KHVU (91.7
FM, "Vida Unida 91.7") is a non-
commercial
Commercial may refer to:
* a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television)
** Radio advertisement
** Television advertisement
* (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
. It is owned by Hope Media Group, which owns
Christian AC Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a radio format. In the United States, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that ...
-formatted
KSBJ
KSBJ is a non-commercial Contemporary Christian music radio station based in Humble, Texas, broadcasting on 89.3 MHz FM in the Greater Houston area. KSBJ is owned and operated by Hope Media Group (formerly KSBJ Educational Foundation).
KS ...
, and airs a Spanish-language
Christian adult contemporary Christian adult contemporary, also known as Christian AC or CAC, is a radio format. In the United States, Christian adult contemporary radio stations cater to a mostly adult audience and are similar to mainstream adult contemporary stations in that ...
radio format
A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
. The
studio
A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
s and offices are on Treble Drive in
Humble, Texas
Humble ( ) is a city located in the Houston metropolitan area. Humble became an oil boomtown in the early 20th century when oil was first discovered there in 1904. By 1905, the Humble oilfield was the largest producing oilfield in Texas. Humble ...
, near
Bush Intercontinental Airport
George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Located about north of Downtown Houston between Interstate 45 and Interstate 69/U.S. Highway 59 ...
, and the
transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is located off Sorters McClellan Road in
Porter
Porter may refer to:
Companies
* Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto
* Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets
* Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer
* H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
.
The 91.7 frequency was established by Rice University as student-run KTRU. Rice sold the station in 2010 to the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
, which ran it as classical music outlet KUHA. Due to chronic lack of listener support, UH sold it to KSBJ, which first installed a Christian hip-hop format, before later changing the station to its current Spanish Christian programming.
History
Rice University
On May 20, 1971, the station first
signed on
Signing may refer to:
* Using sign language
* Signature
A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...
as KTRU, operated by
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
. 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.
In 1991, the station's transmitter was moved to the north of Houston, increasing in power to 50,000 watts. The station was presented with an operating endowment by Mike Stude, the owner of Houston-area radio station 92.1 KRTS (now
KROI
KROI (92.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station serving the Greater Houston market. Licensed to Seabrook, Texas and owned by Urban One, the station broadcasts an urban gospel format. The station's studios are located in Greenway Plaza and the ...
) and an heir of the founders of
Brown & Root
KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) is a U.S. based company operating in fields of science, technology and engineering. KBR works in various markets including aerospace, defense, industrial and intelligence. After Halliburton acquired Dress ...
. This move enabled Stude's station, which aired
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
, to increase from 3,000 watts to 50,000 watts without interfering with KTRU's signal.
Classical music - University of Houston
On August 17, 2010, the
University of Houston
The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...
announced its intent to purchase KTRU's tower, frequency and license from Rice. That would give the university the ownership of two Houston FM stations. The university's main FM signal, KUHF 88.7 MHz, would go from a mix of news and classical music to all news and information. The 91.7 frequency would give classical music and fine arts programming a full-time outlet, with the proposed
call sign
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...
KUHA. The FCC approved the purchase and transfer of license to the University of Houston System on April 15, 2011. At 6:00 AM on April 28, 2011, KTRU went
dark
Darkness, the direct opposite of lightness, is defined as a lack of illumination, an absence of visible light, or a surface that absorbs light, such as black or brown.
Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low lum ...
.
KUHA began broadcasting May 16, 2011. The student-run KTRU programming was transferred to the HD2 subchannel of local
Pacifica Radio
Pacifica may refer to:
Art
* ''Pacifica'' (statue), a 1938 statue by Ralph Stackpole for the Golden Gate International Exposition
Places
* Pacifica, California, a city in the United States
** Pacifica Pier, a fishing pier
* Pacifica, a conceiv ...
member station 90.1
KPFT
KPFT (90.1 FM) is a listener-sponsored community radio station in Houston, Texas, which began broadcasting March 1, 1970 as the fourth station in the Pacifica radio family. The station airs a variety of music, news, talk, and call-in programs, ...
. KPFT dropped KTRU on its HD2 subchannel in October 2015, when KTRU programming began broadcasting on 96.1 KBLT-LP (now
KTRU-LP
KTRU-LP (stylized as ktru) is the college radio station of Rice University, a private university in south-central Houston, Texas, United States.
KTRU-LP broadcasts a freeform-eclectic music format on 96.1 FM; its programming includes modern cla ...
), which presently broadcasts Rice University student programming.
KUHA debuted in 2011 with a distinctive classical sound. Unlike most stations airing the format, hosts selected their own playlists from the 50,000 classical music CD library owned by the station, one of the largest in the world. Because of this freedom, each live classical program on the station had its own unique flavor.
KUHA struggled to raise enough money to pay for its staff and facilities. In an effort to remain solvant, on November 7, 2013, KUHA fired nearly all its announcers and staff. The station replaced nearly all of its locally produced programming with
Public Radio International
Public Radio International (PRI) was an American public radio organization. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, PRI provided programming to over 850 public radio stations in the United States.
PRI was one of the main providers of programm ...
's "
Classical 24
Classical 24 is a syndicated, satellite-delivered public radio service providing classical music to its carrying stations. It generally airs overnights on many non-commercial and a handful of commercial classical music stations. However, the se ...
," a
nationally syndicated classical music service produced in
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. It also began airing nationally distributed public radio programs dealing with classical music, such as ''
From the Top
From the Top is an independent nonprofit organization known best for its longstanding NPR radio and PBS television programs with the same name. Co-founded by Gerald Slavet and Jennifer Hurley-Wales in 1995, the organization showcases and develo ...
'', ''
Performance Today
''Performance Today'' is a Peabody Award-winning classical music radio program, first aired in 1987 and hosted since 2000 by Fred Child. It is the most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States, with 1.2 million liste ...
'' and ''
Pipedreams
''Pipedreams'' is a radio music program produced and distributed by American Public Media (APM) based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, created and hosted since its inception by J. Michael Barone.
History
Each one or two-hour show features organ music ...
'' (which features organ music).
KUHA was the
flagship
A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically the fi ...
radio home of the
Houston Symphony
The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts.
History
The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...
. Its broadcasts were heard on Wednesday evenings on KUHA when in season. When the classical format moved to KUHF-HD2, the agreement with the Houston Symphony remained in place and its broadcasts are now heard on KUHF-HD2.
On March 3, 2014, Houston Public Radio's KUHA and KUHF, along with Houston
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
television station
KUHT
KUHT (channel 8) is a PBS member television station in Houston, Texas, United States. Owned by the University of Houston System, it is sister to NPR member station KUHF (88.7 FM). The two stations share studios and offices in the Melcher Center ...
Channel 8, were all rebranded as "Houston Public Media."
KSBJ ownership
KUHA's fundraising and financial picture did not improve, despite the staff cuts. On August 20, 2015, the University of Houston System announced its intention to sell KUHA, after which the classical music format would only be heard on KUHF's
HD2 subchannel and online streaming platforms, as well as a fifth subchannel of television station KUHT. The sale was approved by the UH System Board of Regents.
On February 24, 2016, the university announced that the station was being sold for $10 million to the
KSBJ Educational Foundation
KSBJ is a non-commercial Contemporary Christian music radio station based in Humble, Texas, broadcasting on 89.3 MHz FM in the Greater Houston area. KSBJ is owned and operated by Hope Media Group (formerly KSBJ Educational Foundation).
KS ...
, which planned to flip the station to NGEN Radio—a Christian hip-hop format that began online in 2010—upon taking control. With the impending sale, KUHA dropped almost all references to the 91.7 frequency in May and rebranded itself as ''Houston Public Media Classical'', running advertisements for the digital streams of the format to redirect listeners.
On May 20, 2016, the license reassignment for KUHA was granted by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
. With the ownership change, plans were made to change the station's call letters when the hand-off took place.
On July 1, 2016, KUHA announced that it would cease broadcasting on July 15. KSBJ planned for NGEN programming to begin broadcasting on 91.7 on August 8. On July 14, KUHA ended regular programming. It began airing prerecorded announcements that the station had ceased broadcasting and redirected listeners to the digital streams. The 91.3 translator, which was included in the sale to KSBJ, went
silent.
At 9 o'clock the following morning, KSBJ's purchase of KUHA closed. Consequently, at that time the station stopped airing its prerecorded announcements and
signed off. KSBJ said it would replace the old transmitter that had been used since 1990 with a brand-new transmitter. KSBJ also announced that the call letters would be changed to KXNG. The translator, 91.3 K217GB, also stopped broadcasting
dead air
Dead air is an unintended period of silence that interrupts a broadcast during which no audio or video program material is transmitted.
Radio and television
Dead air occurs in radio broadcasting when no audio program is transmitted for an extend ...
and went dark that day.
KXNG returned to the air two weeks later on August 1, 2016,
stunting with a varied
playlist
A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sever ...
of
secular dance music under the branding K-Dance. The following Friday, the K217GB translator returned to the air rebroadcasting KXNG and the dance music stunt. Unlike KXNG, K217GB's transmitter was not replaced or modified.
At 6:00 AM on August 8, 2016, the stunting ended, and the NGEN Radio format made its debut with a launch party that was simulcast on KSBJ. During its time on the air, 91.7 NGEN Radio utilized a live and local lineup: "Marcus In The Morning" in AM
drive time
Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
, the "Mid-Day Show with NeallyTime W/ Neal Hopson," the "Afternoon Show with Brant Hansen," "RaJan Monroe @Night" and the "Brant Hansen Show" in late nights.
On July 13, 2021, KYBJ's callsign was changed to KVUJ. On August 20, 2021, KXNG's callsign was changed to KHVU and KZBJ's callsign was changed to KVUD.
On September 16, 2021, Hope Media Group announced that NGEN Radio would be moved exclusively to digital distribution on its website and app on November 8, at which point a new, undisclosed format would launch on KHVU. On November 1, 2021, Hope Media Group announced that a Spanish-language Christian adult contemporary format targeting
Hispanic Americans
Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...
, branded as Vida Unida, would replace the NGEN format on KHVU and all of its other stations broadcasting the format.
The NGEN format ceased broadcasting on KHVU on November 8, at which point the station began airing messages both redirecting NGEN's listeners to digital platforms and promoting the upcoming Vida Unida format, which debuted at 6:00 AM on November 10.
Translators and rebroadcasters
Included in the purchase of KTRU was an
FM translator
A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...
that improved reception in the area near the campus of
Rice University
William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...
. The translator has been relocated off-campus after the sale and moved to an adjacent frequency. This translator was also included in the sale to KSBJ.
During its ownership by the University of Houston, the translator rebroadcast KUHF-HD2, which simulcast KUHA. Upon the completion of the sale to KSBJ, the translator reverted to rebroadcasting the 91.7 feed.
On August 8, 2016, KXNG added a second translator, K258BZ, with both translators relaying the main KXNG signal; this was sold off in 2019. Since then, KHVU has added K226AE, allowing its programming to be heard over the air in
College Station, Texas
College Station is a city in Brazos County, Texas, situated in East-Central Texas in the heart of the Brazos Valley, towards the eastern edge of the region known as the Texas Triangle. It is northwest of Houston and east-northeast of Austin. ...
.
Two further KSBJ-owned stations, KVUD (89.5 FM) in
Bay City and KVUJ (formerly KYBJ, 91.1 FM) in
Lake Jackson, also simulcast Vida Unida. It is also rebroadcast on K259AH (99.7 FM) in
Brenham
Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County.
Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...
.
References
External links
NGEN RadioThe various signal strength areas of 91.7 FM*
*
*
{{Spanish Radio Stations in Texas
HVU
Radio stations established in 1971
1971 establishments in Texas
Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States
HVU
HVU