Las Cruces Radio: KWML Drops Sports For Oldies

Less than two years after 24-hours-a-day sports talk radio debuted  in Las Cruces, NM it's become a part of the city's radio history.

Replacing it is a return to the past for longtime Las Crucens as KWML 570 AM now has an oldies music format. With the Rolling Stones song "Start Me Up," the switch was made Friday evening from Fox Sports Radio to "Kool Oldies." KWML can also be heard at K283CG 104.5 FM.

"It's going to be a big thing," said Aaron Criswell, vice president and general manager of Adams Radio Group of Las Cruces, owners of station, told The Las Cruces Sun-News. "We're extremely excited about that."

Adams Radio Group of Las Cruces also owns three other FM stations: KGRT, which plays country music; KHQT, a contemporary hits format; and KSNM, a classic hits station.

KWML 570 AM (5 Kw-D, 155 Watts-N) Red=Local Coverage Area

In addition to the Rolling Stones, KWML's new music format includes artists such as the Animals, Aretha Franklin, Barry White, the Beach Boys, and Doobie Brothers. The oldies format will feature entertainers mostly from the 1960s and 1970s, with a smattering of hits from the 1980s.

Many of the artists now heard on AM 570 were also played — as original hits — on AM 570 from 1955 through the mid 1970s when the station was KGRT-AM.

Since going on the air in 1955, AM 570 has gone through numerous changes in broadcast formats and several changes in the station's call sign.Through its early years, KGRT-AM played a "Top 40" format of hit music.

K283CG 104.5 FM (215 watts)

Adams Radio Group purchased the AM 570 and its three FM stations from Sunrise Broadcasting Inc. in late 2014.