Radio stations from Tijuana, Baja California

Tijuana is one of the most interesting radio cities in Mexico, and not just because of its size. Sitting directly across the border from San Diego, its stations have always lived a double life: they broadcast in Spanish for a Mexican audience, but their signals spill into California, and their histories are tangled up with American broadcasters, federal regulators on both sides, and listeners who tune in from both countries.

Today our catalog lists 17 live stations from Tijuana, and behind that number are decades of format changes, frequency battles, and reinventions. This is the story of Tijuana radio told through its stations — and a practical guide for listening from the US.

A Story Told in Frequencies

The long road to Globo 99.3

Few stations anywhere have changed identity as many times as Globo 99.3. The story of its concession begins in the late 1960s, with a tentative approval for a station called XHQS-FM on 96.1 MHz, owned by Guillermo Núñez Keith. That station never materialized as planned. Instead, the company — by then part of Víctor Díaz's Califórmula Broadcasting — received the concession for XHKY-FM 95.7 in June 1975.

In 1985 the station became "Fiesta Mexicana," playing regional Mexican music. But the late 1980s brought one of the classic binational frequency conflicts of border radio: XHKY boosted its power and began interfering with KKOS in Carlsbad, California. After an agreement approved by both the FCC in the US and the SCT in Mexico, the dust settled on September 15, 1995 — XHKY moved to 99.3 FM with 25,000 watts and rebranded as "X99," while KKOS shifted to 95.7.

What followed was a carousel of formats. In 1998 it became "Hot Country Radio," and in 2002 it was sold to Clear Channel Communications and its affiliate XETRA Comunicaciones, which renamed it "Country Music Bob." In early 2004 the country format moved to the American side of the dial and 99.3 became an oldies station called "Kool," with the new call sign XHOCL-FM. In 2005 it flipped to Spanish oldies as "La Preciosa."

An FCC ruling in 2003 forced Clear Channel to divest its Mexican stations, and XHOCL passed to MVS Radio. Under MVS it became grupero "La Mejor" in 2007, then Spanish hits as "Diego 99.3" in 2011. Finally, on January 21, 2019, MVS brought the "FM Globo" brand to Tijuana — the contemporary Spanish hits format the station carries today, also heard in the Imperial Valley and Mexicali through XHPF-FM.

Pulsar 107.3: the constant

Pulsar 107.3 went on the air on August 1, 1980, founded by Felipe Fernández González. For more than a decade it was known as "Stereo 107.3," playing English-language classics — a reminder of how much Tijuanenses have always listened across the border. In 2002 it switched to the Spanish Hot AC format it still runs today, now under Grupo Uniradio, which keeps studios in Tijuana and a sales office in Chula Vista, California. That Chula Vista office tells you everything about who the audience is: families on both sides of the line.

1990: two new stations and another border dispute

The summer of 1990 brought two sign-ons that still matter today.

In July, the station we now know as La Mejor FM 90.7 went on the air as XHTIJ-FM on 97.7 FM, owned by Carlos Armando Madrazo y Pintado. It passed through different owners before landing at MVS Radio. Listeners first knew it as "Estéreo Amistad" with Spanish pop, then "Sí FM," then "Pulsar FM" in 1998. The following year it became XHTIM-FM and went Regional Mexican — first as "X97.7," later as La Mejor. In August 2010, MVS took advantage of a frequency shuffle at another station and moved to 90.7 with more power, relocating the transmitter to Cerro Colorado.

In November 1990, Exa FM 91.7 signed on as XHTIM-FM (yes, the same call letters La Mejor carries today — they traded) on 103.3 MHz, carrying MVS's Stereorey format. Interference complaints from American station KJQY pushed it to 91.5 in early 1992, which triggered a conflict with KUSC in Los Angeles. The dispute ended amicably in March 1993: the station moved to 91.7, raised its power, and cleared the interference. It flirted with grupera as "La Mejor" in the mid-90s, became classic-hits "Galaxy" in 1999, and in 2000 MVS installed the format it still runs: the national youth-oriented Exa FM. It even spent time in San Diego (studios in National City) before returning home to Tijuana in 2011.

El Sol 107.7: from Rosarito to the whole border region

107.7 El Sol (XHRST-FM) began life on 91.9 MHz in Rosarito before quickly moving to 107.7. Under Grupo ACIR it cycled through formats including "La Comadre" (Regional Mexican), the rock format "Spazio," and "Estéreo Sol" for adults in English and Spanish. When Rosarito became its own municipality, the station moved its studios to Zona Río in Tijuana.

In 2009, GRI Radio brought the famous "Los 40 Principales" chart format to Tijuana on this frequency — for a time, the morning show "Ya Párate" even broadcast from Tijuana for the entire national network. Grupo Audiorama's takeover in 2017 flipped things again: La Bestia Grupera arrived, then Los 40 returned in 2018. Since December 2020 the station has been operated by MLC Media, a US-based Spanish radio syndicator, and in December 2023 it became El Sol with a Regional Mexican format serving both Tijuana and San Diego.

The Stations to Know Today

Here are the most-listened Tijuana stations in our directory:

• Adictiva Radio — the catalog's top Tijuana stream
• Globo 99.3 — Spanish contemporary hits from MVS
• LA PODEROSA 860 — AM with grupero spirit
• RADIO FÓRMULA 950 — the Tijuana outlet of the Formula news/talk network
• Chililines Radio — a local favorite
• Pulsar 107.3 — Spanish Hot AC since 2002
• Estéreo Baja 1550 — AM variety
• El Sol 107.7 — Regional Mexican for both sides of the border
• La Mejor FM 90.7 — grupera and Regional Mexican
• Norte 800 — norteño and regional sounds
• Exa FM 91.7 — youth hits, mostly in Spanish with English mixed in

What Tijuana Sounds Like: Genres

Tijuana's musical identity leans nostalgic and guitar-driven. The numbers from our catalog tell the story:

• Clásicos y Retro — 9 stations, the city's biggest category. Tijuana loves its classics, in Spanish and English.
• Rock en Español — 8 stations, a remarkably strong showing that fits a border city raised on both Soda Stereo and San Diego rock radio.
• Noticias y Hablada — 7 stations, including Radio Fórmula's presence and local news/talk.
• Pop Latino y Éxitos — 6 stations.
• Regional Mexicano — 4 stations, plus Banda with 2 more.
• Reggaetón y Urbano — 2 stations.
• Románticas y Baladas — 1 station for the balada loyalists.

If you grew up in Tijuana and want the feel of home, start with the classics and rock en español categories — they carry the city's signature sound.

How to Listen from the US

No time difference. Tijuana is on Pacific Time, the same as California, Nevada and Washington. If you're in Texas, Tijuana radio is two hours behind you; in New York or Florida, three hours behind. That matters for morning shows and news blocks: Radio Fórmula 950's morning programming airs in the early Pacific hours, so East Coast listeners catching it over breakfast will hear it delayed relative to their clock.

A few practical tips:

• Live streams on Radio en Vivo work in any browser — no app or VPN needed, since Mexican stations stream openly to US listeners.
• Bookmark your two or three favorites so you can flip between them the way you'd spin the dial at home.
• If you want morning-show energy, tune in between roughly 6 and 10 a.m. Pacific. Evening drive (4–7 p.m. Pacific) is when music stations tend to run their most produced, personality-heavy hours.
• Sunday mornings are prime time for nostalgic and romantic programming on many Mexican stations — a good moment for baladas fans.

Beyond Tijuana: Radio Cities to Explore

Tijuana's 17 stations are just one window into Mexican radio. If you have family roots elsewhere — and many Tijuana families do, since the city has drawn migrants from all over Mexico for generations — these regional directories are worth a browse:

• Sinaloa — 67 stations, home of banda culture. If your parents came to Tijuana from Culiacán or Mazatlán, this is your section.
• Guadalajara, Jalisco — 59 stations from Mexico's second-largest radio market.
• Chihuahua — 54 stations from the north.
• Jalisco — 54 more stations across the state.
• Monterrey, Nuevo León — 52 stations from the regiomontano capital.
• Veracruz — 44 stations from the Gulf.
• Nuevo León — 41 stations statewide.
• And of course Ciudad de México, with 350 stations — the biggest radio city in the Spanish-speaking world.

Or explore the whole Mexico directory by state.

Why Tijuana Radio Still Matters

What makes this city special is that its radio was never just local. When XHKY's signal reached Carlsbad, when Los 40 broadcast its morning show from Tijuana for the whole country, when a station moved its studios to National City and then back — Tijuana radio has always been a bridge. For the millions of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans in Southern California, these frequencies are literally local radio: Globo 99.3's transmitter can be picked up in San Diego with a paperclip antenna.

And now, with live streaming, the signal reaches everywhere else too. Whether you're in Chicago, Houston, or Raleigh, a Tijuanense is never more than a click away from the classics on Clásicos, the news on Radio Fórmula, or the grupera of La Mejor — the same stations your family grew up with on Av. Revolución, streaming live in Pacific Time, every day of the year.