KRLD

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KRLD 1080

Broadcast area	Dallas/Fort Worth
First air date	31 October 1926 (at 1040 kHz)
Frequency	1080 kHz
Format	News/Talk
Callsign meaning	Radio Laboratories of Dallas
Owner	CBS Radio

KRLD "NewsRadio 1080" is a dual format news and talk radio station located in Dallas, Texas. Program Director is Gavin Spittle. The callsign originated from the station's original owners, Dallas Radio Laboratories, transposed as Radio Laboratories of Dallas.

KRLD is the radio affiliate of the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team and interrupts other programming to broadcast all home and away games.

KRLD was also used as the callsign of the CBS television affiliate on Channel 4 in Dallas, Texas from 1949 to 1970, and later the callsign of the Metromedia owned television station on Channel 33 in Dallas from 1983 to 1986.

KRLD was also the radio station that Branch Davidian leader David Koresh used to broadcast his messages in 1993 during his standoff with the government and FBI.

[edit] 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 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. Brad Sham, who worked with KRLD from 1976-92 and again from 1995-98, provided both color analysis and play-by-play for both teams (Sham is still the Cowboys' lead voice as of 2006).

KRLD 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 now-defunct Dallas Sportatorium, was a regular Saturday fixture on KRLD in the 1950s and 1960s.
• commercial announcements on radio.

[edit] Current format

KRLD currently broadcasts several different types of programs each week, including news, talk, baseball games, do it yourself, and paid programming. A listing of all programs broadcast and their scheduled air times can be found on the KRLD programming page. KRLD serves as the flagship station for the Texas State Network

[edit] External links

• KRLD NewsRadio 1080
• DFWRadioArchives