 | |
| Broadcast area | San Francisco Bay Area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1050kHz |
| Branding | KNBR 1050 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Network | ESPN Radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KNBR,KNBR-FM,KSAN,KSFO,KZAC | |
| History | |
First air date | September 26, 1946 (79 years ago) (1946-09-26)[1] |
Former call signs | KVSM (1946–1958)[2] KOFY (1958[2]–1997)[3] |
Call sign meaning | Ticket (former branding) |
| Technical information[4] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 51188 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 50,000 watts day 10,000 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 37°39′2″N122°9′2″W / 37.65056°N 122.15056°W /37.65056; -122.15056 |
| Repeater | 107.7KSAN-HD3 (San Mateo) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www |
KTCT (1050AM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toSan Mateo, California, and serving theSan Francisco Bay Area. It is owned byCumulus Media and airs asportsradio format asKNBR 1050, asister station toKNBR andKNBR-FM. In contrast to KNBR-AM-FM having local sports talk and play-by-play most of the day, KTCT is mainly a pass-through fornationally syndicated programming fromESPN Radio. KTCT is also the flagship station forSan Jose Earthquakes soccer,Stanford University football, andUniversity of San Francisco men's basketball.
By day, KTCT is powered at 50,000watts, the maximum for commercial AM stations in the U.S. But because1050 AM is aclear channel frequency reserved forClass AXEGMonterrey, KTCT reduces power at sunset to 10,000 watts. It uses adirectional antenna at all times with a five-tower array.[5] Thetransmitter is off West Winton Avenue inHayward, nearSan Francisco Bay.[6]
In September 1946, the station firstsigned on with thecall sign KVSM, standing for the "Voice of San Mateo".[2][7][8] The station ran only 250 watts and was adaytimer.[2] The station was anetwork affiliate of the short livedProgressive Broadcasting System in the early 1950s.[9][10] In 1953, the station's power was increased to 1,000 watts.[2]
In 1958, the station's call sign was changed to KOFY.[2] From the 1960s through the 1980s, KOFY aired aSpanish language format.[7][11][12] In early 1986, the station was sold toJames Gabbert for $2,000,000.[13][14] In March 1986, the station began airing anoldies format.[14][15][16] In late 1986, the station added nighttime operations, running 500 watts.[17][18] In 1989, the station's daytime power was increased to 50,000 watts, and its nighttime power was increased to 1,000 watts.[19][20][21] In 1991, the station returned to airing a Spanish language format.[22] In 1992, the station's nighttime power was increased to 10,000 watts.[23][24]
In May 1997, the station adopted a sports format as "The Ticket", and its call sign was changed to KTCT.[25][26][27][3] That same month, KTCT became the new flagship radio station for theOakland Raiders Radio Network, replacing FM stationKYCY.[28] In 2003, the station was rebranded "KNBR 1050".[29] After the 2003 season, KTCT dropped the Raiders, whose games moved toKSFO beginning in 2004.[30]
Since 1999, the station has operated at 35,000 watts at night, but using its daytime antenna system, under aspecial temporary authority, due to the unauthorized nighttime operations ofXED-AM 1050 inMexicali, Baja California, Mexico.[31][32]
KNBR and KTCT are owned byCumulus Media Partners, LLC,[33] a private partnership ofCumulus Media, Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, and Thomas H. Lee Partners. It was purchased from Susquehanna-Pfaltzgraff Media in 2005 along with otherSusquehanna Radio Corporation stations.[34]
On KTCT, weekday programming consists of the following blocks when not preempted by sports events. The morning shows haveCBS Sports Radio with Barber, Tierney, Jacobsen;TheJohn Feinstein Show, andTheJim Rome Show. The afternoon show is hosted by Ted Ramey and thenThe Tom Tolbert Show is simulcast with KNBR 680. The evening shows haveScott Ferrall's showFerrall on the Bench,[35] followed by late-night programming from CBS Sports Radio and then NBC Sports Radio. Weekend programs includeMortgage Makeover and various CBS Sports and NBC Sports Radio programming. On Sunday mornings to fulfill requiredpublic affairs programming guidelines, speeches and presentations from theCommonwealth Club of California are carried.[36]
KNBR and KTCT are charter affiliates ofCBS Sports Radio, a joint venture betweenCBS Radio and Cumulus, which started on January 2, 2013.[37] NBC Sports Radio has also been covered on KTCT. Through these affiliates, other games and events from MLB, NBA, NFL,PGA Tour,NASCAR, and NCAA have been broadcast.
Sports content has includedSan Francisco Giants MLB baseball,San Jose SaberCats arena football,[38]San Jose Earthquakes soccer,[39] andStanford Football.[40] Some AM broadcasts on KNBR may be moved to KTCT due to conflicts with Giants games.Golden State Warriors basketball had also been covered until August 25, 2016, the Warriors announced they have ended their partnership with KNBR and signed withKGMZ-FM; the partnership with KNBR lasted 40 years, including 32 consecutive years.[41]
In 2019, KTCT signed a contract to broadcastUniversity of San Francisco men's basketball.[42]