| KVEC | |
| City: | San Luis Obispo, California |
| Area: | San Luis Obispo County, California |
| Branding: | News Talk 920 |
| Frequency: | 920 kHz |
| Airdate: | 1937 (at 1200) |
| Format: | News/talk |
| Class: | B |
| Facility Id: | 10870 |
| Licensing Authority: | FCC |
| Callsign Meaning: | Valley Electric Company (original owner) |
| Coordinates: | 35.2994°N -120.6733°W |
| Owner: | American General Media |
| Licensee: | AGM California, Inc. |
| Sister Stations: | KKAL, KKJG, KSTT-FM, KZOZ |
KVEC (920 AM) is a commercial radio station that is licensed to San Luis Obispo, California, United States and serves the Central Coast of California. The station is owned by American General Media and broadcasts a news/talk radio format featuring a variety of nationally syndicated talk shows as well as a program hosted by Dave Congalton.
KVEC is rebroadcast on FM translator station K243CL on 96.5 MHz in San Luis Obispo.
KVEC first signed on in 1937[1] on the 1200 kHz frequency. The station originally was owned by Valley Electric Company (hence its call sign), headed by Christina M. Jacobson.[2] In March 1941, under the terms of the NARBA Havana Treaty, KVEC was relocated to 1230 kHz.[3] The station changed frequencies once more in 1946 to 920 kHz.[4]
In April 1956, Jacobson sold KVEC and its television sister station KVEC-TV (channel 6) to The Valley Enterprises Company for $450,000. The media company, headed by John C. Cohan, was the owner of KSBW-AM-TV in Salinas, California.[5] Cohan took sole ownership of KVEC and its TV counterpart, then known as KSBY-TV, the following year.[6] In November 1965, Cohen sold KVEC and its three-year-old FM sister station (now KZOZ) to West Coast Broadcasters Inc., majority owned by James L. Sephier, for $360,000.[7] On January 6, 1975, West Coast Broadcasters sold KVEC to Century Broadcasting Company for $500,000.[8]
The 1980s and 1990s saw KVEC face a series of financial troubles and ownership changes. In 1985, Five Cities Broadcasting Inc. purchased the station from the Century Broadcasting Company Liquidating Trust for $500,000 and paired it with KPGA (95.3 FM).[9] However, the following year, Five Cities defaulted on a loan, leading to the involuntary transfer of both stations' licenses to U.S. Media Company.[10] In August 1989, U.S. Media sold news/talk-formatted KVEC to Chorro Communications Inc. for $300,000;[11] [12] KPGA was divested separately a month later. In September 1991, Richard Mason sold his 70% stake in Chorro Communications to partner Francis Sheahan for $353,900, granting the latter full control of KVEC. Portions of the proceeds were used to settle a debt owed to Mason and to pay taxes owed to the Internal Revenue Service.[13]
In November 2000, Clear Channel Communications purchased KVEC from Chorro for $950,000 as part of a nationwide station buying spree.[14] In July 2007, the station was among 16 Clear Channel outlets in California and Arizona that were sold to El Dorado Broadcasters for $40 million.[15] In early 2016, El Dorado began selling off its Central Coast stations. These divestitures included KVEC, sold to Bakersfield, California-based American General Media for $450,000 that May.[16]