View source for KEVT

{{short description|Radio station in Sahuarita, Arizona}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name             = KEVT
| logo             =
| city             = [[Sahuarita, Arizona]]
| area             = [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]]
| branding         =
| airdate          = December 19, [[1985 in radio|1985]]
| frequency        = 1210 [[kHz]]
| format           = Defunct
| power            = 10,000 [[watt]]s day<br>1,000 [[watt]]s night
| erp              =
| haat             =
| class            = B
| facility_id      = 19119
| coordinates      = {{coord|32|02|4.00|N|110|56|45.00|W|region:US-AZ_type:landmark}}
| callsign_meaning =
| last_airdate     = {{End date|2021|05|04}}
| former_callsigns = KBCD (1984, CP)<br>KQTL (1984–2007)
| owner            = One Mart Corporation
| licensee         =
| sister_stations  =
| webcast          =
| website          =
| affiliations     =
}}
'''KEVT''' (1210 [[AM broadcasting|AM]]) was a [[radio station]] licensed to [[Sahuarita, Arizona]], United States, and served the Tucson area. KEVT was owned by One Mart Corporation.
==History==
===KQTL===
In December 1982, various applicants filed to build a new radio station at 1210&nbsp;kHz, which would serve the Sahuarita area. The lead investor in winning applicant El Saguarito Broadcasting Company,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40373662/|work=Arizona Daily Star|title=Educators, businessmen seek OK for Spanish radio station|date=December 22, 1982|first=Susan M.|last=Knight|page=1B|accessdate=December 10, 2019}} (Note: this article misspells the name of the applicant as "El Sahuarita")</ref> Phil Richardson, sold the construction permit to a group headed by former [[KXEW]] owner Ernesto Portillo, who launched the station as Spanish-language outlet '''KQTL''' in 1985.<ref name="new">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40374022/|date=July 23, 1985|work=Arizona Daily Star|page=7B|first=Dan|last=Huff|title=New Spanish station to debut next month|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref> One of the minority investors of the new station was [[Raúl Grijalva]], then on the board of the [[Tucson Unified School District]].{{r|new}} The station's Spanish contemporary music format continued into the 1990s;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40374351/|title=Calling all cars!|first=Tom|last=Turner|work=Arizona Daily Star|page=1D|date=March 21, 1993|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref> KQTL was sold in 1996 to CIMA Broadcasting, in which Portillo and other people involved with El Saguarito were investors, for $600,000.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-02-09.pdf|work=Radio & Records|date=February 9, 1996|title=KQTL-AM/Sahuarita|accessdate=December 10, 2019|page=6}}</ref>
As a result of its sale to the [[Radio Única]] Spanish talk network in 2000, KQTL shed its music format and flipped to talk.<ref>{{cite news|title=Spanish-language station sold|pages=D1, [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40374675/kqtl/ D6]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40374714/|work=Arizona Daily Star|date=May 3, 2000|first=Mark|last=Muro|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref> After Radio Única declared bankruptcy, it sold its stations to [[Multicultural Broadcasting]] in a $150 million deal in 2003.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/changing-hands-100943|work=Broadcasting & Cable|date=October 19, 2003|title=Deals|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref>
===Sale to One Mart===
Four years later, Armando Zamora's One Mart Corporation, which was in the process of selling its station at 1030&nbsp;kHz (then KEVT, now [[KVOI]]), acquired KQTL.<ref name="ind">{{cite news|url=https://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/media_technology/inside_media/with-kevt-gone-tucson-down-to-just-five-independent-radio/article_46c081ff-543e-554c-8c88-cba2684f8e94.html|work=Inside Tucson Business|first=David|last=Hatfield|title= With KEVT gone, Tucson down to just five independent radio stations |date=July 23, 2010|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref> Upon taking control, the KEVT call letters, which had been on 1030 and prior to that on the 690 frequency (now [[KCEE]]), were relocated to 1210, and the station adopted a Regional Mexican format as "La Raza".{{r|ind}} Financial difficulties led La Raza to suspend operations on July 19, 2010; at the time, Zamora's house was being foreclosed on, and One Mart's accounting firm was hit with $277,000 in liens by the [[Internal Revenue Service]].{{r|ind}} KEVT resumed operations on September 15, 2010; after the sale, it changed formats to Spanish Christian as "Radio Vida".<ref name="rbr">{{cite news|url=https://www.rbr.com/power-talk-1210-launching-in-tucson/|title=Tucson gets a new talker|date=February 14, 2014|work=RBR|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref>
===PowerTalk===
In 2014, a group led by talker Jim Parisi{{r|rbr}} leased out the station and launched "PowerTalk", the station's first English-language format.{{r|leaves}} The station aired local talk during the day and [[Fox Sports Radio]] on nights and weekends.{{r|rbr}} Additionally, KEVT became the first Tucson-area station since 2008 to carry [[Arizona State Sun Devils football]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://tucson.com/tucson-s-kvet-becomes-part-of-sun-devil-network/article_36677c6c-1a83-11e4-af90-001a4bcf887a.html|title= Tucson's KVET becomes part of Sun Devil Network |first=Greg|last=Hansen|date=August 2, 2014|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref>
On February 15, 2016, the station went silent again due to company financial difficulties; KEVT would not return to the air until November 1 of that year.<ref>[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/cdbsmenu.hts?context=25&appn=101736528&formid=910&fac_num=19119 FCC: BLSTA - 20160919ADR Request for Silent STA — KEVT]</ref> As a result of KEVT going silent, PowerTalk became an internet-only station; the operators cited the high costs of broadcasting for their move online.<ref name="leaves">{{cite news|url=https://tucson.com/business/local/powertalk-leaves-airwaves-for-internet/article_b9526714-0048-5fe0-9ccf-eb570a5f638c.html|work=Arizona Daily Star|title= PowerTalk 1210 leaves airwaves for Internet|first=Curt|last=Prendergast|date=February 19, 2016|accessdate=December 10, 2019}}</ref>
===Classic country and return to Radio Vida===
Upon returning to the air on November 1, 2016, KEVT began broadcasting a classic country music format. Eventually, said format turned into a full simulcast of [[KCNN (FM)|KAVV]], a classic country outlet broadcasting from [[Benson, Arizona|Benson]]; however, on April 15, 2018, the lease ended because of lack of advertiser support.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiodiscussions.com/showthread.php?703700-1210-Back-on-Air&p=6203063&viewfull=1#post6203063|work=RadioDiscussions|author=CAVEMANager|date=April 28, 2018|accessdate=December 10, 2019|quote="As is often the case, money was the deciding factor. We put many announcements on the air that we couldn't keep 1210 going without advertisers. Several business people expressed some interest but when all was said and done we had only a barber shop and an optometrist."}}</ref> The station reverted to Christian programming under the Radio Vida name.
On May 6, 2021, KEVT's license was cancelled at its request based on an email from the station's counsel on May 4.<ref>{{Cite web|date=May 11, 2021|title=FCC Public Notices: Broadcast Actions, Report 49986, May 11, 2021|url=https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-372287A1.pdf|website=fcc.gov}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=19119 FCC Station Search Details: DKEVT] (Facility ID: 19119)
{{clear}}
{{Tucson Radio}}
[[Category:Radio stations in Arizona|EVT]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1985]]
[[Category:1985 establishments in Arizona]]
[[Category:Defunct radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio stations disestablished in 2021]]
[[Category:2021 disestablishments in Arizona]]
[[Category:Defunct religious radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct mass media in Arizona|EVT]]