In 1946, KCVR signed on the air. It was originally owned by Central Valley Radio, whose initials gave the station its call sign. At first, KCVR was a daytimer, powered at 500 watts and required to go off the air at sunset.
On September 16, 1948, the Federal Communications Commission authorized KCVR to increase its power to 1,000 watts but still broadcasting only in the daytime.[4]
In the 1960s, KCVR adopted a Spanish language format, largely of Regional Mexican music. Jose Tapia was the station's principal personality from 1955 until 1963. In 1966, Spanish language personalities on KCVR included Tapia (who hosted "Asi Es Mi Tierra" five hours per week), Augie Soto (who hosted "Melodias del Valle" from 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays), Alex Vasquez (who hosted "Programa Latino America"), Carlos Montano (who hosted "La Hora del Hogar"), Tony Zuniga (who hosted "Atarceder Musical" and Tina Rodriguez (who hosted "Sobremesa Musical" on weekdays from 1 to 2 p.m. and "Rincon Norteno" from 2 to 3 p.m. weekdays).
On June 3, 2015, KCVR changed the format to Spanish contemporary hit radio, simulcasting KCVR-FM 98.9 MHz licensed to Columbia, California.[5] Effective August 6, 2020, KCVR was acquired by Punjabi American Media, as part of a network of six Central California AM stations broadcasting Punjabi language programming.
