In June, North Texas Public Broadcasting (which runs KERA on the radio and TV) bought the frequency 91.7 FM for about $18 million. Today they’ve announced that the frequency, which has been operating as Christian talk station KVTT (91.7 The Truth), will have the call letters KKXT, and will be called simply KXT.
No, it’s not terribly poetic. But if the music is a mix anything like KERA used to play every night up until the mid-90s, it’ll be worth a listen. They plan to launch at 7 a.m. Nov. 9, with the suitably titled Morning Show. More of the release after the jump:
The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) decision allowing KERA to acquire the 91.7 FM license has now become final.
“We received a very enthusiastic response about the acquisition of 91.7 FM from North Texans who value public radio and the incredibly diverse music programming this new station will offer,” said Mary Anne Alhadeff, KERA’s President and CEO. “Approval from the FCC was a critical milestone in finalizing the transfer of the license. With the FCC’s favorable decision, KERA now can announce the station’s name, the launch date, and the local and national program lineup.”
KERA secured new call letters, KKXT, for 91.7 FM. The station will be named KXT. “We tried to secure call letters that conveyed a sense of place, but everything with the combination of ‘TX’ was already licensed,” said Alhadeff. “Yet, the reversal of the letters with KXT was different, and we liked that.”
The new station’s launch date and time is scheduled for Monday, November 9 at
7:00 a.m. The first program on the air will be the KXT Morning Show, broadcast from the KXT studio.The KXT Morning, Afternoon and Evening shows will provide nine to eleven hours of weekday local programming. On Fridays, two hours of Texas Mix will be featured at midday. KXT Weekend will air on Saturdays and Sundays, and The Paul Slavens Show on Sunday evening will move from KERA 90.1 FM to KXT 91.7. Details about local hosts, program features and special live performances developed in celebration of the station’s launch will be announced closer to the launch date.
KXT will have its own Web site, kxt.org. Playlists, live streaming, podcasts, program features, video and other interactive features will be just some of the offerings on the new site.
“The national public radio music programs selected for KXT complement the station’s own local productions and enhance the public service mission of KXT, which is to introduce, discuss and explore music that otherwise may not be heard on free radio,” said Jeff Ramirez, V.P., Radio. The national programs are: Acoustic Café, American Routes, Mountain Stage, Putumayo World Music Hour, Sound Opinions, The Thistle & Shamrock, UnderCurrents and World Café.
