Don Imus, Dennis Miller, Lou Dobbs and OSU sports will be looking for new homes on Tulsa's radio dials as two AM stations change to Spanish-language formats.
Gaytan Broadcasting LLC, a Tulsa company that owns Que Buena KXTD (1530 AM), purchased KLZI (1570 AM) and KRVT (1270 AM) from Reunion Broadcasting this week.
"There's a sizable Hispanic Tulsa community, and its only going to get bigger with or without immigration reform," said Allen McLaughlin, operations manager and general sales manager for Gaytan Broadcasting.
The new programming, which begins at midnight Monday, means Que Buena will move to 24-hour broadcasting from a daylight-only frequency.
KRVT 1270 is an oldies station that also is home to Oklahoma State University football and basketball, and features talk show host Don Imus in the morning.
KLZI 1570 hosts mostly political talk shows from personalities such as comedian Dennis Miller, actor and former U.S. Sen. Fred Thompson, and former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs.
Both stations transmit from Claremore.
With the acquisitions, Que Buena will move from 1530 AM to 1270 AM.
Que Buena's current 1530 frequency is a daytime-only station, which cuts broadcasting time significantly in the winter months.
"It really limited what we could do sometimes," McLaughlin said.
The new 1270 signal is a 24-hour station. The other two stations broadcast only during daytime hours.
KXTD 1530 will become a Spanish-language pop station that plays "rhythmic Latino pop," a genre popular in Latin American countries outside of Mexico.
KLZI 1570 will become a religious-theme station, primarily drawing on the Hispanic community's strong Catholic roots, McLaughlin said.
The purchase gives the Tulsa area five Spanish-language radio stations, up from three before the deal.
People who speak Spanish at home make up about 7.5 percent of Tulsa County's population, or 40,393 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
Gaytan Broadcasting's owner, Maria De Leon, is vice president of the Tulsa Area Hispanic Chamber.
The ownership switch means the stations' current programming is up for grabs. OSU sports probably will be picked up quickly by other stations, McLaughlin said. OSU also licenses broadcasts to KFAQ (1170 AM), based in Tulsa.
