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KFLB-FM
Broadcast areaMidland–Odessa
Frequency88.1 MHz
Programming
FormatChristian
NetworkFamily Life Radio
Ownership
OwnerFamily Life Broadcasting
History
First air date
2002 (2002)
Former call signs
  • KFRI (2002–2009)
  • KLVW (2009)
Call sign meaning
"Family Life Broadcasting"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID92993
ClassC1
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT139.3 meters (457 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
32°5′44″N 101°48′47″W / 32.09556°N 101.81306°W / 32.09556; -101.81306
Links
Public license information
Former simulcast
KFLB
Frequency920 kHz
Ownership
OwnerFamily Life Broadcasting
History
First air date
January 26, 1947 (1947-01-26)
Last air date
July 17, 2023 (2023-07-17)
Former call signs
  • KECK (1947–1967)
  • KBZB (1967–1976)
  • KYXX (1976–1987)
  • KENT (1987–2001)
Technical information
Facility ID39900
ClassB
Power
  • 1,000 watts (day)
  • 500 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates
31°49′14″N 102°25′42″W / 31.82056°N 102.42833°W / 31.82056; -102.42833

KFLB-FM (88.1 FM) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Stanton, Texas, United States, that features a Christian radio format as an affiliate of Family Life Radio. Owned by Family Life Broadcasting, the station serves the Midland–Odessa metropolitan area.

KFLB (920 AM) was also owned by Family Life Broadcasting and carried the same programming as a direct simulcast of KFLB-FM until its license was surrendered and cancelled on July 17, 2023.

History

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KECK, KBZB and KYXX

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KECK went on the air at noon on January 26, 1947.[2] It was owned by Ben Nedow's Ector County Broadcasting Company and broadcast as a daytime-only station with 1,000 watts, adding 500-watt nighttime service in 1950.[3] KECK brought NBC programs to Odessa and was the second new station for the city in as many Sundays (KOSA had gone on the air on January 19). The Nedows owned the station until 1965, three years after Ben's death, when High Sky Broadcasters acquired the frequency.[3] High Sky changed KECK's call sign to KBZB on April 10, 1967.[3]

KBZB was sold in 1968 to the Atkins and Green Broadcasting Company, formed by two Odessa businessmen.[4] Mesa Broadcasting, owned by Randy Wayne of Brownwood, acquired the station in 1976 for $260,000 and relaunched it as KYXX with a country format.[5] KYXX and sister station KKYN in Plainview were sold to Keith Adams and Jim Shelton of Amarillo in 1979.[6] The format flip helped vault KYXX to the top of the Permian Basin radio ratings, where in 1981 it had a market share of 16.5 percent, but in 1982 it was supplanted by KUFO, an FM station.[7]

KENT

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In 1986, Adams-Shelton sold KYXX to the Southwest Educational Media Foundation of Texas (SEMFOT), which took control on January 1, 1987. The new ownership, headed by a T. Kent Atkins, changed the call sign to KENT and instituted a middle-of-the-road Christian music format, augmented by syndicated programs from James Dobson, J. Vernon McGee, Warren Wiersbee and others; the station operated noncommercially, seeking support from listeners.[8] Two years later, KENT acquired the construction permit for noncommercial station KOFR at 90.5 MHz, which was owned by Family Radio, and brought it to air as KENT-FM, a simulcast of the AM station.

The signing on of KENT-FM and co-owned FM radio stations in Amarillo and Lubbock, however, would turn into a years-long legal headache for SEMFOT. Three years of investigation turned serious when the Federal Communications Commission asked its administrative law judge to impose the maximum $250,000 fine,[9] citing a record of false information provided to the FCC and saying that KENT-FM, Amarillo's KLMN (now K-LOVE transmitter KXLV) and Lubbock's KAMY (now a Family Life Radio transmitter) were built and operated without FCC authorization. The FCC also designated all SEMFOT stations' licenses for hearing.[10] That April, SEMFOT decided to sell all of its stations to Maranatha Radio for $600,000 in a minority distress sale.[11][12]

Maranatha sold six stations in Texas and Lake Charles, Louisiana, all former SEMFOT properties, to Family Life Radio in 1998 for $1 million.[13] KENT and KENT-FM became KFLB and KFLB-FM in 2001.

In 2009, Family Life Radio and the Educational Media Foundation engaged in a facility swap in which the original Family Life station, 90.5 FM, was traded to EMF for its 88.1 FM facility, then known as KFRI with the Air 1 network, and $175,000 in cash.[14] On June 19, the KFLB-FM call sign relocated to 88.1 MHz; 90.5 became K-LOVE transmitter KLVW, which had been on EMF's 88.7 frequency.

KFLB continued to directly simulcast the new KFLB-FM until falling silent on October 14, 2022, due to prolonged issues at the transmitter site and insufficient funds to conduct repairs.[15] On July 17, 2023, Family Life Broadcasting surrendered the AM station's license for cancellation.[16]

Translators

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KFLB-FM has translators serving Odessa and Big Spring.

Broadcast translators for KFLB-FM
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
K269FG 101.7 FM Odessa 148509 250 113.2 m (371 ft) D 31°51′45″N 102°25′0″W / 31.86250°N 102.41667°W / 31.86250; -102.41667 LMS
K298BN 107.5 FM Big Spring 155684 115 172 m (564 ft) D 32°13′17.76″N 101°27′33.35″W / 32.2216000°N 101.4592639°W / 32.2216000; -101.4592639 LMS

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KFLB-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "KECK Presents Initial Broadcast Here Today". Odessa American. January 26, 1947. p. 21. Retrieved July 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c "FCC History Cards for KECK/KBZB/KYXX". Federal Communications Commission.
  4. ^ "Odessans Obtain Radio Station". Odessa American. September 3, 1968. p. 2A. Retrieved July 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Odessa Radio Station Sold". Odessa American. November 5, 1976. p. 9B. Retrieved July 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Odessa radio station sold". Odessa American. September 12, 1979. p. 2A. Retrieved July 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Henderson, Rex (August 2, 1982). "KUFO flying high". Odessa American. p. 1C. Retrieved July 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "New radio station on air". Odessa American. January 3, 1987. p. 14A. Retrieved July 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Margolin, Josh (February 2, 1993). "Station owner faces FCC charges". Odessa American. pp. 1B–2B. Retrieved July 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "The FCC fined T. Kent Atkins" (PDF). Broadcasting. Vol. 123, no. 4. January 25, 1993. p. 3. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  11. ^ Margolin, Josh (April 21, 1993). "KENT owner to sell properties". Odessa American. pp. 1B–2B. Retrieved July 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Margolin, Josh (May 6, 1993). "KENT owner seeks to sell all of his stations". Odessa American. p. 2B. Retrieved July 24, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Transaction Digest" (PDF). Radio Business Report. June 8, 1998. p. 19. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
  14. ^ Asset Exchange Agreement, FLR/EMF
  15. ^ "Re: Family Life Broadcasting System; KFLB (AM) Odessa, TX; Fac ID: 39900; Silent Special Temporary Authority Request". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. October 3, 2022.
  16. ^ "Re: Family Life Broadcasting System; KFLB (AM) Odessa, TX; Fac ID: 39900; License Cancellation Request". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission. July 17, 2023.
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