KBYU-FM (89.1

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

radio station run by

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. It is known on-air as Classical 89. It is a production of BYU Radio. It transmits at an effective radiated power of 32 kW. Its transmitting tower is located on a peak of the Oquirrh Mountains northwest of the university campus, and southwest of

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

. The station previously broadcast at a frequency of 88.9 MHz (during which time its nickname was Classical 88). The frequency was shifted in 1988 by directive of the FCC, to alleviate interference for nearby frequencies used for aerial navigation, and to allow for a new full-power station to be built on 99.5 in the Salt Lake market. Classical 89 also has the following translators: 89.5 FM K208BZ Spanish Fork, 106.9 FM K295BW Nephi, 96.1 FM K241BV Milford, 100.3 FM K262BM Cedar City, 100.7 FM K264BM Ivins.

History

KBYU began as a student-run

carrier current Carrier current transmission, originally called wired wireless, employs guided low-power Radio frequency, radio-frequency signals, which are transmitted along electrical conductors. The transmissions are picked up by receivers that are either conne ...

station at 660 AM in 1946. T. Earl Pardoe, a professor at

, suggested to student Owen S. Rich that the university should have its own radio station. Using his experience as a radio and radar technical during World War II, it became available across Provo and the surrounding area in 1948 by using the city's power lines as an antenna. The radio programming included talent shows, live dramas, club features, and popular music. In 1960, BYU was granted a commercial FM license. After the FM license was granted, the programming shifted to classical music. Students requested the programming be switched to Broadway show tunes, jazz, rock, and student talk shows. After expanding the programming, listeners off-campus did not believe the programming held to standards of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). For example, after a series on political revolutionaries in 1971, people complained that the programming was sympathetic to the achievements of

Ho Chi Minh (born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first President of Vietnam, president of the ...

and

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an African American revolutionary, Islam in the United States, Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figur ...

. BYU responded that they would not broadcast anything that did not follow LDS Church standards and they the university had sufficient budget to edit material that did not follow LDS Church standards. In 1981, a series on homosexuality was canceled by the station manager. The new station signed on for the first time on May 9, 1960, under the temporary calls KBRG. After negotiations to get the KBYU calls from a

liberty ship Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...

, the call letters changed to KBYU on November 9, 1960. The station presently broadcasts around the clock, having gone to that schedule in the mid-1980s. Most of its on-air staff consists of professionals, although students do cover some weeknight and weekend on-air shifts. Students also play a key role in behind-the-scenes functions. The station is operated as a non-profit corporation, and solicits donations from the public to raise a portion of its operating revenue. Other funding sources include Brigham Young University and local underwriting by businesses and arts organizations. In 2006, KBYU-FM began broadcasting an

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

signal along with its main signal, and subsequently began carrying sports and talk programming from sister station BYU Radio on its HD2 signal. On October 23, 2017, Brigham Young University announced that KBYU-FM and KBYU-TV would drop their existing programming and become full-time outlets for BYU Radio and BYUtv respectively. The planned flip of KBYU-FM was met with criticism from listeners, as it was the only terrestrial radio station in the market devoted to classical music. On April 26, 2018, the university announced that it would instead purchase 107.9 KUMT to use as a full-time outlet for BYU Radio, allowing it to maintain KBYU-FM's classical format.

Programming

KBYU-FM carries a classical music format, as well as BYU devotionals and forums. In addition to carriage on FM radio, the station is also available online.

Translators

References

External links

*
BYURadio site (station heard on KBYU-FM HD2)KBYU-FM records
Vault MSS 7932, L. Tom Perry Special Collections, Harold B. Lee Library,

{{Authority control Mass media in Salt Lake City Brigham Young University Classical music radio stations in the United States BYU BYU-FM Radio stations established in 1946 1946 establishments in Utah