, owned by Roy Henderson, acquired the permit from Freeport Broadcasting in 1987[2] and built it, but it wassilent by 1989, when US Radio, a company owned by Ragan Henry, spent $2 million to purchase the then-KGLF-FM.[3]KJOJ (106.9 FM) then merged with KGLF-FM, briefly simulcasting.[4] KJOJ and its programming then moved exclusively to 103.3 at the start of 1991 as the 106.9 station becamesmooth jazz KJZS.[5][6] That October, KJOJ became KJOJ-FM when the formerKIKR (880 AM), an AM station inConroe, began simulcasting it.[7]
US Radio, which owned the pair until 1996, was purchased byClear Channel Communications.[8] In 1996, KJOJ-FM began to simulcast KHYS's smooth jazz format, dropping aChristiancountry music format; the two stations would be linked for the rest of KJOJ-FM's existence.[9]
On February 24, 1997, afterstunting with continuous play of the songKiss byPrince, the stations' format changed torhythmic contemporary as "Kiss 98-5, Kiss Again 103-3".[10] The separate name came about because KJOJ-FM aired KHYS on a 10-minute delay.[11] In June 1998, the Kiss format was made less rhythmic.[12]
On January 1, 1999, the station jumped on therhythmic oldies bandwagon as "98.5 The Jam". The call letters on the Port Arthur station changed to KTJM.[13] As part of sales required in Clear Channel's merger with AMFM Inc., El Dorado Communications acquired KJOJ-FM with other stations in 2000.[14]
In July 2001, the station was bought by Liberman Broadcasting ofBurbank, California. Liberman flipped both stations toRegional Mexican asLa Raza, though it initially intended to split KJOJ-FM from KTJM.[15][16]
In 2019, Liberman ran into financial problems and declaredChapter 11 bankruptcy. After reorganization, the corporate name changed toEstrella Media.[17]
The station's tower failed catastrophically on December 14, 2020. Liberman took it silent, but it never returned, andKNTE (101.7 FM) replaced KJOJ-FM as a rebroadcaster of KTJM.[18] After over 12 months of silence, the FCC cancelled the license on June 22, 2022.[19][20]