The station's management fought vigorously to get the license back, and KDB returned to the air by the end of the year.

On November 27, 1970, Menard sold KDB-AM-FM to Pacific Broadcasting Company, owned by Richard E. Marsh, for $400,000;[6] this deal was approved by the FCC.

[9] The station's call sign changed once again on January 20, 1997 to KBKO to reflect its new branding, "Radio Bronco"; the format remained the same.

On January 11, 2007, Clear Channel Communications sold all of its radio stations in Santa Barbara, including KBKO, to Rincon Broadcasting for $17.3 million.

On July 19, 2010, KIST adopted the call letters KSPE, a change that preceded a flip on September 15 to a Spanish-language adult hits format with the branding "La Preciosa".

[15] On September 14, 2017, La Musical moved to KFYZ (94.5 FM); KSPE stunted with a looped announcement in Spanish notifying listeners to tune in at the new frequency.