KSWG

KSWG

Wickenburg, Arizona
Broadcast area	Northwest Phoenix metropolitan area
Frequency	96.3 MHz
Branding	Real Country 96.3
Programming
Format	Classic Country
Ownership
Owner	Barna Broadcasting LLC
History
First air date	1992
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	11216
Class	C3
ERP	6,400 watts
HAAT	197.0 meters (646.3 ft)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	963RealCountry.com

KSWG (96.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Wickenburg, Arizona. It is owned by Barna Broadcasting Company and airs a classic country radio format, using the moniker "Real Country 96.3." The station is considered a rimshot broadcaster because its transmitter is more than 50 miles from downtown Phoenix, Arizona. KSWG's signal is primarily heard in northwest suburbs of the Phoenix market.

The studios and offices are on West Wickenburg Way in Wickenburg.^[2] The transmitter is off South Vulture Mine Road, also in Wickenburg.^[3]

History

KFMA, KMEO and KBSZ

Today's KSWG began life in September 1992 on 93.7 MHz as modern rock station KFMA. The station was owned by Harold Shumway alongside KTIM 1250 AM, and as KFMA, it was run by former KUPD/KUKQ general manager Lloyd Melton. However, when KEDJ-FM was born months later, it pushed KFMA, with its partial-market signal, out of the format. Early in 1993 KFMA became KMEO, an easy listening music station using call letters made famous in Phoenix by KMEO-AM-FM (now KIDR and KMXP); Melton sued Shumway in Maricopa County Superior Court.^[4] On March 24, 1995, KMEO flipped to new age music as KBSZ "The Breeze". Geoff Stirling, a new age enthusiast and Canadian-American media mogul, had an unspecified stake in the station.^[5] KBSZ also made moves to increase its coverage; it picked up use of a translator from KEDJ at 96.3 MHz, improving its signal in metro Phoenix.^[6] It also moved its main signal to 94.1 with increased power in March 1996; the KBSZ call letters also turned up on the AM station on March 1, 1996, where they remain today (even though the station has moved across the Valley to Apache Junction). However, low audience turnout for the last concert the station sponsored and low ad sales prompted Circle S to move in a new direction.

KSWG

In July 1996, KBSZ-FM became KSWG "94 Country" with a classic country as KSWG. It was one of two new country stations in the Phoenix market that month, alongside KXLL/KBUQ "Young Buck Country".^[7]

In 2006, KSWG relocated from 94.1 to 96.3. The station was sold to Barna Broadcasting in 2012.

In 2017, an interference dispute lodged by KSWG against KXEG translator K241CS (96.1) prompted a counter-filing alleging that the facility on which KSWG was operating was not the one it was licensed for; it was directional toward Phoenix, and the tower was 57 feet (17 m) higher than authorized.^[8]

References

1. "Facility Technical Data for KSWG". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. 96.3RealCountry.com
3. Radio-Locator.com/KSWG
4. Newberg, Julie (April 3, 1991). "KMEO appearance: Wickenburg owner sets sights on big city". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
5. "NL Broadcasting Icon Geoff Stirling Dead at 92". VOCM. December 22, 2013. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved December 22, 2013.
6. Newberg, Julie (July 31, 1995). "Make your own waves: Call 'PressLine' to air gripes, sing praises". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
7. Van Dyke, Charlie (July 27, 1996). "KSWG throws its hat into country-radio ring". Arizona Republic. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
8. Jacobson, Adam (April 21, 2017). "Can An FM's Complaints About Translator Interference Be 'Invalid'?". RBR. Retrieved June 27, 2019.

External links

• Facility details for Facility ID 741203 (KSWG) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• KSWG in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

33.926°N 112.795°W / 33.926; -112.795