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| Broadcast area |
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| Frequencies | |
| Branding | KQED |
| Programming | |
| Format | Public Radio -News/talk |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | KQED Inc. |
| History | |
First air date |
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Former call signs | KXKX (1963–1969) |
Call sign meaning | Quod Erat Demonstrandum "That which is demonstrated" (Latin phrase used in math research) |
| Technical information | |
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| Class |
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| HAAT |
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Transmitter coordinates | |
| Translator | See below |
| Repeater | See below |
| Links | |
| Website | www |
KQED-FM (88.5MHz) is a listener-supportedpublic radio station inSan Francisco, California. It issimulcast onKQEI-FM (89.3 MHz) in theSacramento metropolitan area. The parent organization isKQED Inc., which also owns twoPBS member television stations:KQED (channel 9) andKQEH (channel 54). The station's studios are on Mariposa Street in theMission District of San Francisco.
KQED-FM isgrandfathered at an unusually higheffective radiated power (ERP) of 110,000 watts. Itstransmitter is along Radio Road, atopSan Bruno Mountain, inBrisbane. KQEI-FM has an ERP of 3,300 watts, with itstower on Sorento Road inElverta.
KQED-FM is one of the most-listened-to public radio stations in the United States.[1] It often ranks first in the San Franciscoradio market in theNielsen ratings.[2] In addition to local programming, KQED-FM carries content from major public radio distributors such asNational Public Radio, thePublic Radio Exchange andAmerican Public Media, with theBBC World Service heard late nights. Popular NPR shows carried by KQED-FM and KQEI-FM includeMorning Edition,All Things Considered,Fresh Air,Here and Now andMarketplace. Weekend shows includeWait, Wait...Don't Tell Me,Radiolab,On The Media,Code Switch,Latino USA,Hidden Brain,Freakonomics Radio,This American Life,The Moth Radio Hour,The New Yorker Radio Hour andThe Splendid Table.
Among the locally produced shows areForum with Mina Kim and Alexis Madrigal,The California Report andTech Nation. The KQED-FM newsroom prepares frequent local and California news updates which air between programs, in addition to hourly newscasts from NPR.
In addition to over-the-air broadcasts, KQED-FM audio is carried on Comcastdigital cable channel 960 with livestreaming audio from its website and from theiHeartRadio platform.Forum is carried live, nationwide, onSirius Satellite Radio. KQED also offers an extensive audio archive andpodcasts of previous shows for download.
One of the most famous programs to have been broadcast on KQED wasAn Hour with Pink Floyd, a 60-minute performance byPink Floyd recorded in1970 without an audience at the station's studio. The program was broadcast only twice—once in 1970, and once again in 1981.[3] Thesetlist included "Atom Heart Mother", "Cymbaline", "Grantchester Meadows", "Green Is the Colour", "Careful with That Axe, Eugene", and "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun".
PriorKXKX-FM 97.3 MHz (1952–1956) is unrelated.
The San Francisco Theological Seminary, aPresbyterian group, began broadcasting with station KXKX in April 1963.[4] The new 110,000-watt station signed on two years after the seminary received aconstruction permit from theFCC in August 1961.[5] In addition toChristian radio programming, the station's subcarrier broadcast theology courses to receivers at 44 Bay Area churches.[6]
When agencies of thePresbyterian Church (USA) could no longer support the station, KXKXsigned off at midnight on the evening of June 29, 1967.[7]
In July 1968, the San Francisco Theological Seminary filed to sell KXKX to the Bay Area Educational Television Association, owner of public television stationKQED (channel 9).[5] The station returned to the air as KQED-FM in mid-1969, originally using the studios at 286Divisadero Street inherited from the seminary.[5] The founding manager wasBernard Mayes, who later went on to be executive vice president of KQED television and also co-founder and chairman of NPR.
The first programming of KQED-FM included news, 'street radio' broadcast live from local street corners, drama and music. In its third year on the air, KQED-FM became one of the first 80network affiliates of National Public Radio, one of five in California. It aired the first edition ofAll Things Considered. Later, due to reduced funding, Mayes opened the air to 'Tribal Radio' - productions by local non-profit groups, some in their own languages.
In 2003, KQED Radio expanded to theSacramento metropolitan area by purchasing KEBR-FM on 89.3 MHz. The station islicensed to the suburban community ofNorth Highlands. It signed on the air on February 21, 1992; 33 years ago (1992-02-21).[8]
KEBR-FM 89.3 was originally owned byFamily Radio, a Christian broadcaster based inOakland at the time.[9][10] The KEBR-FM call letters and format moved to a more powerful FM station on 88.1 MHz in Sacramento. KQED Radio changed the call sign on 89.3 FM to KQEI-FM. It became a full-time simulcast of KQED-FM in San Francisco.
In 2023, KQED acquiredSnap Judgment andSpooked podcasts.[11]
In addition to the main station, KQED-FM is relayed by these stations and translators to widen its broadcast area.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | ERP W | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KQEI-FM | 89.3 FM (HD) | North Highlands, California | 3,300 | A | FCC (KQEI-FM) |
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | ERP W | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| K201BV | 88.1 FM | Benicia-Martinez, California | 4 | D | |
| K202CT | 88.3 FM | Santa Rosa, California | 10 | D | FCC (K202CT) |
KQED and KQEI also broadcast usingHD Radio technology.[12][13][14]
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