BYU Radio

History

Prior to 2002, there was a satellite music format known as 'Bonneville International LDS Radio Network.' When Bonneville International decided to discontinue the format, the station was transferred under the direction of BYU. The university continued adding programming to the station.

BYU Radio launched as an internet radio station on August 1, 2002. The original format featured a selection of music by artists who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and alumni of Brigham Young University. A second stream, called BYU Radio Instrumental, launched in 2003. In 2008, a third stream, BYU Radio International, launched featuring Spanish- and Portuguese-language programming.

In 2006, KBYU-FM added a simulcast of BYU Radio on its HD Radio subchannel.

BYU Radio expanded its reach by finalizing an agreement with Dish Network to broadcast its programming on Channel 980. This is available to subscribers to the 'Top 120' or higher programming tier.

On July 1, 2011, BYU Radio expanded beyond inspirational music from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and relaunched as a national talk-format station. BYU Radio began broadcasting on Sirius XM satellite radio, assigned to channel 143 on both the Sirius and XM lineup.

On October 17, 2011, BYU discontinued two of its Internet streams: BYU Radio International and BYU Radio Instrumental. The university said listeners would stream the music as background music causing high bandwidth costs for BYU. Those two services were not broadcast on Dish or SiriusXM, and were only available online.

On August 9, 2016, Greg Wrubell joined BYU as the Director of Broadcast Media. Among his responsibilities were moving BYU athletics flagship from KSL to BYU Radio and turning his coaches shows into a TV/radio simulcast for BYUtv and the Nu Skin BYU Sports Network radio affiliates. With his new responsibilities at BYU, Wrubell left KSL, though KSL remained part of the BYU Sports Networks affiliates. With the change, BYU Radio became the official flagship station for football, women's soccer, and men's basketball broadcasts. ESPN 960 remained the flagship carrier of women's soccer matches that conflict with football or men's basketball broadcasts until BYU joined the Big 12, at which time women's soccer broadcasts were discontinued.

On October 23, 2017, Brigham Young University announced that KBYU-FM would drop its classical music programming and become a full-time carrier of BYU Radio beginning June 30, 2018. However, on April 26, 2018, BYU backtracked on the plans following listener criticism of the planned flip, and announced its planned purchase of 107.9 KUMT to serve as a full-time outlet. KUMT also gained BYU baseball and women's basketball radio broadcasts with the move and became the flagship station for those athletics.

On June 21, 2021, Jeff Simpson became the new managing director of BYU Broadcasting, overseeing BYU Radio and TV. Previously, Simpson served as the president and publisher of the Deseret News and worked at both Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Television.

On February 7, 2022, BYU Radio transitioned from a radio station to a full podcast network, with the goal to "improve families and communities, illuminate the good in people, and celebrate both the wonder all around us and the incredible things we humans can accomplish when we choose to bridge divides."

In 2023, the network won its first Signal Awards, with The Lisa Show winning a Silver Signal Award in the Self-Improvement & Self-Help category and Constant Wonder winning a Gold Signal Award in the Religion & Spirituality category. In 2024, the network's audio drama podcast Kaboom took home four additional Signals Awards, including Best Kids Podcast, Best Road Trip Podcast, and Best Writing (Fiction).

Programming

The talk format reaches into Brigham Young University's depth of academic experts and topics. The station's slogan, "Together," reflects the station's mission to address the broad spectrum of listeners and their beliefs, bringing together all walks of life who have a desire to do good.

The station also carries inspirational programming, including BYU's campus devotionals live on Tuesdays, and Sunday programming consisting of audio from BYU Television programs and from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including the long-running radio program Music and the Spoken Word.

During the regular sports season, BYU Radio broadcasts live coverage of BYU football, men's and women's basketball games, and baseball through the Nu Skin BYU Sports Network. The station previously carried women's soccer as well.

The station streams online, is simulcast on TuneIn, and is carried on Dish Network radio.

BYU Radio has multiple podcasts on air as well as on streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. As of 2023, BYU Radio podcasts on air include The Lisa Show, Top of Mind with Julie Rose, The Apple Seed, Constant Wonder, Kaboom, and In Good Faith. All of these programs, in alignment with BYU's mission statement, are to provide uplifting and educational media.

References

References

1. Israelsen-Hartley, Sara. (April 20, 2011). "BYU Radio now on Sirius XM satellite radio". Deseret News.
2. "About - BYU Radio".
3. "About - BYU Radio".
4. Israelsen-Hartley, Sara. (April 20, 2011). "BYU Radio now on Sirius XM Satellite Radio". [[Deseret News]].
5. Cunningham, Nate. (August 9, 2016). "Greg Wrubell named director of broadcast media at BYU". [[The Daily Universe]].
6. "After protests, Utah's KBYU-FM will keep playing classical music". The Salt Lake Tribune.
7. Pierce, Scott D.. (October 23, 2017). "KBYU-TV will no longer be a PBS station in 2018 — and KBYU-FM will abandon classical music". [[The Salt Lake Tribune]].
8. (21 June 2021). "BYU names Jeff Simpson as managing director of BYU Broadcasting". BYU.
9. "About Us".
10. "Signal Award Winner".
11. "Signal Award Winner".
12. "Signal Award Winner".
13. (12 May 2023). "BYUradio".
14. Harmon, Dick. (July 1, 2011). "Shackles off as BYU, Utah say good-bye to MWC". Deseret News.
15. "BYUradio Podcasts". BYU Broadcasting.