KOZA (Texas) explained

KOZA
Frequency:1230 AM (kHz)
City:Odessa, Texas
Country:US
Format:Defunct (was Tejano music)
Owner:Stellar Media, Inc.
Facility Id:41298
Power:1,000 watts
Branding:La Koza Tejana[1]
Class:C
Former Callsigns:KOSA (1947–1968)

KOZA (1230 AM) was a radio station broadcasting a Tejano music format, licensed to Odessa, Texas. The station was last owned by Stellar Media, Inc.[2]

History

KOSA

KOSA went on the air at 7 am on January 19, 1947, as the CBS radio station for the Permian Basin.[3] Operating on 1450 kHz, the new station was licensed to the Southwestern Broadcasting Corporation, owned by Dorrance D. Roderick. The Roderick stations—KOSA, El Paso's KROD and KSIL in Silver City, New Mexico, all CBS affiliates—formed a regional hookup known as the Southwest Network.[4]

The station relocated from 1450 to 1230 kHz on April 20, 1949,[5] after emerging victorious from a hearing in which the Federal Communications Commission denied competing proposals by a series of other stations to use the frequency.[6] The station was sold to the Odessa Broadcasting Company in 1951, part of the Trigg-Vaughn Stations group, owned and operated by Cecil L. Trigg and Jack Vaughn. The company expanded to TV with KOSA-TV, which began telecasts on January 1, 1956, as a CBS affiliate. KOSA further increased its signal coverage with a daytime increase to 1,000 watts in 1964.[7]

KOZA

May 1, 1968, saw KOSA become KOZA as Trigg-Vaughn sold all of its other media holdings, including KOSA-TV, which kept the call letters. It retained the radio station another 11 years as its lone broadcasting property until KOZA was acquired by Kansas-based Harris Enterprises in 1979.[8] Under Harris, KOZA responded to the decline of top 40 music on AM by moving to a format that targeted an over-35 audience. Harris only owned the station for three years until manager Bob Russell, operating as Capital Communications, bought it out in 1982.[9]

Demise and rebirth as a Spanish-language station

In the mid-1980s, the Permian Basin economy suffered due to low oil prices. KOZA was affected by the regional slump and ceased broadcasting the weekend of May 17–18, 1986.[10] The silence of KOZA enabled a local Christian FM station, KKKK, to temporarily relocate to KOZA's studios after losing theirs in a January 1987 fire.

While KOZA was made available in an auction at the Odessa Hilton on May 12, 1987,[11] it did not emerge until April 1989, when Mesa Entertainment bought the station and relaunched it with a Spanish-language music format.[12] The station absorbed some talent and programming from KNDA when that station closed in 1991.[13]

In 2004, Mesa Entertainment sold the station to Stellar Media, in a transaction between two members of the Velásquez family.[14] KOZA was silent between November 24, 2014, and November 9, 2015, when the studio building was sold and the station was forced to relocate.[15] Its license was not renewed and expired on August 1, 2021.[16]

External links

31.8307°N -102.3696°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Texas Music Industry Directory - Radio Stations in Texas | Texas Music Office | Office of the Texas Governor | Greg Abbott .
  2. http://transition.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/amq?list=0&facid=41298 KOZA
  3. News: Newspapers.com. Odessa American-KOSA Newscaster. Odessa American. January 14, 1947. July 19, 2019.
  4. News: Newspapers.com. KOSA Headed By Experienced Staff. Odessa American. January 19, 1947. 15. July 19, 2019.
  5. News: Newspapers.com. Station KOSA Moves to 1230. Odessa American. July 19, 2019. April 20, 1949.
  6. News: Newspapers.com. KOSA Frequency Change Authorized. Odessa American. March 16, 1949. July 19, 2019.
  7. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=43847 FCC History Cards for KOZA
  8. News: Newspapers.com. Accord reached on sale of KOZA radio. July 19, 2019. January 29, 1979. Odessa American.
  9. News: Newspapers.com. Manager buys out KOZA. Odessa American. August 29, 1982. 1C.
  10. News: Newspapers.com. Tough times don't make for pleasant sights in Odessa. Odessa Americans. Ken. Brodnax. July 19, 2019. May 25, 1986. 15A.
  11. News: Newspapers.com. Radio station will be sold. July 19, 2019. Odessa American. April 21, 1987. Jack. Walters.
  12. News: Newspapers.com. April 30, 1989. KOZA radio. Odessa American. July 19, 2019.
  13. News: Newspapers.com. Financial difficulties force KNDA to sign off. Odessa American. Martin. Hobratschk. June 14, 1991. June 25, 2019. (Continued)
  14. News: Deals. November 7, 2004. Broadcasting & Cable. July 19, 2019.
  15. https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101668065&formid=910&fac_num=41298 FCC Application BLSTA-20150114AAT — Silent STA — KOZA
  16. "Radio License Expirations", fcc.gov. July 8, 2021. Retrieved August 4, 2021.