KSBL


KSBL is a commercial radio station that is licensed to Carpinteria, California and serves the Santa Barbara and Ventura-Oxnard, California areas. The station is owned by Rincon Broadcasting and broadcasts an adult contemporary music format.

History

The station first signed on July 1, 1983 as KGFT, owned by Robert Atsinger III and featuring Christian programming. In January 1988, Atsinger, then owner of half of newly-formed Salem Communications Corporation, sold KGFT to Great Electric Communications II Inc. for $1.45 million. KGFT changed its call letters to KLIT-FM on April 1, 1988 and adopted a soft adult contemporary music format; the call sign switched again on October 16, 1989 to KSBL.
In July 1995, Great Electric Communications II Inc. sold KSBL to Criterion Media Group Inc. for $1.33 million, thus bringing the station under common ownership with KQSB and KTYD. Less than two years later, in March 1997, Criterion sold the station along with KQSB and KTYD to Jacor Communications for $13.5 million; Jacor was subsequently purchased by Clear Channel Communications.
In January 2007, Clear Channel sold its six Santa Barbara stations, including KSBL, to Rincon Broadcasting LLC for $17.3 million. Rincon, a subsidiary of Ventura-based Point Broadcasting, officially took control of the cluster on January 16.
, KSBL airs the syndicated programs Delilah nightly and Intelligence for Your Life, hosted by John Tesh, overnights.
On September 10, 2018, the Federal Communications Commission granted KSBL a construction permit, good for three years, to start transmitting from a facility atop Santa Cruz Island with a directional 1,650-watt signal, and licensed to Isla Vista, California.