KVON

KVON
Napa, California

Broadcast area	Napa County/Sonoma County
Frequency	1440 kHz
Branding	Mega Mix 1440/96.9
Programming
Language(s)	Spanish
Format	Spanish AC
Ownership
Owner	Wilfred Alexander Marcencia and Julissa Marcencia (Wine Down Media LLC)
Sister stations	KVYN
History
First air date	November 17, 1947
Technical information
Facility ID	74430
Class	B
Power	5,000 watts day 1,000 watts night
Transmitter coordinates	38°15′45.00″N 122°16′56.00″W / 38.2625000°N 122.2822222°W / 38.2625000; -122.2822222
Translator(s)	96.9 K245DK (Napa)
Links
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	kvon.com

KVON (1440 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a Spanish AC radio format. Licensed to Napa, California, it serves the Napa County/Sonoma County region of Northern California. The station is owned by Wilfred Alexander Marcencia and Julissa Marcencia, through licensee Wine Down Media LLC.

By day, KVON's transmitter broadcasts a 5,000-watt signal. At night, to avoid interfering with other stations on 1440 AM, the station reduces transmitter power to 1,000 watts. The station uses a directional antenna pattern at all times utilizing a 4-tower array during daytime and 3-tower array during nighttime operations.^[1] The station's transmitter and antenna array are located at a site south of the Napa, California, adjacent to the Napa River. The station also simulcasts on the FM band on 96.9 MHz with 12 watts from an antenna that is co-located on a site it shares with KVYN near Yountville, California.

History

On November 17, 1947, KVON first signed on.^[2] Originally it broadcast with 500 watts of power around the clock, before getting a power increase.^[3] The station was owned by Thomas L. Young from 1971 to 1996. During Young's ownership, he founded sister station KVYN which went on the air in 1975.^[4]^[5]

In May 2017 an announcement was made that the station along with KVYN had been sold by Wine Country Broadcasting to Wine Down Media for $425,000. The transaction was consummated on August 1, 2017.^[6]

On December 14, 2021, KVON announced that it would flip to Spanish language programming on January 3, 2022, and some previous programming elements would move to sister station KVYN.^[7] The station is currently the only station in Napa County broadcasting in Spanish 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The format is Spanish AC, branded as "Mega Mix 1440/96.9.^[7] The switchover to the new format is a culmination of a 5 year transition, bourne out of several events starting with the October 2017 Northern California wildfires, followed by the 2019 California power shutoffs and the COVID-19 pandemic. Over one third of Napa County's population is Latino and during these events, Spanish speaking residents had a difficult time retrieving and understanding coverage and implications of these events at the local level.^[8] The station's ownership was granted a license to broadcast by the FCC on December 8, 2021.^[9]

Previous logo

References

^ Radio-Locator.com/KVON
^ "Directory of Radio Stations in the United States and Canada" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-23. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
^ "Mayor to Pull Switch as KVON Napa Starts" (PDF). Broadcasting. December 15, 1947. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
^ Sestito, Maria (December 1, 2015). "Former radio station owner dies at age 94". Napa Valley Register. Napa, CA: Lee Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
^ "Thomas L. Young". Napa Valley Register. Napa, CA: Lee Enterprises, Inc. December 4, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2015.
^ Huffman, Jennifer (May 14, 2017). "New owners for Napa radio stations KVYN/KVON". Napa Valley Register. Napa, CA: Lee Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
^ ^a ^b "KVON Relaunches As MegaMix". RadioInsight. Retrieved 2022-01-03.
^ Yune, Howard (January 15, 2022). "New format, new mission: KVON radio lifts Spanish language to the Napa Valley airwaves". Napa Valley Register. Napa, CA: Lee Enterprises, Inc. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
^ "K245DK-FX". radio-locator. Retrieved January 13, 2024.

External links

FCC History Cards for KVON
KVON in the FCC AM station database
KVON in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
K245DK in the FCC FM station database
K245DK at FCCdata.org

Radio stations in Santa Rosa, California and the North Bay

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LPFM	100.9 106.5
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See also: List of radio stations in California

Notes: 1. Part 15 station with notability.

v t e Spanish-language radio stations in the state of California
Stations	KAEH – Beaumont KAFY – Bakersfield KATD – Pittsburg KBAA – Grass Valley KBBF – Santa Rosa KBBU – Modesto KBHH – Kerman KBKY – Merced KBLO – Corcoran KBRG – San Jose KBTW – Lenwood KBUA – San Fernando KBUE – Long Beach KBYN – Arnold KCAL – Redlands KCCL – Woodland KCFA – Arnold KCHJ – Delano KCVR – Lodi KEBN – Garden Grove KEBT - Lost Hills KEPD – Ridgecrest KERU – Blythe KEXA – King City KEYQ – Fresno KEZY – San Bernardino KFSD – Escondido KFSG – Roseville KFSO-FM – Visalia KGED - Fresno KGEN – Tulare KGEN-FM – Hanford KGRB – Jackson KGST – Fresno KGZO – Shafter KHDC – Chualar KHHM - Shingle Springs KHMU - Buttonwillow KHPY – Moreno Valley KHSQ – Trinidad KIDI-FM – Lompoc KIQI – San Francisco KIQQ-FM – Newberry Springs KIQS – Willows KIST-FM – Carpinteria KIWI – Mcfarland KJDJ – San Luis Obispo KJOR – Windsor KKZI – Barstow KLAX-FM – East Los Angeles KLBN – Fresno KLJR-FM – Santa Paula KLLE – North Fork KLLI – Los Angeles KLMG – Esparto KLMM – Morro Bay KLNV – San Diego KLOB – Thousand Palms KLOK-FM – Greenfield KLOQ-FM – Winton KLQV – San Diego KLTX – Long Beach KLUN – Paso Robles KLVE – Los Angeles KLYY – Riverside KMAK – Orange Cove KMBX – Soledad KMEN – Mendota KMIX – Tracy KMJV – Soledad KMLA – El Rio KMLM-FM - Grover Beach KMPG – Hollister KMPO – Modesto KMQA – East Porterville KMRO – Camarillo KMYX-FM – Arvin KNTO – Chowchilla KNZR - Bakersfield KODV – Barstow KOND – Hanford KOXR – Oxnard KPRC-FM – Salinas KPSL-FM – Bakersfield KPST-FM – Coachella KQLB – Los Banos KRAY-FM – Salinas KRCD – Inglewood KRCV – West Covina KRCX-FM – Marysville KRDA – Clovis KRHM-LP – Bakersfield KRQK – Lompoc KRRS – Santa Rosa KSCA – Glendale KSDO – San Diego KSEA – Greenfield KSEH – Brawley KSES-FM – Seaside KSFN - Piedmont KSJV – Fresno KSMY – Lompoc KSOL – San Francisco KSPA – Ontario KSPE – Santa Barbara KSQL – Santa Cruz KSRT – Cloverdale KSSC – Ventura KSSD – Fallbrook KSSE – Arcadia KSXY - Forestville KTAP – Santa Maria KTGE – Salinas KTMZ – Pomona KTNQ – Los Angeles KTOR – Gerber KTQX – Bakersfield KTSE-FM – Patterson KUBO – Calexico KUFW – Kingsburg KUNA-FM – La Quinta KVMX – Olivehurst KVMX-FM – Placerville KVON - Napa KVTR – Victorville KVUH – Laytonville KVVF – Santa Clara KVVZ – San Rafael KWAC – Bakersfield KWIZ – Santa Ana KWKW – Los Angeles KWQQ – Hemet KWRN – Apple Valley KWRU – Fresno KWST – El Centro KXLM – Oxnard KXOL-FM – Los Angeles KXRS – Hemet KXSB – Big Bear Lake KXSE – Davis KXSM – Chualar KXTS – Geyserville KXVV – Victorville KXXZ – Barstow KXZM – Felton KZER – Santa Barbara KZNB – Petaluma KZSF – San Jose KZSJ – San Martin KZSZ – Colusa
Defunct	KDBV – Salinas KESQ – Indio KFVR – Crescent City KNCR – Fortuna KSKD – Livingston
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in California See also Classical Jazz Religious Spanish Smooth Jazz Other