DALLAS — NewsRadio 1080 KRLD is celebrating a century on the air this week, marking 100 years since the Dallas radio station began broadcasting in October 1926.
From its humble beginnings in a downtown hotel to becoming one of North Texas' most recognizable news and information outlets, KRLD has witnessed and reported on generations of Dallas history, including the Great Depression, World War II, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the rise of the Dallas Cowboys and the transformation of North Texas into one of America's largest metropolitan areas.
The station reaches its centennial on Oct. 31, 2026, according to the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas. Some historical records, including early radio directories, list the original sign-on date as Oct. 30.
Imagine turning on your radio when Calvin Coolidge was president… and hearing a station that's STILL on the air today! 📻 This week, NewsRadio 1080 KRLD celebrates its 100th birthday! 🎂 A century of breaking news, unforgettable voices, and some pretty remarkable Dallas history. But how did it all begin back in 1926? And what might surprise you about those early days? I've got the story in this special birthday edition of The More You Joe! What's your earliest memory of listening to KRLD? I'd love to hear it! #TheMoreYouJoe #KRLD100 #KRLD #DallasHistory #RadioHistory #Dallas #100Years https://t.co/xBKbMfJHyX
— Joe Kelley (@talkradiojoe) October 29, 2026
Either way, KRLD's century-long journey reflects the evolution of broadcasting itself, from live musical performances and radio dramas to around-the-clock news coverage and digital streaming.
From a downtown Dallas hotel to the airwaves
KRLD began broadcasting from the second floor of the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas, operating just six hours a day.
Unlike modern radio stations that broadcast continuously, the original KRLD went silent every Wednesday for equipment maintenance.
The station was established by Radio Laboratories of Dallas, which provided the inspiration for its call letters. The original company name was Dallas Radio Laboratories, but the owners changed the name after discovering that the preferred call letters, KDRL, were already assigned.
The station initially operated at 1040 on the AM dial, decades before settling into its familiar home at 1080.
KRLD was not Dallas' first radio station. WRR began broadcasting in 1920, while WFAA and Fort Worth's WBAP signed on in 1922. But KRLD quickly became an important player in the region's rapidly growing broadcasting industry.
In 1927, the Dallas Times Herald purchased KRLD, establishing a connection between the city's newspaper business and its emerging radio industry.
The station also became an early affiliate of the Columbia Broadcasting System, better known as CBS, helping bring national network programming to North Texas listeners.
The golden age of radio
Before television became a household fixture, radio was a primary source of entertainment, news and information.
KRLD's early programming reflected that era, featuring music, comedy, drama, news and live performances.
Listeners tuned in to programs such as Cornbread Matinee, Hillbilly Hit Parade and Music Through the Night.
The station also became associated with several broadcasting innovations, including early live coverage of high school and college football games and continuous election returns.
One of KRLD's most significant technical milestones came in the late 1930s, when the station increased its broadcasting power to 50,000 watts.
The expansion included a transmitter facility near Garland and dramatically increased the station's potential listening area.
By 1941, KRLD had moved to 1080 kilohertz, the frequency that would become synonymous with its identity.
From the Sportatorium to the Dallas Cowboys
KRLD's history is closely connected to North Texas sports and entertainment.
In October 1948, the station began broadcasting the Big D Jamboree, a popular country music program originating from the Dallas Sportatorium.
The Saturday-night broadcasts featured established and emerging country performers, along with musicians associated with the growing rockabilly movement.
The Sportatorium also became the setting for KRLD's professional wrestling broadcasts, with legendary announcer Bill Mercer calling the action.
As professional sports expanded across North Texas, KRLD became an important destination for fans.
The station served as a Dallas Cowboys radio affiliate during the 1970s and 1980s, with broadcasters including Frank Glieber and Brad Sham helping bring NFL games into homes and automobiles throughout the region.
KRLD also carried Texas Rangers baseball for years, strengthening its connection to the area's professional sports teams.
KRLD expands into television
KRLD's influence eventually extended beyond radio.
On Dec. 3, 1949, KRLD-TV Channel 4 began broadcasting in Dallas.
According to FOX 4's official station history, its first television broadcast featured a college football game between Southern Methodist University and Notre Dame.
The television station became a CBS affiliate and developed its own news operation.
One of the defining moments in its history came on Nov. 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in downtown Dallas.
Two days later, KRLD-TV cameras captured Jack Ruby shooting accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald during a live broadcast from Dallas police headquarters.
The footage became part of the historical record of one of the most consequential events in American history.
KRLD radio and Channel 4 eventually separated under different ownership arrangements. The television station adopted the KDFW call letters in 1970 and is now FOX 4.
The transition to news and information
As television transformed American entertainment, radio stations increasingly developed specialized formats.
KRLD gradually moved away from its traditional mix of music and entertainment toward news, sports and talk programming.
By the late 1970s, the station had established itself as a news-and-information broadcaster, helping define the format that remains central to its identity.
Its programming increasingly emphasized breaking news, traffic, weather, business, politics and developments affecting North Texas communities.
The station began streaming online in 2005, allowing listeners to hear its programming beyond the reach of its AM signal.
In September 2010, KRLD expanded its weekday all-news programming, providing continuous news coverage from early morning through the evening.
Over the decades, the station has also undergone multiple ownership changes. After years under CBS Radio, KRLD became part of Entercom in 2017 through the company's merger with CBS Radio.
Entercom subsequently adopted the Audacy name.
Today, KRLD remains part of Audacy's Dallas-Fort Worth radio operations.
A century of change, with a familiar mission
The Dallas of 1926 was vastly different from the sprawling metropolitan area KRLD serves today.
When the station first signed on, commercial aviation was still developing, television had not entered American homes, and the Dallas Cowboys did not exist.
Over the following century, North Texas experienced enormous population growth, economic expansion and technological change.
Radio evolved alongside those developments.
Listeners who once gathered around large receivers in their living rooms can now hear broadcasts through smartphones, computers and connected speakers.
Yet the central purpose of local radio remains familiar: providing timely information about the communities it serves.
For KRLD, that means continuing to deliver news, weather, traffic and coverage of the issues affecting North Texas.
One hundred years after its first broadcasts from the Adolphus Hotel, the station's original equipment and studios are long gone.
But the KRLD call letters remain on the air, connecting modern Dallas listeners with a broadcasting history that began in 1926.
Historical significance
KRLD's centennial represents more than the longevity of a single radio station. It also highlights the role local broadcasting has played in connecting communities, documenting major events and providing information during emergencies.
The station has operated through extraordinary changes in technology, from vacuum-tube transmitters and early radio receivers to digital audio production and internet streaming.
Its history also spans the emergence of television, the growth of professional sports in Dallas and the transition from traditional radio programming to modern news and talk formats.
As KRLD enters its second century, the milestone offers an opportunity to reflect on the generations of broadcasters, engineers, journalists and other employees who helped build and sustain the station.
For North Texas listeners, the anniversary is also a reminder of how much the region has changed since 1926 — and how radio has remained part of daily life throughout that transformation.
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