KSWG
{{short description|Radio station in Wickenburg, Arizona}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox radio station
| logo = KSWG RealCountry96.3 logo.png
| logo_size = 150px
| name = KSWG
| airdate = 1992
| frequency = 96.3 MHz
| city = Wickenburg, Arizona
| area = Northwest Phoenix metropolitan area
| format = Classic Country
| branding = Real Country 96.3
| owner = Barna Broadcasting LLC
| erp = 6,400 watts
| haat = {{convert|197.0|m|ft|sp=us}}
| class = C3
| facility_id = 11216
| webcast = [http://lightningstream.surfernetwork.com/Media/player/view/kswg_sl4.asp?call=kswg Listen Live]
| website = [http://www.963realcountry.com 963RealCountry.com]
| licensing_authority= FCC
}}
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.[http://www.963realcountry.com/contact-us/ 96.3RealCountry.com] The transmitter is off South Vulture Mine Road, also in Wickenburg.[http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=KSWG-FM Radio-Locator.com/KSWG]
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.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33317699/|work=Arizona Republic|date=April 3, 1991|first=Julie|last=Newberg|title=KMEO appearance: Wickenburg owner sets sights on big city|access-date=June 27, 2019}}
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.{{cite web|url=http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&ID=41841 |title=NL Broadcasting Icon Geoff Stirling Dead at 92 |date=December 22, 2013 |access-date=December 22, 2013 |publisher=VOCM |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224112832/http://www.vocm.com/newsarticle.asp?mn=2&ID=41841 |archive-date=December 24, 2013 }} 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.{{Cite news |url=http://www.newspapers.com/clip/33317915/make_your_own_waves_call_pressline/ |title=Make your own waves: Call 'PressLine' to air gripes, sing praises |last=Newberg |first=Julie |date=July 31, 1995 |work=Arizona Republic |access-date=June 27, 2019 |language=en}} 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".{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33318022/|work=Arizona Republic|first=Charlie|last=Van Dyke|date=July 27, 1996|title=KSWG throws its hat into country-radio ring|access-date=June 27, 2019}}
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 {{convert|57|ft|m|sp=us}} higher than authorized.{{cite news|url=https://www.rbr.com/can-an-fms-complaints-about-translator-interference-be-invalid/|work=RBR|date=April 21, 2017|title=Can An FM’s Complaints About Translator Interference Be ‘Invalid’?|first=Adam|last=Jacobson|access-date=June 27, 2019}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{FM station data|741203|KSWG}}
{{Phoenix Radio}}
{{Country Radio Stations in Arizona}}
{{coord|33.926|N|112.795|W|type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC|display=title}}
Category:Classic country radio stations in the United States
Category:Mass media in Yavapai County, Arizona