KUHF
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Facility ID | 69150 |
Class | C |
ERP | 100,000 watts |
HAAT | 524 m (1,719 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 29°34′27″N 95°29′37″W / 29.57417°N 95.49361°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | houstonpublicmedia.org |
KUHF (88.7
History
KUHF first began airing programs on November 6, 1950, at the 91.3 Megahertz frequency. The studios were located in the Ezekiel W. Cullen Building on the University of Houston campus. KUHT co-located with KUHF when the television station debuted in 1953. Broadcasting at 9,600 watts, the station was operated by student volunteers. In 1964, KUHF and KUHT moved to the former KNUZ-TV studios that were vacated by KTRK-TV a few years earlier. This studio would host both stations for the next 35 years, until the move across campus to the current Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting in 2000. The station increased its signal strength to 12,000 watts in 1969.
In 1970, the station began the new decade by switching frequencies to 88.7 Megahertz, in order to reduce interference with KLYX (now
Between 1979 and March, 1986, KUHF's format was NPR news and jazz. In March 1986 local commercial classical music station KLEF changed its format and donated its 12,000+ disc library of music to KUHF, with the proviso that the University of Houston commit KUHF to a format that served Houston's classical music audience, recently disfranchised by the loss of KLEF. The broadcasting of classical music was explained by citing that the charter of KUHF was to provide music unavailable, otherwise, to Houston. KUHF began airing classical music during the day and late night jazz from 10 pm to 5 am, with NPR news in the morning and afternoon drive time hours. During the summer, former KLEF Operations Manager John Proffitt was hired as the new general manager for KUHF, and he arrived at his new position on August 3. After the next on-air fundraiser in October, which was aimed at NPR, classical and jazz listeners, KUHF eliminated its remaining jazz broadcasting. KUHF GM Proffitt defended eliminating several genres of jazz from Houston radio on the basis that the number of daytime classical listeners far exceeded the overnight number of jazz listeners.[3]
On August 21, 2000, KUHF moved to its current studios in the LeRoy and Lucile Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting on the campus of the University of Houston, where KUHF shares broadcast facilities with public television station KUHT – both owned by and licensed to the University of Houston System – where the complex is located. The previous facility is now in use by the university's Texas Learning and Computation Center.
Until the 2011 creation of all-classical sister station
In September 2006, to accommodate the growing demand for an all-NPR news and information service, KUHF began broadcasting in
Conversion to all-news
On August 17, 2010, the University of Houston System announced its intent to purchase the broadcast tower, FM frequency and license of
Due to a fundraising shortfall,[7] KUHA fired almost all of its on-air talent on November 7, 2013[8] and replaced nearly all of its locally produced programming with Public Radio International's Classical 24, a nationally syndicated program produced in Minnesota.
On March 3, 2014, Houston Public Radio's KUHF and KUHA, along with KUHT (previously branded as HoustonPBS), were all rebranded into Houston Public Media.
In August 2015, The University of Houston System announced its intention to sell KUHA and move the classical format to the HD2 subcarrier of KUHF and internet streaming only. KUHT's fifth digital subchannel would also continue to simulcast the format. It was announced the following February that KUHA would be sold to the KSBJ Educational Foundation, who announced plans to change the format of KUHA to Christian hip hop music. KUHA ceased broadcasting classical music on July 14 and started stunting with looped announcements informing listeners of KUHA's demise and the continuation of the format on KUHF-HD2 and other digital platforms. The following morning, on July 15, the sale closed and KUHA (which was subsequently rechristened KXNG and is now KHVU) went dark.
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for KUHF". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "News 88.7 Shows A-Z".
- ^ Staff (1986-11-13). "KUHF nearly all-classical after overnight jazz dropped". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "FCC Grants Assignment of 91.7 FM License to UH System". April 15, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
- ^ "UH Moves to Purchase Radio Station". kuhf.org. 2010-08-17. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
- ^ FCC. "Correspondence for KTRU". Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ "Bad news for classical radio in Houston". Dallas News. 7 November 2013.
- ^ "Houston radio station fires its main on-air talent: A classical music bloodbath?". November 7, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
External links
- Houston Public Media
- KUHF in the FCC FM station database
- KUHF in Nielsen Audio's FM station database