KHRU (106.9 MHz, "Rumba 106.9") is a commercial FM radio station in Houston, Texas. The station is owned by iHeartMedia and it airs a Spanish Hot AC radio format. Its studios are located in Downtown Houston with its sister stations, while its transmitter is located in Missouri City.
History[]
Early Years[]
KHRU signed on the air in mid-June of 1966 on a Classical format with the callsign KHOU. In 1970 KHOU dropped its Classical format and switched Classic Hits as "106.9 The Rewind". The Classic Hits format failed just two weeks after the switch, causing the station to flip to Top 40 as "Houston's 106.9".
In 1990, Gaylord Broadcasting sold KHOU to Jacor Communications. By 1991, KHOU merged to Rhythmic Top 40 with the new brand "Orbit 106.9". At that time, it competed with KXIX-FM, who was also a Rhythmic Top 40 station, however KXIX focused more on rhythmic titles than KHOU, causing KHOU's ratings to decrease over the years.
In May 1996, Jacor sold the station to Infinity Radio. The next month, the station dropped its low-rated Rhythmic CHR and flipped to Dance Music as "The Roxy 106.9", named after "The Roxy", a popular and defunct night club in Houston.
The Point 106.9[]
On July 1, 1998, the two year old Dance station silently switched to Alternative Rock as "The Point 106.9" debuting with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana. The KZPT callsign was introduced two weeks later.
In 2005, Infinity Radio sold KZPT to its successor, CBS Radio.
Return to Top 40 as "HOT 106.9"[]
On November 21, 2007, after playing "Closing Time" by SemiSonic, KZPT returned to its former Rhythmic Top 40 format as "HOT 106.9" with "Say It Right" by Nelly Furtado as its first song. KZPT's new change not only returned to its former Rhythmic CHR format, but also capitalized on the recent dropping of the format by its former competitor KXIX, three days prior.
In July 2012, CBS Radio sold KZPT to Cox Radio.
"HOT 106.9" second logo (2014-2018)
In October 2014, KZPT merged to Mainstream Top 40, keeping the "HOT" brand.
On March 6, 2018 Cox Radio has announced that it will sell KZPT to iHeartMedia. The sell was completed on April 30.
Latino Mix/Rumba[]
First Latino Mix logo (May 1 - September 16, 2018)
On May 1, 2020 a day after the purchase, iHeartMedia flipped its format to Spanish Top 40, as "106.9 Latino Mix" in order to avoid competition with sister station KNNN-FM, who is also a Top 40 station. The last song to play on "HOT" was "No Tears Left To Cry" by Ariana Grande, while the first song on "Latino Mix" was "1, 2, 3" by Sofia Reyes. With the change, KZPT will take a head-to-head competition with the market's leading Spanish CHR station KMIA.
On Janaury 4, 2019, KZPT rebranded as "Rumba 106.9". On the 17th, the station changed its call sign to KHRU.