| KBCQ-FM | |
| City: | Roswell, New Mexico |
| Frequency: | 97.1 MHz |
| Branding: | Hot 97 |
| Airdate: | October 5, 1977[1] |
| Format: | Contemporary hit radio |
| Owner: | Majestic Communications |
| Licensee: | Majestic Broadcasting, LLC |
| Haat: | 110m (360feet) |
| Webcast: | KBCQ-FM |
| Erp: | 100,000 watts |
| Former Callsigns: | KRSY-FM (1977–1978) KRIZ (1978–1984) KCKN (1984–1987) KBCQ (1987–2006) |
| Sister Stations: | KMOU, KSFX, KZDB |
| Class: | C1 |
| Facility Id: | 57722 |
| Coordinates: | 33.4014°N -104.3792°W |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
KBCQ-FM (97.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary hit radio music format licensed to Roswell, New Mexico, United States. The station is currently owned by Majestic Communications.[2]
Troy Raymond Moran received the construction permit for a new radio station in Roswell on June 29, 1976. The new station, designated KRSY-FM and an adjunct to KRSY (1230 AM), went on the air October 5, 1977.[3] A year later, on October 15, 1978, the station changed its call letters to KRIZ and began airing an album-oriented rock format. Two years later, Gary Acker and his Good News Broadcasting Company acquired KRIZ, resulting in a flip to contemporary religious music and other programming from local churches.[4] The sale of KRIZ to Acker formed half of a transaction by which Moran acquired the construction permit for channel 14 in Amarillo, Texas and Acker received the radio station as well as $325,000 in cash.[5]
Gary L. Acker sold KRIZ to Ronald Strother for $550,000 in 1984.[6] On June 1 of that year, the station changed its call letters to KCKN and ditched its religious programming, which had not been very profitable, to adopt a 24-hour country music format; KRIZ, in contrast, only operated from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m.[7] A year later, Strother sold the station to Sudbrink Broadcasting of New Mexico for $500,000.[8] Sudbrink traded KCKN and KBCQ (1020 AM) to National Capital Christian Broadcasting the next year in order to acquire WTLL, a television station it owned in Richmond, Virginia; National Capital Christian then sold the Roswell radio pair to Ardman Communications for $600,000.[9]
In April 1987, Ardman flipped the formats of the two stations: KBCQ and its contemporary hit radio format moved from 1020 AM to 97.1 FM, while KCKN's country programming moved to 1020 AM.[10] In 1990, the group agreed to sell its Roswell stations and WVSR-AM-FM in Charleston, West Virginia, for $5.75 million to ML Media.[11] KCKN-KBCQ were spun off to Roswell Radio, owned by John and Trisha Dunn, in 1993 for $600,000.[12]
In 2010, Roswell Radio went into receivership. Receiver Tasha Ingalls ultimately acquired Roswell Radio's six stations in Roswell and Tucumcari in 2010 for $340,000, after having been the only bidder in the bankruptcy proceedings.[13] A year later, the Ingalls family sold the stations for $260,000 to Majestic Communications, owned by the Matteucci family.[14]