KRLD "
NewsRadio 1080" is an
all-news radio station located in
Dallas, Texas and owned by
CBS Radio. The
callsign originated from the station's original owners, Dallas Radio Laboratories, transposed as
Radio
Laboratories of
Dallas.
The station is a radio affiliate of the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team and airs games on weekends, with weekday games airing on sister station KRLD-FM as of 2009.
KRLD was also used as the callsign of the CBS television affiliate KDFW-TV (channel 4) in Dallas from 1949 to 1970, and later the callsign of the Metromedia-owned television station on channel 33 in Dallas from 1983 to 1986.
History
Beginning in
1926, KRLD broadcast six hours a day, except on Wednesdays when the station closed down to make repairs and recharge the
batteries. Since 1938, KRLD has broadcast at an
effective radiated power of 50,000
watts, the highest allowed by the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC). KRLD can be heard at night in 38
states. In the summer of 1941, KRLD moved to 1080 on the dial.
In April,
1978, KRLD switched from a music-based format to become the first news and information station in Dallas/Fort Worth.
During the 1970s and 1980s, KRLD was the flagship station for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys and since 1995 the flagship for the Texas Rangers of the American League. In 2009 weekday games were moved to sister station KRLD-FM, while KRLD continues to air games on weekends. Brad Sham provided both color analysis and play-by-play for both teams (Sham is still the Cowboys' lead voice as of 2009). In 1996, KRLD Radio became the Home of the Amber Alert, with first trial of the Amber Alert broadcast from there.
The station originally broadcast from the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas. KRLD's main studios were formerly located at Ameriquest Field, aka The Ballpark at Arlington, in Arlington, Texas. In summer 2005, the station moved to a fifth floor office at the southwest corner of Fitzhugh and Central Expressway, in Dallas, Texas.
KRLD has achieved many firsts in the field of radio broadcasting:
first station to present live broadcasts of high school and college football games.
first to offer continuous election returns.
first to broadcast live music and entertainment programs. The Big D Jamboree, which originated from the since-demolished Dallas Sportatorium, was a regular Saturday fixture on KRLD in the 1950s and 1960s. KRLD also aired wrestling matches from the Sportatorium, with longtime sportscaster Bill Mercer calling the action.
commercial announcements on radio.
Branch Davidian leader David Koresh used KRLD to broadcast his messages in 1993 during his standoff with the government and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Current format
As of September 27, 2010, KRLD broadcasts a news radio format, eliminating any and all
talk radio programming from 5am-8pm, with talk programming remaining on nights and weekends.. However, it continues to broadcast
Texas Rangers baseball games on the weekends, and
paid programming. A listing of all on-air personnel and their scheduled air times can be found on the
KRLD On-Air page. KRLD serves as the flagship station for the
Texas State Network. In addition, during periods of severe weather KRLD is generally the only AM station in the DFW area to interrupt all programming and bring continuous weather updates. On December 12, 2008, sister station KLLI switched callsigns to match KRLD after changing the format to
sports as
105.3 The Fan. The new station has the calls
KRLD-FM.
References
External links
Station website
Google Maps Satellite and Street view of the KRLD AM broadcast tower
DFW Radio Archives
History of DFW Radio and Television
Category:Metromedia
Category:News and talk radio stations
Category:Texas Rangers (baseball)
Category:Radio stations established in 1926
Category:Garland, Texas
RLD
Category:American Basketball Association flagship radio stations
