 | |
 The KQED headquarters on Mariposa Street inSan Francisco before renovation. | |
| Formation | June 1, 1953; 71 years ago (1953-06-01) |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit organization |
| 94-1241309 | |
| Headquarters | 2601 Mariposa Street San Francisco, California 94110 |
| Services | Public broadcasting |
| Subsidiaries | KQED-FM, KQEI,KQED (TV),KQEH |
| Revenue | US$115.1 million (2022)[1] |
| Staff | 545 (2022)[1] |
| Website | www |
Formerly called | Northern California Public Broadcasting (2006–2010) |
KQED Inc. is anon-profitpublic media outlet based in theSan Francisco Bay Area ofCalifornia, which operates the radio stationKQED-FM and the television stationsKQED/KQET andKQEH. KQED's main headquarters are located inSan Francisco, which was renovated in 2021. Improvements included a larger newsroom and studio, as well as a top floor outdoor terrace. The heart of the KQED headquarters is a 238-seat multipurpose event center called The Commons. The renovated venue hosts KQED Live, a series of lectures, concerts, discussions and other live events with entertainers, journalists, politicians, musicians, authors, chefs, and other guests.[2] Reopening events for the public were postponed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[3] KQED is the Bay Area's most notablepublic broadcaster.[4]
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KQED was organized and created by veteranbroadcast journalistsJames Day andJonathan Rice on June 1, 1953, and first went on air April 5, 1954. It was the sixthpublic broadcasting station in the United States, debuting shortly afterWQED inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The station'scall letters, Q.E.D., are taken from theLatin phrase,quod erat demonstrandum, commonly used inmathematics.[5]KQED-FM was founded by James Day in 1969 as the radio arm of KQED Television.
On May 1, 2006, KQED, Inc. and the KTEH Foundation merged to formNorthern California Public Broadcasting.[6] The KQED assets including itstelevision (KQED) andFM radio stations (KQED-FM) were taken under the umbrella of that new organization. Both remained members ofPublic Broadcasting Service (PBS) andNational Public Radio (NPR), respectively. With this change, KQED and KTEH started operating as sister-stations. In October 2006, members gave up their right to vote on the Board of Directors, one of the few major organizations with that arrangement.[7][8] The "Northern California" name did not become widely used, so in December 2010, the umbrella organization was renamed to "KQED, Inc.".[9] KTEH changed its call letters toKQEH and rebranded as"KQED Plus" on July 1, 2011 after research found that most viewers were unaware that KTEH was affiliated with KQED.[10]
KQED is aPBS-memberpublic television station in San Francisco, California, broadcasting digitally onUHF channel 30, and virtually on its analog-era channel 9. This channel is also carried onComcastcable TV and via satellite byDirecTV andDish Network. Itstransmitter is located onSutro Tower, and has studios based in San Francisco'sMission District.
KQED-FM (88.5) is anNPR-memberradio station owned by KQED, Inc. in San Francisco, California.
As of 2013, KQED-FM was the most-listened-to public radio station in the nation according toCision.[11]