KSBQ was established in 1961 as KSEE, Santa Maria's fourth radio station, and aired Top 40 and adult contemporary formats in its first two decades of operation.
After becoming country music-formatted KSBQ in 1980, the station switched to Spanish-language broadcasting in 1984 and, with the exception of a short-lived sports talk format in 1999, has remained such ever since.
On August 7, 1970, an application was filed to transfer the station's license back to Urner with a new business partner;[2] the transaction was pending FCC approval when the 37-year-old Macomber was found dead in his home on September 16.
This company was of no relation to the Urner groups and was owned by Buddy and Eleanor Black; it retained KSEE's format, which had shifted to adult contemporary music, and public affairs programming.
The station stopped broadcasting at the end of September after Cameron left to pursue a front-office position with a minor league baseball club in Lafayette, Louisiana.
[20] By the fall of 1999, a buyer had been found for KSBQ: Oxnard-based Lazer Broadcasting Corporation, headed by Alfredo Plascencia, for $225,000.