KTSN (AM)

KTSN (1490 AM) is a radio station licensed to Austin, Texas. While KTSN is commercially licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), it is the flagship station of the non-commercial listener-supported "Sun Radio Network" and does not air advertisements. The station is owned by Daryl O'Neal, CEO of Township Media DBA The Sun Radio Network. The network airs a mix of adult album alternative and Americana music, along with other genres such as progressive country, blues and folk music.
KTSN is the oldest radio station in Austin still on the air today. It is powered at 1,000 watts, with its transmitter on Tillery Street at East 4th Street in Austin. The studios and offices are in the Hill Country Galleria Mall on Hill Country Boulevard at State Highway 71 in Bee Cave. The station holds periodic fundraisers on the air to support Sun Radio.
History.
On December 7, 1926, the station's first license was granted, with the sequentially issued call sign of KGDR. It was owned by a company named "Radio Engineers" and broadcast from San Antonio, Texas. In December 1929, the station was renamed KUT and moved to Austin. Call letters were changed to KNOW on January 26, 1932.
KNOW was owned by the KUT Broadcasting Company and broadcast at 100 watts on 1,000 kilocycles.
In the 1940s, KNOW moved to its current dial position at 1490 kHz, with power at 250 watts. It served as Austin's ABC Radio Network affiliate, carrying ABC's schedule of dramas, comedies, news and sports during the "Golden Age of Radio."
In 1949, KNOW was acquired by Pioneer Broadcasting Company. In the 1950s, daytime power increased to 1,000 watts, but remained at 250 watts at night. In the 1960s, KNOW switched to Top 40. In the 1970s, airstaff included P.D. Dave Jarrott, Randall McKee, Jason Wayne. Bill Mayne, Gil Garcia, Jim Gossett, David Gayle, and Bill Moss. Chief Engineers during the 60s and 70s where Wayne Hardin and Gil Garcia. As contemporary music listening shifted to the FM band in the 1980s, KNOW began to serve Austin's growing African American community with an urban contemporary format. This was concurrent with Hicks Communications acquiring the station in 1981.
In 1989, KNOW was sold to Degree Communications, which switched the format to Oldies. In 1996, the station was sold to San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications, call letters were changed to KFON and the format became talk radio (with FON standing for "phone"). In 1997, the format shifted to sports talk as SportsFan 1490 and was the first full-time all-sports station in Austin.
In 2005, the station was acquired by Border Media Partners, which owned other stations in Texas, several serving the Latino community. Border Media switched KFON to a Regional Mexican music format. The 2010s saw additional call letter changes to KLGO and KTAE before the current owner, Township Media, changed the call sign to KTSN, standing for, in part, S u N Radio.
FM Signals.
Sun Radio rebroadcasts on numerous FM outlets, including translator stations, plus a low power (LP) station and an HD radio subchannel, all located around Central Texas. Most are owned by the Sun Radio Network or a co-owned subsidiary. KDRP-LP 103.1 MHz in Dripping Springs is owned by Principle Broadcasting Foundation. Sun Radio also leases the HD3 subchannel of KLZT 107.1 in Bastrop, which is owned by Sinclair Telecable Inc. and operates under the name Waterloo Media.
There is also a service agreement to provide underwriting sales for KOWO-LP 104.1 MHz, in Wimberley, operating as Wimberley Texan Radio.
The Sun Radio Network has two construction permits for new stations, one for 96.3 KTHE, a 25,000 watt FM station in Llano, to cover the Upper Highland Lakes, and KMSN 104.1 MHz, a 25,000 watt FM station in Mason, to cover the western portion of the Texas Hill Country to the Edwards Plateau.
Mission.
Sun Radio's mission is to preserve the culture of Texas music with a minimal impact on the environment. Sun Radio creates and distributes solar-powered radio programming to non-commercial member stations with a focus on Texas artists and Americana music. They help foster new radio broadcasting careers for the residents of the Texas Hill Country and provide 24-hour a day, local radio for the communities they serve. Proceeds are used to expand local programming, in the creation of local jobs, as support for other non-profit organizations, to broadcast local musicians and events, and to fund new capital projects designed to increase the coverage area.