The studios, in the Sorrento Valley neighborhood of San Diego, are home to two other Mexican FM stations broadcasting in English, classic alternative-formatted XETRA-FM and rhythmic AC-formatted XHRM-FM.

The operation was run by Larry Shushan, a former owner of KPRI FM radio and one of the builders of KAAR, San Diego's first UHF television station.

XHIS and XHERS broadcast from a new facility in Tijuana with custom-built 100,000–watt transmitters, throwing maximum power at San Diego.

San Diego broadcasters complained of disloyal competition across the border that didn't have to play by the Federal Communications Commission's rules for U.S. radio stations.

Ultimately, Time Sales folded, and Díaz began operating the station under the brand "Estéreo 90, La Buena Onda".

In April, a report had aired on one of the Califórmula stations criticizing Baja California Governor Roberto de la Madrid.

Just two weeks after returning to an R&B format, in September, workers affiliated to the Union of Radio and Television Industry Workers (STIRT) went on strike, and the only way to resolve the strike was to sell XHIS and XHERS to Francisco Aguirre, founder of Mexico City broadcaster Grupo Radio Centro.

That year, XHIS became XHITZ-FM and changed to an album-oriented rock format under contract to San Diego Radio Company.

A bitter battle between San Diego Radio Company and Califórmula led to the abrupt end of the album rock format as the latter took control of the station.

[5] Díaz cited continued low ratings, but the straw that broke the camel's back was a humorous news report read on the station that stated a German anthropologist had discovered a tribe of "mole people" living in the sewers of Mexico City.

[6] In 1989, XHITZ flipped from adult contemporary to a rock-oriented hits format known as "Pirate Radio," based on the success of KQLZ in Los Angeles.

The U.S. operating rights were sold to Clear Channel Communications (forerunner of today's iHeartMedia) and the concession was transferred to a new Mexican concern, Comunicación XERSA.

A 2003 Federal Communications Commission ruling forced Clear Channel to divest the operating rights to its Mexican stations in order to remain under FCC ownership caps.

On July 25, 2005, Clear Channel transferred the programming and local marketing arrangements of XHITZ, along with XETRA-FM and XHRM-FM, to Finest City Broadcasting.

In 2009, these programming and marketing rights were sold to Broadcast Corporation of the Americas after Finest City defaulted on assets that resulted in its bankruptcy.

On October 6, 2015, Midwest Television, the owner of KFMB-TV channel 8, KFMB 760 AM and KFMB-FM 100.7, announced that it had entered into a joint operating agreement with Local Media San Diego LLC.