KTCT (1050 AM broadcasting) is a commercial radio radio station licensed to San Mateo, California, and serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a sports radio radio format as KNBR 1050, a sister station to KNBR and KNBR-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 for nationally syndicated programming from ESPN Radio. KTCT is also the flagship station for San Jose Earthquakes soccer, Stanford University football, and University of San Francisco men's basketball.
By day, KTCT is powered at 50,000 , the maximum for commercial AM stations in the U.S. But because 1050 AM is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A XEG-AM Monterrey, KTCT reduces power at sunset to 10,000 watts. It uses a directional antenna at all times with a five-tower array.[ FCC.gov/KTCT] The transmitter is off West Winton Avenue in Hayward, near San Francisco Bay.[ Radio-Locator.com/KTCT]
History
KVSM
In September 1946, the station first
sign-on with the
call sign KVSM, standing for the "Voice of San Mateo".
[Bornstein, Rollye. " San Francisco Market Profile", Billboard. September 3, 1983. p. 27. Retrieved December 1, 2018.] The station ran only 250 watts and was a
daytimer.
The station was a network affiliate of the short lived Progressive Broadcasting System in the early 1950s.
[" KVSM to be San Fran Area's 'Progressive' Outlet", Billboard. September 16, 1950. p. 8. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][ Broadcasting - Telecasting Yearbook 1951, Broadcasting - Telecasting, 1951. p. 96. Retrieved December 1, 2018.] In 1953, the station's power was increased to 1,000 watts.
KOFY
In 1958, the station's call sign was changed to KOFY.
From the 1960s through the 1980s, KOFY aired a
Spanish language format.
[ 1964 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1964. p. B-22. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][ 1974 Broadcasting Yearbook, Broadcasting, 1974. p. B-29. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1986, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1986. p. B-39. Retrieved December 1, 2018.] In early 1986, the station was sold to
James Gabbert for $2,000,000.
[Duncan, James H., Jr. " Station Trading Activity", American Radio. February 1986. p. A1. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][" Everything old is new again in radio", Broadcasting. July 28, 1986. p. 58. Retrieved December 1, 2018.] In March 1986, the station began airing an
oldies format.
[Freeman, Kim. " Vox Jox", Billboard. August 9, 1986. p. 14. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][Unmacht, Robert (1989). The M Street Radio Directory. p. S-42. Retrieved December 1, 2018.] In late 1986, the station added nighttime operations, running 500 watts.
[ Public Notice Comment - BP-19860828AA, fcc.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][ Public Notice Comment - BL-19861126AB, fcc.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2018.] In 1989, the station's daytime power was increased to 50,000 watts, and its nighttime power was increased to 1,000 watts.
[ Public Notice Comment - BMP-19870820AH, fcc.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][ Public Notice Comment - BMP-19870820AH, fcc.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][ Public Notice Comment - BL-19890113AD, fcc.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2018.] In 1991, the station returned to airing a Spanish language format.
[" Format Changes", The M Street Journal. Vol. 8, No. 43. October 28, 1991. p. 1. Retrieved December 1, 2018.] In 1992, the station's nighttime power was increased to 10,000 watts.
[ Public Notice Comment - BP-19920420AD, fcc.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][ Public Notice Comment - BL-19921014AD, fcc.gov. Retrieved December 1, 2018.]
KTCT
In May 1997, the station adopted a sports format as "The Ticket", and its call sign was changed to KTCT.
[" Format Changes & Updates", The M Street Journal. Vol. 14, No. 19. May 14, 1997. p. 1. Retrieved December 1, 2018.][" Call Letter Changes", The M Street Journal. Vol. 14, No. 31. August 6, 1997. p. 6. Retrieved December 1, 2018.] That same month, KTCT became the new flagship radio station for the Oakland Raiders Radio Network, replacing FM station
KRZZ.
In 2003, the station was rebranded "KNBR 1050".
After the 2003 season, KTCT dropped the Raiders, whose games moved to
KSFO beginning in 2004.
Since 1999, the station has operated at 35,000 watts at night, but using its daytime antenna system, under a special temporary authority, due to the unauthorized nighttime operations of XED-AM 1050 in Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico.[" Special Temporary Authorization", fcc.gov. November 18, 2011. Retrieved December 2, 2018.]["
]
target="_blank" rel="nofollow"> Request for Extension of Special Temporary Authorization", fcc.gov. July 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
Ownership
KNBR and KTCT are owned by Cumulus Media Partners, LLC,
[ Cumulus Media Inc.] a private partnership of
Cumulus Media, Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, and Thomas H. Lee Partners. It was purchased from Susquehanna-Pfaltzgraff Media in 2005 along with other Susquehanna Radio Corporation stations.
[ SUSQUEHANNA PFALTZGRAFF PLANS TO EXPLORE SALE OF SUSQUEHANNA MEDIA, PFALTZGRAFF SUBSIDIARIES]
Programming
On KTCT, weekday programming consists of the following blocks when not preempted by sports events. The morning shows have
CBS Sports Radio with Barber, Tierney, Jacobsen;
The John Feinstein Show, and
The Jim Rome Show. The afternoon show is hosted by Ted Ramey and then
The Tom Tolbert Show is simulcast with KNBR 680. The evening shows have
Scott Ferrall's show
Ferrall on the Bench,
followed by late-night programming from CBS Sports Radio and then NBC Sports Radio. Weekend programs include
Mortgage Makeover and various CBS Sports and NBC Sports Radio programming. On Sunday mornings to fulfill required public affairs programming guidelines, speeches and presentations from the Commonwealth Club of California are carried.
KNBR and KTCT are charter affiliates of CBS Sports Radio, a joint venture between CBS Radio and Cumulus, which started on January 2, 2013.
Live sports broadcasts
Sports content has included San Francisco Giants MLB baseball, San Jose SaberCats arena football,
San Jose Earthquakes soccer,
and Stanford Football.
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 with
KGMZ-FM; the partnership with KNBR lasted 40 years, including 32 consecutive years.
In 2019, KTCT signed a contract to broadcast University of San Francisco men's basketball.
External links
