KIFM

For other uses, see KIFM (disambiguation).
KIFM
City Sacramento
Broadcast area Northern California
Branding ESPN 1320
Frequency 1320 kHz
Repeater(s) 107.9-2 KDND-HD2
First air date April 12, 1945 (as KCRA, although KIFM's call letters were first assigned in 1968)
Format Sports
Power 5,000 watts
Class B
Facility ID 67848
Transmitter coordinates 38°38′11″N 121°33′09″W / 38.63639°N 121.55250°W / 38.63639; -121.55250 (day)
38°42′42″N 121°19′44″W / 38.71167°N 121.32889°W / 38.71167; -121.32889 (night)
Callsign meaning former call letters used in San Diego on 98.1 FM (now KXSN)
Former callsigns KCRA (1945-1978)
KGNR (1978-1990)
KCTC (1990-2016)
Former frequencies 1340 kc. (1945-1947)
Affiliations ESPN Radio
Owner Entercom
(Entercom License, LLC)
Sister stations KDND, KKDO, KRXQ, KSEG, KUDL
Webcast Listen Live
Website espn1320.net

KIFM (1320 AM) is a radio station in West Sacramento, California, that has been affiliated with ESPN Radio since February 2007. It has separate transmitter sites for daytime and night operations. Owned by Entercom, its studios are located in North Highlands, with a Sacramento address. Previously, KIFM was known as KCTC, which has had a history in the Sacramento market as both an FM and AM station.

KCTC as an FM station

KCTC's most successful years were in the 70s, broadcasting a variant of the "Beautiful Music" format which they called "the California Sound" with its occasional vocals in each 15-minute set. The format continued until 1989, when KCTC became KYMX, a soft rock/adult contemporary station. In turn, the KCTC call letters moved to AM 1320, where for years it was an adult standards station as part of the Music Of Your Life network.

KCTC as an AM station

Competition for KCRA on the Sacramento AM dial in the mid-1950s included KROY 1240 (CBS), KGMS 1380 (MBS), KXOA 1470 (MBS), and KFBK 1530 (ABC), which was owned by McClatchy Enterprises, also owner of the Sacramento Bee..

From 1955 to 1978, KCRA was co-owned with TV Channel 3 KCRA-TV and in the '70s was known as KCRA Newsradio 132 while still under ownership of Kelly Broadcasting. Before its sale to Entercom, KCTC was owned by Tribune Broadcasting of Chicago, owners of WGN and the Chicago Tribune, from 1978 to 1996. For a time under the Tribune ownership (1978-1989), 1320 AM was known as KGNR Newsradio 132. In the early 1970s, prior to Tribune, 1320 KCRA was Sacramento's home for the syndicated "American Top 40" program with Casey Kasem; a September 1971 broadcast of the show mentions KCRA as an affiliate, as does a broadcast of the syndicated program from December 1974. In 1989, KCTC moved from its former FM position to its current home at 1320 AM.

On 1 November 2005, KCTC changed formats, dropping the Music Of Your Life format to become an Air America affiliate after crosstown rival KSAC-1240 AM dropped its Air America affiliation. However, KCTC's website announced on 15 February 2007, that AM 1320 would no longer carry Air America programs, and also would not retain Enid Goldstein or The Morning Retort with Scott and Sims. The site announced that as of Monday, 26 February 2007 KCTC would become ESPN 1320, carrying the complete sports programming of the ESPN radio network. This move would make KCTC Sacramento's first full-time sports radio station. Since February 25, 2007, 1320 AM has aired ESPN Radio programming.

KIFM

On 28 April 2016, KCTC changed its callsign to KIFM, former call letters that were used on 98.1 FM in San Diego, as part of a warehousing move by owner Entercom (that station concurrently changed call letters to KXSN as part of a format change).

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