KXEQ (1340 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican format. Licensed to Reno, Nevada, United States, it serves the Reno area. The station is currently owned by Azteca Broadcasting Corporation.

KXEQ
Broadcast areaReno
Frequency1340 kHz
BrandingLa Super Q
Programming
FormatRegional Mexican
Ownership
OwnerAzteca Broadcasting Corporation
History
First air date
July 9, 1946[1]
Former call signs
KATO (1946–1959)
KBET (1959–1987)
KRCV (1987[2]–1991)
Technical information
Facility ID57445
ClassC
Power977.4 watts
Transmitter coordinates
39°31′05″N 119°44′29″W / 39.51806°N 119.74139°W / 39.51806; -119.74139

History

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KATO

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Reno got its second radio station[3] when KATO signed on for the first time on July 9, 1946.[1] Owned by the Sierra Broadcasting Company, KATO was a Don Lee/Mutual affiliate and broadcast with 250 watts from a transmitter at Sixth and Cassinella streets on the eastern edge of town.[3] Robert Stoddard, the station's founding general manager, bought out Sierra Broadcasting in 1953[4] for $47,600.[5]

KATO was approved in 1958 to relocate its transmitter to a site east of town.[6]

KBET

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On May 28, 1959, KATO became KBET.[6] Later that year, tragedy struck when 43-year-old newscaster and account executive Ernie Ferguson committed suicide on Thanksgiving.[7] Stoddard's Comstock Telecasting Corporation made an application for television channel 4 in Reno in 1960;[8] while it was not selected, KBET did increase its power to 1,000 watts in 1961.[6] It broadcast from studios at the Mapes Hotel downtown after having gone on the air from the basement of an Elks lodge.[9]

KBET was fined $5,000 by the Federal Communications Commission in 1971 for fraudulent billing practices that allowed an appliance distributor to double-bill its suppliers.[10]

Stoddard died in July 1975 of a heart attack while golfing in northern California;[11] he was remembered for his folksy local newscasts and involvement in local high school sports.[12] The First National Bank of Nevada took control of the KBET license[6] and sold the country music outlet to the highest bidder the next year: Sierra Broadcasting, owned by Bob and Julie Day and Royce Adams.[13]

After an attempt to sell the license to Sterling Broadcasting in 1980 fell through, KBET was sold the next year to Reno Electronics,[6] owned by former KOLO radio-TV general manager Stan Weisberger; the new ownership retained KBET's country format but sought to relocate the studios and acquire new equipment.[14] However, by 1984, the station had flipped to oldies, perhaps because Reno had five country stations,[15] and the next year it went in a middle-of-the-road direction and branded as "KBEST".[16]

KRCV

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1986 saw the sale of KBET and its Las Vegas sister, KNUU, to Doug and Christina Trenner's CAT Broadcasting for $2.1 million.[17][18] A major format change followed: in May 1987, the station became KRCV, "Reno's Christian Voice"—the city's only Christian radio station.[19] Although KRCV did not make money, a coalition of 75 business leaders, pastors and station listeners mounted an effort to buy the station outright the next year, with Trenner's blessing.[20] In addition to its religious programming, KRCV presented Reno Silver Sox baseball and high school football broadcasts.[21][22]

KXEQ

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However, by 1991, KRCV was silent and CAT Broadcasting had filed for bankruptcy. As a debtor-in-possession, it sold KRCV to Rolando Collantes, owner of KSVN in Ogden, Utah and KGEN in Tulare, California, for $30,000 in 1991.[23] KXEQ debuted on 1340 AM on December 14, 1991, as "La Super Q", with studios in a converted house on Linden Street.[24][25]

In 2014, KXEQ began broadcasting the Alex "El Genio" Lucas syndicated morning show.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b "New Radio Goes on Air". Reno Evening Gazette. July 9, 1946. p. 16. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  2. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 8, 1987. p. 72. Retrieved January 1, 2020. — The FCC callsign record shows January 21, 1988
  3. ^ a b "New Radio Station Broadcasts July 1". Nevada State Journal. June 20, 1946. p. 7. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  4. ^ "Radio Station Purchase Planned". Reno Evening Gazette. September 1, 1953. p. 5. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  5. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 21, 1953. p. 121. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d e FCC History Cards for KXEQ
  7. ^ Nystedt, Bob (November 27, 1959). "Reno Radio Man Is Suicide: Grisly Holiday In Nevada: Traffic, Hunting Accidents Listed". Reno Evening Gazette. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  8. ^ "Two More Apply For TV Channel". Reno Evening Gazette. Associated Press. February 11, 1960. p. 24. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  9. ^ "Radio Station KBET..." Nevada State Journal. July 10, 1966. p. 35. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  10. ^ "Government names Stoddard in billing matter". Reno Evening Gazette. Associated Press. February 4, 1971. p. 2. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  11. ^ "Funeral set for Stoddard". Reno Evening Gazette. July 8, 1975. p. 13. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  12. ^ "Press Club Sets Golf Tournament". Nevada State Journal. May 30, 1976. p. 17. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  13. ^ "Public Notice". Reno Evening Gazette. April 16, 1976. p. 21. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  14. ^ "Radio station plans". Reno Evening Gazette. July 10, 1982. p. 18. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  15. ^ Gunkel, Terri (November 13, 1984). "Reno's radio craze". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1D. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  16. ^ Johnson, Belma (March 30, 1985). "Reno's radio facelift". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp. 1D, 4D. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  17. ^ "Vegas, Reno stations sold". Reno Gazette-Journal. December 30, 1986. p. 8B. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  18. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 9, 1987. p. 118. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  19. ^ Muhtadi, Sheila (May 30, 1987). "KRCV offers Christian radio for Reno area". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1D. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  20. ^ Gold, Jim (September 14, 1988). "KRCV manager leads drive to purchase Reno station". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp. 10B, 7B. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  21. ^ Cobb, Ty (August 16, 1989). "Baseball and God". Reno Gazette-Journal. p. 1. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  22. ^ "Prep football goes on air". Reno Gazette-Journal. October 4, 1989. p. 3B. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  23. ^ "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. September 23, 1991. p. 63. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  24. ^ Sion, Michael (January 7, 1992). "'La Super Q': more Latin sounds on Reno radio". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp. 1E, 6E. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  25. ^ Macias, Sandra (November 11, 1993). "'Super Q' character". Reno Gazette-Journal. pp. 1E, 3E. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  26. ^ "Local broadcaster's show expands in Reno". Reno Gazette-Journal. April 28, 2014. p. 6A. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
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