| Broadcast area | Los Angeles-Orange County |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 96.7MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Vision Latina 96.7 |
| Programming | |
| Format | SpanishChristian |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KJLA | |
| History | |
First air date |
|
Former call signs |
|
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 37225 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 6,000watts |
| HAAT | 62 meters (203 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°48′07″N117°47′46″W / 33.802°N 117.796°W /33.802; -117.796 |
| Links | |
| Website | visionlatina.com |
KWIZ (96.7FM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toSanta Ana, California, and broadcasting to theLos Angeles-Orange County area. KWIZ airs a Spanish Christianradio format branded as "Vision Latina 96.7 FM". It is currently owned by theUniversal Church withstudios and offices are on West 5th Street in Santa Ana. Thetransmitter is off East Glen Albyn Lane inOrange, California.
KWIZ is not licensed by theFederal Communications Commission to broadcast in theHD Radio hybrid format, yet the HD Radio Guide indicates that KWIZ broadcasts on one HD channel.[1][2]
96.7 FM signed on as KVOE-FM in 1947,simulcast with KVOE (1480 AM, nowKVNR).[3] The two stations were owned by Voice of the Orange Empire, Inc., Ltd. They wereMutual Broadcasting System andDon LeeNetwork affiliates. The studios were on East 5th Street in Santa Ana. On July 1, 1954, KVOE-AM-FM changed theircall signs to KWIZ and KWIZ-FM, but still under the same ownership.[4]
Ernest and Franc Spencer sold Voice of the Orange Empire in 1965 to the Davis Broadcasting Company. By 1970, KWIZ-FM had separate programming. The AM station aired afull servicemiddle of the road format of popular music, news and information. The FM had anautomatedeasy listening format, which would change tosoft adult contemporary music in the mid-1980s.
Liberman acquired KWIZ-AM-FM in 1987. In 1990, KWIZ-FM began carryingLos Angeles Dodgers games inKorean, and on March 10, 1991, it flipped to a full-time Korean format, brokered from Radio Korea.[5] In 1993, after another brokering deal, KWIZ-FM flipped to Vietnamese as "Little Saigon Radio."[6]
Otherbrokered programming deals soon followed. In addition to religious and ethnic talk shows, KWIZ-FM also was home to several niche format music programs, includingreggae,alternative rock and surf rock. At night, the station's time was leased to "Renegade Radio," adance music/techno music format hosted by DJ Racer and former MARS-FM DJ Mike "Fright" Ivankay. Renegade Radio also broadcast MARS-FM music director Swedish Egil's syndicatedGroove Radio program, which later became a full-time local electronica format atKACD/KBCD.
In January 1997, Liberman switched the AM and FM services, making the FM a Spanish-language station and the AM aimed at Vietnamese-Americans.[7] While Liberman has three FM stations in the Los Angeles market playing contemporaryRegional Mexican music, KWIZ specialized in classic Mexican hits from past decades.
On January 1, 2023, the station dropped its Spanish ranchera oldies format as new owners flipped the station to Spanish Christian programming known as "Vision Latina 96.7". Since then, it has been operated by Universal Church under an LMA.[8] Two months later on March 1, Universal Church made plans to purchase KWIZ outright fromEstrella Media for $8 million.[9] The purchase was consummated on May 16, 2023.