KBDS

KBDS (103.9 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Taft, California. The station is owned by Radio Campensina Bakersfield, Inc., which is itself owned by the United Farm Workers. While the station normally broadcasts to the Kern County, California area, as of November 14, 2008, it was temporarily off the air. It returned to the air on February 5, 2016 with a rhythmic contemporary format branded as "103.9 The Beat", which prior to its silence on November 14, 2008, was the same format it had when it was branded as "Play 103.9," and whose slogan at the time was "Blazin' Hip Hop Y Mas."

History

This station received its original construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission on January 18, 1985. The new station was assigned the call letters KTLM by the FCC on December 3, 1985. During that time, the station featured a "Big Band" format, playing Swing Era music from the 1930s and 40's. In March 1988, Louise E. Mann's Mann Broadcasting Company reached an agreement to transfer the permit for this station to The Great Southwest Broadcasting Company. The deal was approved by the FCC on April 27, 1988, and the transaction was consummated on September 13, 1988.