KWBU-FM

Last updated

KWBU-FM
Broadcast area Waco, Texas
Frequency 103.3 MHz
Branding103.3 KWBU
Programming
Format Public radio; news/talk, classical, jazz
Affiliations National Public Radio
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
March 15, 1966 (1966-03-15)
Former call signs
KWBU (1965–2000)
Former frequencies
  • 89.9 MHz (1966–1968)
  • 107.1 MHz (1968–2001)
Call sign meaning
Waco Baylor University
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 4124
Class A
ERP 3,200 watts
HAAT 138 meters (453 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 31°30′51.6″N97°11′45″W / 31.514333°N 97.19583°W / 31.514333; -97.19583
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website www.kwbu.org

KWBU-FM (103.3 MHz), is a public non-commercial FM radio station in Waco, Texas, serving the greater Brazos Valley region. [2] It has studios on River Street in Waco. The station's Federal Communications Commission license is held by the Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation, a nonprofit community organization. Baylor University has a majority of votes on the foundation board.

Contents

Many shows come from National Public Radio (NPR), with Central Texas news and information updates. There are also blocks of classical music in late mornings and evenings, with jazz shows on weekends. The BBC World Service is heard overnight.

KWBU went on the air in 1966 as Baylor University's college radio station. It was transferred to the Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation and relaunched as an NPR station in 2000.

History

KWBU first signed on March 15, 1966, [3] originally on 89.9 MHz. [4] In 1968, it moved to 107.1 MHz [4] (now the location for regional Mexican music station KLZT). In its first decades, KWBU was the student-run college radio station at Baylor University. [3]

The station, which had been a mixture of classical music and adult album alternative, joined NPR on July 1, 2000; [5] before then, Waco had been the largest radio market in the nation without an NPR station. The KWBU license was concurrently transferred from Baylor directly to the Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation. [6] The station moved to 103.3 MHz on June 10, 2001. [7] [8] In 2003, KWBU-FM was the first radio station in Waco to broadcast an HD radio signal.

When sister PBS member station KWBU-TV closed its doors in 2010 due to budget shortfalls, KWBU-FM remained in operation. [9] [10] Historically, both stations had been plagued by low community support. While they were technically community licensees, Baylor's controlling stake in the Brazos Valley Public Broadcasting Foundation led to the perception that they were "Baylor stations", tamping down the support needed to keep the television station on the air. At the time of KWBU-TV's shutdown, the stations only had 1,600 members, a very low number even for a market as small as Waco and nowhere near what the foundation felt was necessary to keep the television station on the air. KWBU-FM was far less expensive to run; it operated with just under half the television side's operating budget. [11]

On March 7, 2025, Baylor University announced that it would no longer fund KWBU-FM's operations; it continues to provide office space and back-end services to the station. KWBU stated that the loss of Baylor's funding would cost the station $200,000, representing 20 percent of its budget. [12]

Limited signal

KWBU-FM originally operated on 107.1 MHz at 2,750 watts from a 492-foot (150 m) tower near Hewitt. Now located at 103.3 MHz, it recently[ when? ] boosted its power to 3,200 watts from a 453-foot (138 m) tower near Texas State Highway 6 across from Richland Mall in Waco. This is still fairly modest for a full NPR member on the FM band, especially compared to other Texas NPR stations such as KUT in Austin or KERA in Dallas, which are powered at a full 100,000 watts. The lower power helps protect KSSM in Copperas Cove, located at adjacent 103.1 FM. As a result, the station's signal does not make it too far out of McLennan County. Some of Waco's close-in suburbs in McLennan County only get a grade B signal. In some communities on the outskirts of Waco, listeners tune in to KUT or KERA for NPR programming.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for KWBU-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "KWBU Radio and TV – Public Broadcasting for Central Texas || About KWBU". Archived from the original on January 9, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2007.
  3. 1 2 Fogleman, Lori Scott (March 18, 1999). "Baylor's KWBU 107.1 FM Plans Free Music Festival March 20" (Press release). Baylor University . Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "KWBU history cards" (PDF). Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Format Changes & Updates". The M Street Journal. April 26, 2000. p. 2.
  6. ↑ "Proposed Station Transfers". The M Street Journal. June 21, 2000. p. 5.
  7. ↑ "Construction Permit Activity". M Street Journal. June 27, 2001. p. 7.
  8. ↑ Fogleman, Lori Scott (June 21, 2001). "NPR "Talk Of The Nation" Host To Help Celebrate KWBU-FM Anniversary" (Press release). Baylor University . Retrieved March 7, 2025.
  9. ↑ KWBU history page
  10. ↑ "A Message From Joe Riley, President of KWBU". April 26, 2010. Archived from the original on July 19, 2010.
  11. ↑ Carl Hoover (April 27, 2010). "KWBU to cease TV programming, continue with radio, due to financial woes". Waco Tribune-Herald .
  12. ↑ Ashley, Joe (March 7, 2025). "Baylor no longer financially supporting public radio station KWBU as part of budget reallocation". KWTX-TV . Retrieved March 7, 2025.
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