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KUHA
File:KUHAlogo.png
Broadcast areaHouston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land
Frequency91.7 MHz
BrandingClassical 91.7
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatClassical music
Ownership
OwnerUniversity of Houston System
(Sale Pending to the KSBJ Educational Foundation)
KUHF, KUHT-TV
History
First air date
July 30, 1971 (license, as KTRU)
May 16, 2011 (as KUHA)
Former call signs
KTRU (1971–2011)
Call sign meaning
K University of Houston Arts
Technical information
Facility ID72685
ClassC2
ERP50,000 watts
HAAT150 meters (490 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
30°3′54″N 95°16′10″W / 30.06500°N 95.26944°W / 30.06500; -95.26944
Translator(s)91.5 MHz
Links
Websitehoustonpublicmedia.org
The Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting serves as headquarters for KUHA

KUHA (branded as Classical 91.7) is a public radio station serving Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area. It broadcasts on a frequency of 91.7 Megahertz on the FM dial. The station is owned by and licensed to the University of Houston System, and is operated by Houston Public Media. KUHA shares broadcast facilities with KUHF and KUHT at the Melcher Center for Public Broadcasting, located on the campus of the University of Houston.

History

The station first signed on in 1971 as KTRU, operated by Rice University. Studios were located in Sid Richardson College on the Rice campus. Initially broadcasting at 10 watts, the students engineered an increase to 340 watts in April 1974 and 650 watts in October 1980. The broadcast day also increased from the initial evening-only hours to 10 to 12 hours a day on weekdays and most of the weekend. In 1981, the station expanded its broadcast hours to 24 hours per day. In 1987, a major expansion of the student center was completed and the station's studios were relocated to the 2nd floor of the Ley Student Center.[1]

In 1991, the station's transmitter was moved to the north of Houston, increased in power to 50,000 watts and presented with an operating endowment by Mike Stude, the owner of Houston-area radio station KRTS (now KROI) and an heir of the founders of Brown & Root. This move enabled KRTS to increase from 3,000 watts to 50,000 watts without interfering with the station's signal.

On August 17, 2010, the University of Houston System announced its intent to purchase KTRU's tower, frequency and license from Rice. KUHF's 88.7 FM frequency would be converted to an all-news format (KUHF News) and the 91.7 frequency would contain classical music and fine arts programming (91.7 FM Classical), with the proposed call letters KUHA[2] (originally announced as KUHC, but those call letters were already in use).[3] The FCC approved the purchase and transfer of license to the University of Houston System on April 15, 2011,[4] and KUHA began broadcasting May 16, 2011. The student-run KTRU programming was transferred to the HD2 subchannel of local Pacifica Radio member station KPFT, and continues to this day under the name Rice Radio.

On November 7, 2013, KUHA fired almost all of its on-air talent,[5] and replaced nearly all of its locally produced programming with Public Radio International's Classical 24, a nationally syndicated program produced in Minnesota.

On August 20, 2015, the University of Houston System announced its intention to sell KUHA due to a lack of funding for the station, after which the classical music format will be jettisoned to KUHF's HD2 subchannel and online streaming only. The sale was approved by the UH System Board of Regents. On February 24, 2016, it was announced that the station was being sold to the KSBJ Educational Foundation who will flip it to its NGEN Radio format upon taking control. Although the purchase price had not been disclosed in the official announcement, a Houston Public Media representative told CultureMap that the price for the station was $10 million.

Programming

In November 2013, KUHA fired almost all of its on-air talent,[6] and replaced nearly all of its locally produced programming with Public Radio International's Classical 24, for example its Music Through the Night overnight programming. It also broadcasts other nationally distributed programs commonly heard on classical music stations, such as From the Top, Performance Today and Pipedreams (which features organ music).

KUHA is the flagship radio home of the Houston Symphony; its broadcasts are heard on Wednesday evenings when in season.

Translator

Included in the purchase of KTRU was a broadcast translator that improved reception in the area near the campus of Rice University. The translator has been relocated off-campus after the sale and moved to an adjacent frequency. This translator has been included in the sale to KSBJ.

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) Class FCC info
K217GB 91.3 FM Houston, Texas 99 D

References

  1. ^ Kern, Lauren (January 11, 2001). "Rice University's slow, systematic makeover of KTRU is just the latest example of a college determined to pattern itself after corporate America". Houston Press. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
  2. ^ "FCC Grants Assignment of 91.7 FM License to UH System". April 15, 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2011.
  3. ^ "UH Moves to Purchase Radio Station". kuhf.org. 2010-08-17. Retrieved 2010-08-17.
  4. ^ FCC. "Correspondence for KTRU". Retrieved 18 April 2011.
  5. ^ "Houston radio station fires its main on-air talent: A classical music bloodbath?". November 7, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  6. ^ "Houston radio station fires its main on-air talent: A classical music bloodbath?". November 7, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
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