On October 31, 1937, KTMS first
signed on the air on 1220 AM, with 500
watts. It was founded by
Santa Barbara News-Press publisher
Thomas More Storke (hence the station
call sign). KTMS was an
NBC Blue Network affiliate, carrying its schedule of
dramas,
comedies, news, sports,
game shows,
soap operas, and
big band broadcasts during the "
Golden Age of Radio". Among the programs produced at the station was
1-2-5 Club, which debuted in 1937 and was hosted by
disc jockey Bob Ruth for many years. In 1941, KTMS moved to the 1250 AM frequency, where it would stay for 57 years. The move was coupled with a power increase to 1,000 watts. When the Blue Network became
ABC in 1945, KTMS maintained its affiliation, while also carrying shows from the
Mutual Broadcasting System and the
Don Lee Network. In 1965, KTMS acquired an
FM radio station,
KRCW (97.5), and renamed it KTMS-FM. At first, it mostly
simulcast programs heard on 1250 AM but later became separately programmed with a
beautiful music format. In 1985, it switched its call letters to KHTY and flipped to
top 40. In January 1996, Engles Enterprises, Inc. purchased KTMS and KHTY for $2 million. Nearly three years later, in September 1998, the 1250 AM frequency on which KTMS aired was sold for $1.6 million to
Smith Broadcasting Group, Inc., owner of the local ABC television affiliate
KEYT-TV (channel 3). Smith immediately launched a competing
news-only format on 1250 with new call letters KEYT to match its TV sister station. Meanwhile, the KTMS call sign and news/talk format moved to 990 AM. In 1997, KTMS was purchased by
Clear Channel Communications. In January 2007, Clear Channel sold its six Santa Barbara stations, including KTMS, to Rincon Broadcasting LLC for $17.3 million. Rincon, a subsidiary of
Ventura-based
Point Broadcasting, officially took control of the cluster on January 16. On April 10, 2025, KTMS changed their format from news/talk to sports, branded as "Fox Sports 990/97.9". ==History of the 990 AM frequency in Santa Barbara==