VCY America radio station in Phoenix
KVCP
(88.3
FM
) is a
non-commercial educational
radio station
broadcasting a
Conservative
Christian radio
format.
Licensed
to
Phoenix, Arizona
, it serves the
Phoenix metropolitan area
. The station is owned by
VCY America, Inc.
KVCP originally operated as a shared-time station; it broadcast from 5 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with the remaining hours used by
Family Radio
's
KPHF
for its
Christian radio
format. The stations' owners began this shared time arrangement in 1990 after both vying for the frequency. Both KVCP and KPHF used the same
transmitter
off Shaw Butte Trail in Phoenix. As of late March 2023, KVCP operates on a full-time basis.
History
[
edit
]
The station went on the air in 1992 as
KNAI
, a
non-commercial educational
radio station
broadcasting a
radio format
of
Regional Mexican
music and information for farm workers and other immigrants from
Mexico
. The station was owned by the National Farm Workers Service Center, Inc., and carried the Radio Campesina Network, with stations in
California
,
Nevada
and
Arizona
. The word "campesina" translates to "peasant" or "farm worker."
On September 2, 2011, lawyers representing radio stations KNAI and
KUFW
(
Woodlake, California
) notified the FCC that license holder National Farm Workers Service Center, Inc., had legally changed its name to the "Cesar Chavez Foundation" on June 30, 2010.
[2]
Chavez
was a noted leader of the Farm Workers movement.
In March 2017, it was announced that the Cesar Chavez Foundation was planning to buy
AM 860
KMVP, also in Phoenix, which would allow programming to be heard around the clock in the Phoenix
media market
, while KNAI was off the air.
[3]
On May 15, 2017, KNAI added the "-FM" suffix;
[4]
the same day, KMVP changed its call letters to
KNAI
.
[5]
CCF paired 860 AM with an FM translator, and in October, La Campesina moved exclusively to 860 AM and 101.9 FM; the station then began airing a loop directing listeners to the new frequencies.
[6]
KNAI-FM changed its call letters to
KCCF-FM
on February 8, 2018.
[4]
The move of the "La Campesina" programming from a non-commercial educational station to a commercial radio station coincided with a $115,000 fine for violations of the FCC's
underwriting
regulations at KNAI-FM and KUFW; the network's other stations operate on a commercial basis.
[6]
On September 24, 2018, the Cesar Chavez Foundation announced that they had sold KCCF-FM to Wisconsin-based evangelical Christian broadcaster
VCY America
for $4.9 million, who was to maintain the shared-time arrangement with Family Radio and KPHF, making 88.3 a full-time Christian station, albeit with two different operators and licenses.
[7]
The sale was consummated on December 31, 2018, at which point VCY America changed the station's call sign to KVCP.
On March 22, 2023, Family Radio surrendered KPHF's license to the
Federal Communications Commission
for cancellation, and it was cancelled the next day. In exchange for the license surrender and the ability to take over the frequency on a full-time basis,
VCY America
paid Family Radio $800,000 and agreed to carry Family Radio's programming on KVCP's HD2 channel, feeding Family Radio's translator K298CK. Additionally, Family Radio agreed to carry VCY America's programming on the HD2 channel of its
KEBR
in Sacramento, California.
[8]
Translators
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999
(PDF)
. 1999. p. D-46
. Retrieved
May 16,
2017
.
- ^
Paxson, Anne Thomas (September 2, 2011).
"Change of Corporate Name of Licensee of Noncommercial FM Radio Stations"
. Borsari & Paxson
. Retrieved
January 21,
2012
.
- ^
InsideRadio.com
- ^
a
b
"Call Sign History (KCCF-FM)"
.
CDBS Public Access
.
Federal Communications Commission
. Retrieved
February 13,
2018
.
- ^
"Call Sign History (KNAI)"
.
CDBS Public Access
.
Federal Communications Commission
. Retrieved
May 18,
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Venta, Lance (February 13, 2018).
"88.3 Phoenix Stunting"
.
RadioInsight
. Retrieved
February 13,
2018
.
- ^
"VCY America to Acquire Non-Commercial KCCF-FM/Phoenix"
.
Radio Online
. September 24, 2018
. Retrieved
September 30,
2018
.
- ^
"
Family Stations & VCY America Agree to Unwind Phoenix Timeshare Agreement
",
RadioInsight
. March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 30, 2023.
External links
[
edit
]
Religious radio stations in the state of
Arizona
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Stations
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