The station first signed on May 17, 1968 as KAVR-FM. Owned by BHA Enterprises, it was the FM sister stationtoKAVR (960 AM) and broadcast a middle of the road music format.[2]
On September 15, 1972, BHA Enterprises sold KAVR-AM-FM to Phoenix Broadcasters Corporation Ltd. for $423,750. Gerald F. Hicks, president of BHA, held a 4.7% interest in the purchasing party.[3] However, on October 11, 1973, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) blocked the transaction and scheduled a hearing on whether the stations' licenses should be revoked, citing Hicks' obtaining a majority of BHA's stock without FCC approval.[4][5] On November 5, 1974, an administrative law judge recommended the revocation of BHA's licenses to the stations.[6]
In December 1981, KAVR-FM changed its call sign to KAPV.[7] The station reverted to the original KAVR-FM call letters in September 1985.[8]
In October 1987, BHA Enterprises Ltd., now controlled by Dick Schofield, sold KAVR-AM-FM to Crown Broadcasting, owned by Ron Strother, for $1.7 million. At the time, the FM station carried a country music format.[9][10] The FCC approved the transfer of licenses on December 18.[11] The new owner, also known as Ruby Broadcasting and controlled by Tom Gammon, changed KAVR-FM's call sign to KZXY-FM in June 1988.[12]
In December 1997, Regent Communications purchased KZXY-FM, its longtime AM sister station now called KIXW, and KIXA from Ruby Broadcasting for $8 million.[13]
In April 2000, Clear Channel Communications proposed a complex station swap with Regent Communications which would have involved 20 stations nationwide, including KZXY-FM, and a payment of over $67 million by Regent to Clear Channel. This deal was one of many divestitures required of Clear Channel and AMFM, Inc. by the FCC as a condition of their merger, in order to satisfy ownership caps in each affected media market.[14] While this exchange was not implemented fully, Clear Channel did acquire the adult contemporary-formatted KZXY-FM and its AM sister station KIXW.[15]
From 2001 to 2002, KZXY and its hot adult contemporary music format were simulcast on sister KYHT (105.3 FM) in Yermo, California; together, the two stations were branded as "Y 102 & 105".
In June 2007, Clear Channel sold 16 stations in California and Arizona, including KZXY-FM, to El Dorado Broadcasters for $40 million.[16][17]
