KOUU

KOUU (1290 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic country music format, as well as local high school sports events.[2] Licensed to Pocatello, Idaho, United States, the station is currently owned by Idaho Wireless Corporation and features programming from ABC Radio.[3]

KOUU
Frequency1290 kHz
BrandingCountry Classics 1290 AM/96.5 FM
Programming
FormatClassic Country
AffiliationsABC Radio
Ownership
OwnerIdaho Wireless Corporation
History
First air date
November 21, 1956[1]
Former call signs
KYTE (1956–1962)
KSNN (1962–1978)
KISU (1978–1981)
KZBQ (1981–1995)
Technical information
Facility ID28255
ClassD
Power50,000 watts day
24 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
42°57′28″N 112°25′46″W
Translator(s)see below
Links
Websitecountryclassicsidaho.com

History

The station went on the air as KYTE on November 21, 1956.[1] J. Ronald Bayton, the original owner of the independent, music-minded KYTE, sold the station a year later for $60,000 to Thomas R. and A. H. Becker of Newport, Oregon.[4]

Further changes came during 1961 and 1962, when KYTE moved from its original base to a new downtown studio,[5] reopened after a month's silence under new management,[6] and changed its call letters to KSNN on February 26, 1962.[7] The new managers, Tommy Thompson and Daniel C. Libeg, also acquired the station itself: in 1965, Libeg bought out Thompson's share in KSNN.[8]

After a vandalism attempt in April 1967 in which someone shot out the tower lights with a .22-caliber rifle,[9] the station sought approval to move its transmitter site[10] as part of a $100,000 expansion that also included new studio facilities and the construction of an FM station at 93.7 MHz, KSNN-FM.[11] The new offices opened in September 1968,[12] while the FM outlet launched in 1969. KSNN also was hit with a lawsuit from the Associated Press in July 1969 for failure to pay a wire service bill.[13]

While the AM and FM outlets simulcast for the latter's first years in operation, the two stations split the simulcast in 1977, with the FM continuing to offer a Top 40 format while the AM flipped to oldies.[14]

In March 1978, KSNN-AM-FM was sold to the KSNN Broadcasting Company, composed primarily of three businessmen from Hutchinson, Kansas, for $159,000.[15] The new ownership changed the call letters of the AM station to KISU on May 1.[7] A format change in April 1981 resulted in new KZBQ call letters, allowing the television station at Idaho State University to pick up the KISU-TV calls later that year.[16]

KZBQ was acquired by its current owners, Idaho Wireless, in 1985 for $325,000; by this time, it ran an adult contemporary format.[17]

On January 23, 1995, the station changed its call sign to the current KOUU, call letters that had resided on the then-unbuilt 104.1 station at American Falls which became KORR.[18]

Translators

Three translators are listed as associated with the KOUU license:

Broadcast translators for KOUU
Call signFrequencyCity of licenseFIDERP (W)HAATClassFCC info
K243CJ 96.5 FMPocatello1539289961 m (200 ft)DLMS
K275BL 102.9 FMPocatello1522989964 m (210 ft)DLMS
K294CD 106.7 FMPocatello152582250485 m (1,591 ft)DLMS

References
  1. "Radio KYTE To Open Here". Idaho State Journal. November 19, 1956. p. 3. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  2. "Country Classics Idaho". February 15, 2019.
  3. "KOUU Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. "KYTE is Sold For $60,000". Idaho State Journal. November 1, 1957. p. 1. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  5. "KYTE Moves During Year". Idaho State Journal. February 27, 1962. p. B-4. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  6. "New Managers To Reopen KYTE". Idaho State Journal. October 31, 1961. p. 11. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  7. FCC History Cards for KOUU
  8. "KSNN Owner Sells Interest". Idaho State Journal. February 28, 1965. p. 8. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  9. "Vandalism At Tower". Idaho State Journal. April 23, 1967. p. 11. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  10. "Zoners Favor Kennel South of City". Idaho State Journal. October 19, 1967. p. 2. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  11. "Radio Station To Expand". Idaho State Journal. November 2, 1967. p. 19. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  12. "Chiefs to Participate In KSNN Opening". Idaho State Journal. September 24, 1968. p. 2A. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  13. "AP Sues KSNN Radio, Charges Contract Broken". Idaho State Journal. July 25, 1969. p. A7. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  14. "KSNN Radio to Split AM, FM Operations". Idaho State Journal. June 7, 1977. p. A9. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  15. "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. March 20, 1978. p. 58. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  16. "Station Changes Letters". Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. December 9, 1981. p. A8. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  17. "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. December 13, 1985. p. 12. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  18. "KOUU Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
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