On June 16, 1988, Jo-Al Broadcasting, Inc. (named for shareholders Emmie Jo Gamble and her brother-in-law Alcus Davis) filed for a construction permit to build a new radio station on 104.7 MHz in Texarkana, Arkansas. Gamble had been inspired to file after seeing a newspaper article concerning efforts by the Federal Communications Commission to promote women and minority ownership in broadcasting.[3] It was one of three applicants for the frequency, competing with B & H Broadcasting System, Inc., and Dupre' Broadcasting Co. After the three applications were designated for comparative hearing in 1990, the applicants settled, and Jo-Al was granted the frequency.[4]
Gamble, a math teacher, continued teaching while building out the station, which took the call sign KTOY and became the first black-owned station in the state of Arkansas,[5] with the same urban adult contemporary format it still carries.[3] She did not retire from teaching until 2000.[5]
In February 2005, after three years of discussions,[6] Gamble and Davis sold KTOY to Arklatex LLC, which owned four other radio stations in the market.[7] The transaction was described as putting a "jewel" in the company's crown, as KTOY had become the area's top radio station.[6] Eight years later, the stations were sold to Alaska Broadcast Communications, which was 20 percent owned by Richard Burns, for $2.75 million;[8] Burns, an Australian citizen, became the first non-American national to own 100 percent of a United States broadcast station when the FCC approved a first-of-its-kind waiver in 2017, allowing Burns and his wife Sharon to take full ownership of the Frontier Media group.[9]
As part of a series of format shifts at the Frontier Media stations in January 2019, KTFS (940 AM) relaunched as "KTOY Gospel", a gospel-formatted brand extension of KTOY.[10]
Effective April 28, 2023, Frontier Media sold KTOY to Cliff Dumas' BTC USA Holdings Management Inc. for $60,000.