KHIT

KONE (referred to as K-ONE) went on the air January 29, 1955. It was Reno's first radio station with a dedicated musical format, airing easy listening and newscasts every two hours{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484001/station_k1_is_on_reno_airwaves/|title=Station K-1 Is On Reno Airwaves|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=February 5, 1955|access-date=October 1, 2019}} and broadcasting with 250 watts.[https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=43606 FCC History Cards for KHIT] The KONE call letters were released to the station when the United States Coast Guard ship that carried them was sold to Panama.{{r|on}} KONE was owned and operated by Tom Magowan, Jim Harford and Fred Jones, who brought experience in making sound installations in many of the hotels in Las Vegas and in Nevada radio.{{r|on}} By 1960, however, the station had defaulted on its taxes to Washoe County;{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484025/county_to_act_in_alleged_tax_default_by/|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|title=County to Act In Alleged Tax Default by KONE|date=May 7, 1960|page=5|access-date=October 1, 2019}} later that year, Leland Fuller bought 51 percent of the station for $15,500.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1960/BC-1960-08-08.pdf|work=Broadcasting|date=August 8, 1960|page=89|title=KONE Reno, Nev.|access-date=October 1, 2019}} The station's financial difficulties at the very start of the decade were further illustrated in 1964, when the Associated Press won $4,520 in unpaid wire service bills that K-ONE never paid.{{cite news|page=13|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484066/judgment_won_over_contract/|title=Judgment Won Over Contract|date=March 27, 1964|access-date=October 1, 2019}}

Under Fuller's management, K-ONE changed formats to country in 1963.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484060/kone_begins_new_format_in_programs/|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=September 20, 1963|access-date=October 1, 2019|title=K-ONE Begins New Format In Programs}} After a 1966 relocation of its transmitter and tower, however, the station reverted to a "pleasant listening" sound.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484112/art_longs_nite_notes/|title=Art Long's Nite Notes|work=Reno Evening Gazette and Nevada State Journal|page=10|date=January 29, 1966|first=Art|last=Long|access-date=October 1, 2019}} It also found itself in more legal trouble when, later that year, the proprietors of 16 copyrighted musical works sued K-ONE for not paying the royalties they were owed for playing such compositions as "San Antonio Rose" and "Sweet Georgia Brown".{{cite news|title=Suit Filed Against KONE|work=Nevada State Journal|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484115/suit_filed_against_kone/|date=October 23, 1966|access-date=October 1, 2019}}

KONE was sold to its present owners, Lotus, in 1967 for $135,000, marking the company's entry into the Reno radio market.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484153/radio_station_sale_reported/|title=Radio Station Sale Reported|date=May 4, 1967|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|page=5|access-date=October 1, 2019}} Among the features of K-ONE's programming in the late 1960s was a three-hour, commercial-free, underground music show aired at night.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484167/underground_program_tried/|title=Underground Program Tried|date=June 7, 1968|access-date=October 1, 2019|work=Reno Gazette-Journal}} Lotus expanded when it bought KGLR 105.7 FM in 1978 and relaunched it the next year as KOZZ.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484197/|first=Mark|last=Oliva|title=Crazy Reno wake gives KGLR-FM rousing sendoff|date=January 31, 1979|work=Reno Evening Gazette|access-date=October 1, 2019}}

By 1981, KONE was airing a country format.{{cite news|title=What do the radio stations offer? Variety|pages=2B, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484213/radio/ 3B]|first=Bill|last=O'Driscoll|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484223/what_do_the_radio_stations_offer/|access-date=October 1, 2019|date=August 1, 1981|work=Reno Evening Gazette}} The station changed to adult contemporary in 1985.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484236/renos_radio_facelift/|title=Reno's radio facelift|pages=1D, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484247/radio_changes/ 4D]|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=March 30, 1985|first=Belma|last=Johnson|access-date=October 1, 2019}} Its classic hits sound was supplemented by a heavy dose of sports broadcasts, including Los Angeles Raiders football, Oakland Athletics baseball, and high school sports events.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484266/reno_radio_has_a_great_deal_to_offer/|first=Dave|last=Newman|title=Reno radio has a great deal to offer listeners|access-date=October 1, 2019|date=February 17, 1986|work=Reno Gazette-Journal}} It was also the first station in the market to broadcast in C-QUAM AM stereo.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484279/reno_radio_station_turns_on_in_stereo/|title=Reno radio station turns on in stereo|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=April 21, 1986|access-date=October 1, 2019}} 1987 saw KONE shift to satellite-delivered oldies music from Transtar while retaining popular morning show host Freddy Mertz.{{cite news|first=Joe|last=DeChick|pages=1D, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484302/kone/ 4D]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484299/kone_to_launch_satellite_format/|title=KONE to launch satellite format|access-date=October 1, 2019|date=October 27, 1987}} Its sports coverage grew again in 1988 with the addition of Nevada Wolf Pack football.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484312/radiotv_notes/|title=Radio/TV notes|date=September 10, 1988|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|access-date=October 1, 2019}}

After returning to automated country and finishing far behind its competitors in the format, KONE became a simulcast of KOZZ and became KOZZ itself in 1991, though it continued to break away for sports coverage.{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Sion|title=KOZZ sends album rock to AM station|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484334/kozz_sends_album_rock_to_am_station/|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|access-date=October 1, 2019|date=November 28, 1991}}

The simulcast with 105.7 FM remained until April 15, 1997, when 1450 AM began carrying its own programming again as talk-formatted KPTT "The Parrot".{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484345/reno_radio_station_ends_as_broadcasts/|first=Mark|last=Anderson|title=Reno radio station ends A's broadcasts|date=March 27, 1997|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|access-date=October 1, 2019}} KPTT carried a mix of political shows from G. Gordon Liddy and Tom Leykis and sports talk with Jim Rome and Pete Rose.{{r|parrot}} KPTT also aired the audio of KOLO-TV's newscasts.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36484352/8_on_tv_radio/|title=8 on TV, radio|date=April 17, 1997|work=Reno Gazette-Journal|access-date=October 1, 2019}}

A year after becoming "The Parrot", Lotus switched the formats of its stations at 1450 and 630. The talk programming moved down the dial to 630, while the KHIT country format relocated up the dial to 1450.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-M-Street/M-Street-Journal/M-Street-1998-03.pdf|work=M Street Journal|page=2 (24)|date=March 18, 1998|access-date=October 1, 2019|title=Format Changes}} After a stint with ESPN Radio, the station yet again lost a format to the 630 signal when Lotus opted to put the sports network on KPTT and air adult standards music on KHIT.{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-M-Street/M-Street-Journal/M-Street-2001-06.pdf|work=M Street Journal|date=June 13, 2001|page=5|title=Format Changes & Updates|access-date=October 1, 2019}} The station later picked up an affiliation with Fox Sports Radio, which was changed to ESPN Radio in 2010 as part of another swap with the 630 frequency (now KPLY) and a larger format shuffle at Lotus Reno.{{cite news|url=https://www.kolotv.com/home/headlines/102808644.html|work=KOLO TV|title=Cub Country Switches to Sports; Smooth Jazz Goes Country|access-date=October 1, 2019|date=September 13, 2010}}

KHIT switched to the Spanish-language ESPN Deportes Radio network on July 1, 2012; the station continued to air English-language broadcasts of UNLV Rebels football and the San Diego Chargers to satisfy contractual obligations.{{cite news|title=ESPN 1450 AM switching to Spanish-language ESPN on Monday|url=http://www.rgj.com/article/20120927/SPORTS/309270042/ESPN-1450-AM-switching-Spanish-language-ESPN-Monday?nclick_check=1|access-date=September 27, 2012|newspaper=Reno Gazette-Journal|date=September 27, 2012}}

On August 1, 2016, KHIT switched to English-language sports, with programming from NBC Sports Radio. The NBC Sports Radio network became available in Reno when Wilks Broadcasting exited the market and spun off former carrier KFOY to Radio Lazer.{{cite news|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/105966/wilks-splits-final-cluster-to-two-buyers-exits-reno/|work=RadioInsight|first=Lance|last=Venta|date=April 29, 2016|access-date=October 1, 2019|title=Wilks Splits Final Cluster To Two Buyers; Exits Reno}} In addition, at this time KHIT added an FM translator, K231CS (94.1 FM).{{cite news|url=https://mynews4.com/news/local/lotus-radio-buys-reno-adult-alternative-station-1001-fm|work=MyNews4|title=Lotus Radio buys Reno adult alternative station 100.1 FM|date=August 3, 2016|access-date=October 3, 2019}} In May 2018, KHIT changed sports networks to CBS Sports Radio.

File:KHIT CBSSports94.1-1450 logo.png

KHIT has been operating at reduced power since 2018 due to a defect in its antenna system, which serves four AM stations; the filtering system presents the KHIT transmitter with a VSWR that is too high for the transmitter to use its full 1,000 watts.[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101785247&qnum=5150©num=1&exhcnum=1 BSTA-20180516AAU Reduced Power STA Letter — KHIT]{{dead link|date=January 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}

{{Reflist}}

{{AM station data|38458|KHIT}}

• {{FCC-LMS-Facility|138802|K231CS}}
• {{FXL|K231CS}}

{{Reno Radio}}

{{Sports Radio Stations in Nevada}}

{{Lotus Communications}}

HIT

Category:Sports radio stations in the United States

Category:Radio stations established in 1955

Category:Lotus Communications stations

Category:1955 establishments in Nevada