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XHITZ-FM (90.3 Hertz "Z90.3") is an English-language Top 40 (CHR) radio station. It is licensed to Tijuana, Mexico, and broadcasts to the San Diego-Tijuana media market. The station is owned by Comunicación XERSA, S.A. de C.V., a Mexico company. An American company, Local Media San Diego, holds 49% of the concession. LMSD pays a fee to use the frequency and programs the station. The radio studio, in the Sorrento Valley neighborhood of San Diego, are home to two other Mexican FM stations broadcasting in English, Alternative rock-formatted XETRA-FM and rhythmic AC-formatted XHRM-FM.
XHITZ-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 . The transmitter and tower are on Mount San Antonio in Tijuana. Z90.3 must abide by all Mexican broadcast regulations, including mandatory public service announcements, most of which are translated into English by Z90.3, political coverage and the compulsory airings of La Hora Nacional ("The National Hour") on Sunday nights, and the Mexican National Anthem at midnight and 6:00 a.m. daily.
XHITZ carries the Top 40/CHR version of "Sunday Night Slow Jams", which begins at 8 p.m. It is one of two San Diego/Tijuana affiliates for the program, the other being sister station XHRM-FM, which carries the "Throwback" version.
XHIS-FM signed on with a brokered radio format from the United States. Time Sales, Inc., owned by radio automation pioneer Paul Schafer, presented an automated progressive rock format known as "HIS Radio". Time Sales added a second Mexican station when 100.1 XHERS-FM (now 104.5 XHLTN-FM), a soft rock station known as "HERS Radio", signed on in December. A third station, XHOCL-FM 95.7 "OURS", was also planned. Aside from the music, HIS Radio featured parodies of commercials and a satirical radio novel, the O.B. Ranger. The operation was run by Larry Shushan, a former owner of KLNV FM radio and one of the builders of KNSD, San Diego's first UHF television station.
XHIS and XHERS broadcast from a new facility in Tijuana with custom-built 100,000–watt transmitters, throwing maximum power at San Diego. These were the first on FM. Programming originated from Time Sales's studios and sales offices at the Royal Inn at the Wharf and was transported by cassette to the transmitter, as the Brinkley Act prevented a live hookup from being used. Within six months, Time Sales had two of the top three stations in San Diego.
A 1981 row between Califórmula and politically motivated broadcast workers temporarily forced Díaz out of the broadcasting business. In April, a report had aired on one of the Califórmula stations criticizing Baja California Governor Roberto de la Madrid. Just two weeks after returning to an R&B format, in September, workers affiliated to the Union of Radio and Television Industry Workers (STIRT) went on strike, and the only way to resolve the strike was to sell XHIS and XHERS to Francisco Aguirre, founder of Mexico City broadcaster Grupo Radio Centro. The Tijuana acquisition marked GRC's first ever expansion outside the capital city.
In 1986, Díaz sold the American marketing rights for XHITZ again, this time to Broadcasting, Marketing and Management, Ltd. BMM ceased operation of the station on June 30, 1988 as it assigned the rights to another company, Consolidated Radio Sales, which was also bankrupt. The result was that Díaz and the head of Consolidated Radio Sales, Jack McCoy, clashed. In mid-July, McCoy fired all the employees in the U.S. and had all the locks changed, with several employees instead showing up to work in Tijuana. Later that day, however, a bankruptcy judge ruled that Díaz owned the U.S. operation of the stations.
In 1989, XHITZ flipped from adult contemporary to a rock-oriented hits format known as "Pirate Radio," based on the success of KQLZ in Los Angeles. But that rock hits format lasted only a year.
By August 1998, XHITZ moved away from its Dance approach to begin focusing more on Hip-Hop/R&B. The station also rebranded as "Jammin' Z90" before reverting to "Z90.3". In 2002, Califórmula was winding down most of its operations as Díaz retired and then died. The U.S. operating rights were sold to Clear Channel Communications (forerunner of today's iHeartMedia) and the concession was transferred to a new Mexican concern, Comunicación XERSA. XHITZ remained a hip-hop leader until 2004, when XHMORE-FM flipped to a hip hop-leaning Rhythmic Top 40. These two stations competed for listeners until late 2009, when XHMORE changed formats. Shortly after this, XHITZ shifted back to its more dance-leaning direction. Despite being the market's only Rhythmic Top 40, XHITZ continued to share much of the same music as KHTS-FM and KEGY, all of which were rhythmic-leaning Top 40/CHRs. On April 2, 2012, XHITZ rebranded from "Z90.3" to "Jammin' Z90."
In mid-2014, XHITZ rebranded back to "Z90." Today, the station airs a mainstream Top 40/CHR format, resulting in both Nielsen BDS and Mediabase moving XHITZ from the Rhythmic to Mainstream reporting panels in February 2015.
On July 25, 2005, Clear Channel transferred the programming and local marketing arrangements of XHITZ, along with XETRA-FM and XHRM-FM, to Finest City Broadcasting. Finest City was a new company under the direction of former Clear Channel/San Diego VP/Market Manager Mike Glickenhaus. Finest City took over operations on December 1, 2005.
On October 6, 2015, Midwest Television, the owner of KFMB-TV channel 8, KFMB 760 AM and KFMB-FM 100.7, announced that it had entered into a joint operating agreement with Local Media San Diego LLC. They formed an entity known as "SDLocal" to manage its cluster of radio stations. The intent of this agreement was to "preserve local ownership and operation of San Diego's top-rated radio stations". The agreement ended at the end of 2016.
Local Media San Diego eventually acquired KFMB and KFMB-FM outright from Tegna, Inc. on March 17, 2020. KFMB 760 AM was divested to iHeartMedia. Tegna had purchased Midwest Television's stations in 2018. Local Media San Diego held onto KFMB-FM, which switched its call letters to KFBG; LMSD would later sell KFBG to Lotus Communications in 2025.
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