KYFQ (91.7

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...

) is a

non-commercial A non-commercial (also spelled noncommercial) activity is an activity that does not, in some sense, involve commerce, at least relative to similar activities that do have a commercial objective or emphasis. For example, advertising-free community ...

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 radi ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

to Tacoma,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and serving the Seattle-Tacoma

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

. The station is owned by

Bible Broadcasting Network The Bible Broadcasting Network (BBN) is a listener-supported global Conservative Christian radio network staffed and headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It was founded in 1971 by Lowell Davey, who was the network's president until his dea ...

, Inc. It airs a Christian talk and teaching

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 was compelle ...

. National religious leaders heard on KYFQ include

Chuck Swindoll Charles Rozell Swindoll (born October 18, 1934) is an evangelical Christian pastor, author, educator, and radio preacher. He founded ''Insight for Living'', headquartered in Frisco, Texas, which airs a radio program of the same name on more t ...

, Adrian Rogers and

Joni Eareckson Tada Joni Eareckson Tada (born October 15, 1949) is an evangelical Christian author, radio host, artist, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community". Early life Joni Eareckson was b ...

. Some news and programming is provided by the

Salem Radio Network Salem Radio Network is a United States-based radio network that specializes in syndicated Christian political talk, music, and conservative secular news/talk programming. It is a division of the Salem Media Group. Network information Salem Ra ...

(SRN).

History

Tacoma School District

In 1949, 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 KTOY. It was owned by the Tacoma School District and had its studios at its vocational school, which became

Bates Technical College Bates Technical College is a public technical college located in Tacoma, Washington, US. The college offers two-year Associate of Applied Science degrees, academic certificates, and industry certifications. Bates is accredited by the Northwest Com ...

in 1991. During the day it was operated by Bates broadcasting students studying under former KJR DJ Lee Perkins. It was powered at 3,500 watts, enough to cover Tacoma and adjacent communities but not the larger Seattle radio market. From 1978 to 1984, KTOY aired educational programs during the day, with

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hits in the afternoon and evening. Starting at midnight on Friday and lasting until 6:00 p.m. Sunday, KTOY broadcast hip hop music and

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, hip hop, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban conte ...

under the slogan "Giving You The Music of Tomorrow, Today." During 1983-1984, the late night hip-hop program's slogan was "R&B's best in the Pacific Northwest." By 1985, the urban format was no longer the entire weekend. In the 1980s, the power was increased to 7,900 watts. The station changed its

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 assign ...

to KTPS-FM for Tacoma Park Schools, in 1986. Then in 1992, the call letters were switched to KBTC for Bates Technical College. The station only played hip-hop and urban music on Sunday for two hours in the form of a top 20 countdown.

Public Radio Capital

KBTC was sold to Public Radio Capital, which then leased the frequency to the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

's college station, 90.3

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in alternative and indie rock programmed by its disc jockeys for the Seattle metropolitan area. The station is owned by the no ...

. KEXP wanted to extend its signal into the South Sound. So it

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simulta ...

its regular

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

programming on 91.7, changing its call letters to KXOT. On November 3, 2005, KEXP announced it was terminating operation on KXOT at the end of the calendar year due to a financial crunch. However, KEXP continued to simulcast on KXOT into 2006 while Public Radio Capital decided what to do with 91.7. On May 24, 2006,

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

94.9

KUOW-FM KUOW-FM (94.9 MHz) is a National Public Radio member station in Seattle, Washington. It is the largest of the three full-fledged NPR member stations in the Seattle and Tacoma media market, with two Tacoma-based stations, KNKX and KVTI being t ...

announced it signed a new lease with PRC. KXOT returned to the air, run by KUOW-FM, but airing alternate programming as KUOW-2, in August 2006. On May 15, 2012, PRC announced that it would drop its KUOW-2 programming on 91.7 on June 29. However, this was delayed until July 2. The station went silent at midnight on that day, as the station was awaiting a new programming provider. On January 7, 2013, the station returned to the air, from a new transmitter site on Gold Mountain, coupled with an increase in power to 23,000 watts. The station aired the audio from Washington State's public affairs government television channel TVW.

Bible Broadcasting Network

The

announced on February 4, 2015, that it would purchase KXOT from PRC for $2.4 million. PRC then took the station

off-the-air In the broadcasting industry, a dark television station or silent radio station is one that has gone off the air for an indefinite period of time. Usually unlike dead air (broadcasting only silence), a station that is dark or silent does not e ...

until the completion of the sale. Upon taking control on May 13, BBN relaunched the station as KYFQ. The station began running BBN's schedule of Christian talk and teaching programs.

References

External links

*
KUOW Puget Sound Public Radio and Public Radio Capital Bring New Program Service to Seattle/Tacoma
, KUOW Press Release, May 24, 2006 *

, Seattle Bizwomen.com, June 5, 2006 *
RadioInsight
, KXOT to drop KUOW-2 Programming *
KFYQ website
* {{coord, 47, 32, 53, N, 122, 48, 22, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title YFQ Radio stations established in 1949 1949 establishments in Washington (state) Bible Broadcasting Network Talk radio stations in the United States YFQ