San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States, a sprawling, bicultural metropolis where the River Walk turns tourists into regulars and the radio dial is as competitive as any major American market. In that landscape, KXXM, branded as 96.1 NOW, established itself as San Antonio's number one hit music station, an iHeartMedia Contemporary Hit Radio outlet that delivered the biggest pop, R&B, and dance tracks of the moment to one of the most culturally diverse audiences in Texas.
60 Years on the Dial, Always Playing What's Current
The frequency at 96.1 FM in San Antonio has been active since May 5, 1964, when it signed on as KMFM. Over six decades the station cycled through multiple call signs and formats, from KSLR, KSAQ, and KSJL-FM, before landing at KXXM in 1998. For most of its 2000s and 2010s run it operated as a Top 40 CHR powerhouse, earning the "96.1 NOW" branding and establishing a clear identity as the station for current hits in a city that takes music seriously.
The station was a key affiliate for The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show from 2004 onward, one of the most listened-to syndicated morning programs in America, before transitioning to The Jubal Show in late 2020. Hosted by Jubal Fresh, Alex Fresh, and "English" Evan, the show became a community touchstone for San Antonio listeners who made their morning commute around it. Both shows reflect how seriously iHeartMedia positioned 96.1 NOW as a full-service CHR station, not just a music service.
The Sound of America's Current Moment
Contemporary Hit Radio is a format built on one simple rule: play what's number one right now. 96.1 NOW delivered exactly that, with a playlist that rotated the top tracks from pop, hip-hop, Latin, R&B, and dance, reflecting the crossover reality of modern mainstream music where genre lines blur in real time.
- Top 40 pop, the core of any CHR station, the songs that dominate streaming charts and radio request lines simultaneously, from the biggest names in pop to breakout new artists.
- Hip-hop and R&B crossovers, essential in any major American market, particularly San Antonio where urban music has always had a strong presence alongside the city's Latin identity.
- Latin pop, reflecting San Antonio's unique cultural character as a city where English and Spanish radio audiences frequently overlap and where bilingual artists routinely cross over.
- Dance and electronic pop, the format's energy layer, keeping the playlist moving and the station audible above the noise of a major-market morning commute.
San Antonio: A Radio Market Like No Other
San Antonio's radio market is shaped by its bilingual, bicultural character. With a Hispanic population of over 60 percent, it's one of the US radio markets where the line between English-language Top 40 and Spanish-language formats is most permeable, and where artists like Bad Bunny and Selena Gomez occupy the same mental space for listeners. 96.1 NOW played into that reality, embracing the city's musical fluidity rather than fighting it.
Stream 96.1 NOW Free on Radio Shuffle
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