KXYZ

KXYZ (1320 AM) is an American terrestrial radio station serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area, broadcasting on 1320 kHz, and under ownership of iHeartMedia. KXYZ features an African-American all-news format, as an affiliate of the National Black Information Network. The transmitter is currently located in Pasadena, Texas, however iHeart has planned the relocation of KXYZ to the current KPRC (AM) site in Settegast, east Houston, following consummation of facility sale.
History.
KTUE went on the air in 1926 under the auspices of Uhalt Electric. It broadcast with just 5 watts on 1140, 1410 and 1420 kHz. In 1930, Uhalt sold the station to the Harris County Broadcasting Company, which changed the call letters to KXYZ and built a new 100-watt facility. In 1932, KXYZ absorbed another station, KTLC, and moved to 1440 kHz at 250 watts. Further increases to 500 watts, then 1,000, soon followed. NARBA relocated the station to 1470 kHz in 1941. When KTRH moved to 740 kHz, KXYZ took over the former KTRH antenna and began broadcasting with 5,000 watts on 1320.
On June 17, 1948, the Federal Communications Commission approved the purchase of Harris County Broadcasting Company by Shamrock Broadcasting Company, owned by Glenn H. McCarthy. The Houston Broadcasting Corporation bought KXYZ in 1957.
During the 1960s, KXYZ was owned by ABC and played beautiful music. The station was well known in the 1960s for its vividly descriptive station identification promos, such as:
In the mid-1970s, the format changed to pop music. Around 1980, it changed over to a Christian station after KXYZ was acquired by Slater Broadcasting the year prior.
In 1983, Infinity Broadcasting absorbed KXYZ. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, it was a Spanish language contemporary music station known as "Radio 13"; During this period, KXYZ carried Houston Astros and Houston Rockets games in Spanish. KXYZ then carried the Spanish talk format of satellite network Radio Unica. In July 1998, Multicultural Broadcasting bought KXYZ from Infinity/CBS, and Biz Radio made its debut in the early years of the 2000s.
Biz Radio left KXYZ for KTEK in Alvin, Texas. It purchased KTEK and began signal testing in November 2007 simulcasting with KXYZ until December 11, 2007. The only drawback of the move to KTEK is that its signal is only licensed to broadcast during the daytime, while KXYZ has nighttime authorization.
On November 4, 2019, KXYZ broadcast in four different language Texas Chinese Radio (Mandarin Chinese); DTHT Radio (Vietnamese); Radio Gracia (Spanish); DATT Performing Arts (Hindi); Geetanjali Radio (Hindi); and Radio Me Hang Cuu Giup (Vietnamese).
On December 17, 2020, KXYZ flipped from brokered programming to an African-American oriented all-news format from iHeartMedia's Black Information Network.