KXO (AM)


KXO is a commercial AM radio station licensed to El Centro, California. It is owned by KXO, Inc. Its studios and offices are on Main Street in El Centro, along with sister station KXO-FM 107.5.
KXO airs an oldies radio format. It also carries the games of several Southern California sports teams: San Diego Padres baseball, Los Angeles Chargers football and Los Angeles Lakers basketball. CBS Radio News is heard at the beginning of most hours.
KXO is powered at 830 watts by day and 1,000 watts at night, a Class C station. So its signal is limited to the Imperial Valley. The transmitter is off West Villa Avenue.

History

KXO is the oldest station in the Imperial Valley and is probably the oldest in any community between San Diego and Phoenix. It first signed on in 1927. In the 1930s, it broadcast at 100 watts on 1500 kilocycles. It was owned by E.R. Irey and F.M. Bowles. Its studios were at 793 Main Street.
After the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement took effect in 1941, KXO moved to 1490 kHz. It was owned by Valradio, Inc. and was a network affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System and the Don Lee Network, during the "Golden Age of Radio." Over the years, it spent time as an affiliate of ABC and NBC Radio. In the 1950s, KXO moved to its current dial position at AM 1230.
KXO dates back to the early days of broadcasting, when many radio stations were assigned three-letter call signs. In Southern California, the only three-letter stations that remain, apart from KXO, are 640 KFI, 930 KHJ and 1070 KNX in Los Angeles. KGB-FM in San Diego is the FM sister station to the original KGB, now KLSD 1360 AM.
Over the years, KXO has featured several different formats. Currently, the station broadcasts oldies music with a playlist from the 1960s and 1970s, along with some 1980s titles.
In 1963, the governments of the U.S. and Mexico agreed to give El Centro two TV stations, Channel 7 and Channel 9, whose signals would include parts of Mexico. KXO, Inc. received permission from the Federal Communications Commission to build a TV station, Channel 7 KXO-TV. But a TV station in Yuma, Arizona, KIVA Channel 11, worked to block the competing stations, saying there was not enough economic activity in the region to support three commercial TV stations. Channel 9 KECY-TV eventually made it on the air in December 1968, but KXO-TV never did. Channel 7 finally came on the air in 1996, under the ownership of Entravision Communications. It is now KVYE.
KXO has had news and weather sharing partnerships with television stations KECY and KSWT. Some on-air personalities and newscasters have also been heard on KXO and the TV stations.