KOBQ

KOBQ is an FM radio station based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, owned by Cumulus Media. It broadcasts on 93.3 MHz and has a Top 40 format. Its studios are located in Downtown Albuquerque and the transmitter tower is located atop Sandia Crest east of the city.
Its brand is "93-3 The Q - Albuquerque's #1 Hit Music Station." The station plays Top 40 music.
History.
In 1964 Hubbard Broadcasting Inc. applied to the Federal Communications Commission to build a new FM radio station to operate alongside KOB AM and KOB-TV. The station was originally planned to broadcast by Fall of that year with an antenna erected on the AM tower and duplicate the AM programming. The station would sign on August 14, 1967 as KOB-FM, and would feature a completely automated format operating from 6:30 am to midnight of "modern, stereophonic music performed by the top recording artists of the day". Selections included "bright uptempo sounds" in the morning to jazz and light classical in the evenings. KOB-FM would also be the first station to broadcast from atop Sandia Crest. The broadcast range at the time was determined to be about 150 miles. Management stated: "The decision to program from the transmitter atop the mountain stems from the fact that stereophonic programming material relayed to a transmitter via microwave results in a reproduction of lower sound quality". KOB-FM would continue to air "background music" through the end of the 1970s.
August 1981 saw a shift in programming, as KOB-FM would change to an adult contemporary format. KOB-FM would become one of the highest rated stations throughout the 1980s and would see more competition by 1985. However, KOB-FM continued to dominate the market for many years. In October 1986, Hubbard sold KOB AM and FM to Price Communications for $16.5 million. The call letters were changed to KKOB-FM with no changes in programming. The stations would later be acquired by Fairmont Communications. Fairmont would sell both stations to Citadel Communications in late 1993 for $9 million. Citadel would also acquire KMGA, which had a soft AC format, forming an FM duopoly. KKOB-FM, by this time, would be airing a hot adult contemporary format.
The then-KKOB-FM's first shift to mainstream top 40 came in 1999, playing "Today's Best Music", rivaling the newly launched KCHQ-FM, "Channel 105.1", which returned the top 40 format to the market after a six-year absence. Both stations were often head-to-head in the ratings until November 2000, when KCHQ had shifted to a 1980s’ hits format. However, in January 2001, KKOB-FM would also switch to a 1980s format, putting the two stations in competition once again. KKSS, which had been facing a fierce rhythmic battle with KYLZ-FM, would become the area's mainstream top 40 outlet a few weeks later, but in November 2002, KKSS was sold to Hispanic Broadcasting and had returned to rhythmic top 40. KCHQ had dropped the 1980s format in the Fall of 2001, but the format continued to lose steam on KKOB-FM. Therefore, on Christmas Day, 2002, KKOB-FM would return to the top 40 format and had also returned to using the three-letter 'KOB' ID in its branding.
On November 15, 2019, KKOB-FM rebranded as "93.3 The Q" (with the new call-sign KOBQ) with no change in format. The change was made in part to avoid confusion with sister station KKOB, as it had made more emphasis on its recently added FM translator at 94.5 MHz. The KKOB-FM call letters were reassigned to 96.3 FM (formerly KBZU) on January 6, 2020, when that station began simulcasting the news/talk format of KKOB.