In recent years, a host of schools have decided that the cost of maintaining an FM radio station has been detrimental to their core mission of devoting their resources to higher education. Many of these stations have been student-run.
Not so for the University of Texas’ Tyler, Tex. campus. With NPR programming during daylight hours and Jazz at night, the station — which has a signal that doesn’t cover the Longview portion of the Nielsen Audio-defined market — has succumbed to the pressures of being listener-supported while state funding focuses on classroom and intercollegiate athletics.
KVUT-FM has ceased operations ahead of its sale.
The silence of KVUT, at 90.7 MHz with a Class A signal licensed to Cuney, Tex., came Friday (5/24) at 5pm Central, in a decision made by the University of Texas at Tyler College of Arts and Sciences.
“This move aligns with our core mission and allows us to reinvest in our academic programming, offering more educational opportunities to students, particularly in our Department of Communication,” UT Tyler College of Arts and Sciences Dean Neil Gray said as he thanked the station’s team, donors and listeners for their support.
UT Tyler noted that it offers a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science in communication studies and a Master of Arts in communication. Alas, none will have an opportunity to gain real-world experience at the university’s own station.
Dean Gray added, “Reinvesting in our students is crucial for fostering the next generation of communicators, journalists and media professionals. By reallocating resources, we can enhance our curriculum, provide cutting-edge technology and create hands-on learning experiences that prepare our students for the rapidly evolving media landscape.”
UT Tyler spent $120,000 to acquire KVUT in June 2020 from North Texas Public Radio. After a soft launch, a Sept. 14, 2021, official debut of the station under UT Tyler ownership came.
Now, Greg Guy of Tideline Partners LLC has been retained by UT Tyler to find a new owner. This could bring an end to NPR programming on a Tyler-Longview signal.
Prior to KVUT’s debut, Tyler had received its NPR programming via an FM translator rebroadcasting KERA-FM in Dallas, and from Class C3 KTYK-FM 100.7 in Shreveport, La., a part of the Red River Radio Network.
UT Tyler has campuses in the Texas cities of Tyler, Longview, Palestine and Houston.
