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KGOU

Norman, Oklahoma
Broadcast area	Oklahoma City Metroplex
Frequency	106.3 MHz
Branding	KGOU
Programming
Format	Public Radio - News - Talk - Jazz
Affiliations	National Public Radio American Public Media Public Radio International WFMT Jazz Network BBC World Service
Ownership
Owner	University of Oklahoma
History
First air date	September 25, 1970; 54 years ago (1970-09-25)
Call sign meaning	OU is the abbreviation for the University of Oklahoma
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	69369
Class	A
ERP	6,000 watts
HAAT	88.7 meters (291 ft)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	kgou.org

KGOU (106.3 MHz) is a non-commercial, listener-supported, public radio station. It is licensed to Norman, Oklahoma, and serves the Oklahoma City Metroplex. It is owned by the University of Oklahoma, with the license held by the Board of Regents. It is operated by OU's College of Continuing Education (OU Outreach). Studios are in Copeland Hall on Van Vleet Oval, part of the OU campus. The staff consists of ten full-time and four part-time employees.

KGOU is a Class A FM station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 6,000 watts. The transmitter is on East Indian Hills Road at 60th Avenue NE in Norman. Programming is also heard on four full-power satellites: KROU (105.7 FM) in Spencer, KWOU (88.1 FM) in Woodward, KOUA (91.9 FM) in Ada, and KQOU (89.1 FM) in Clinton. It also operates FM translators in Seminole (103.1 FM), in Ada (97.9 FM), in Chickasha (106.9 FM) and in Shawnee (105.1 FM).

Programming

KGOU is a National Public Radio (NPR) member station. On weekdays, KGOU has a news and information format with programming from NPR and other public radio networks. They include Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Fresh Air, 1A, Here and Now and Marketplace. Evenings feature jazz music from The WFMT Chicago Jazz Network. The BBC World Service runs overnight.

On weekdays at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. and most of the day on weekends, KGOU airs one-hour specialty shows from NPR and other public radio networks. They include Reveal, Radiolab, Freakonomics Radio, This American Life, Zorba Paster on Your Health, Snap Judgment, The TED Radio Hour, The Splendid Table, To the Best of Our Knowledge, Travel with Rick Steves, Left, Right and Center and Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me. Weekend evenings have shows devoted to world music, blues, bossa nova, new age, Broadway and Hollywood show tunes.

History

KGOU signed on the air on September 25, 1970; 54 years ago (1970-09-25). It was originally licensed as a commercial radio station. KGOU had a progressive rock format and sold advertisements, even though it was owned by the University of Oklahoma, a non-profit organization. The tower was atop Walker Dormitory. The station was an affiliate of the ABC FM Radio Network.

In the early 1980s, OU decided to use KGOU as a public radio station and discontinue the rock music and commercial ads. The university applied to the FCC for a non-commercial license. The station's new public radio format, featuring news and talk, took effect on New Year's Day, 1983. The studios were originally located in Kaufman Hall on the OU campus.

KGOU's main signal operates at 6,000 watts, which is fairly modest for a full NPR member station on the FM band. By contrast, Oklahoma State University's public radio station, 91.7 KOSU Stillwater, is powered at 100,000 watts and can also be heard in Oklahoma City. Soon after joining NPR, OU sought a license for a repeater station that would better cover Oklahoma City's northern suburbs. This station, 105.7 KROU, officially signed on the air on June 28, 1993; 31 years ago (June 28, 1993). This means listeners in the suburbs south of Oklahoma City can tune in 106.3 KGOU while those north of Oklahoma City can listen to 105.7 KROU. KROU was the first in a network of eight repeater stations and translators that cover much of central and western Oklahoma.

KGOU renovated space in Copeland Hall on the OU campus in 2006. It moved its studios and offices to Copeland Hall that fall.

A rebroadcaster in Clinton was added in December 2017. Cameron University transferred the license for a station at 89.1 FM to KGOU ownership. The move expanded KGOU's listener base to 32 counties, nearly all in central, western and east-central Oklahoma. The new call sign for the Clinton transmitter is KQOU. It has an ERP of 40,000 watts, the most powerful station in KGOU's network.

Repeaters

Translators

References

1. "Facility Technical Data for KGOU". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
2. "KGOU." Accessed December 23, 2017.
3. Radio-Locator.com/KGOU
4. Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-169. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
5. Pryor, Dick. "KGOU adds Clinton transmitter." KGOU. December 6, 2017. Accessed December 23, 2017.
6. Radio-Locator.com/KQOU

External links

• KGOU station website
• Facility details for Facility ID 69369 (KGOU) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• KGOU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

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• Facility details for Facility ID 173673 (KOUA) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• KOUA in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 122436 (KQOU) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• KQOU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 69175 (KROU) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• KROU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 172867 (KWOU) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• KWOU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• Facility details for Facility ID 141599 (K250AU) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• K250AU at FCCdata.org
• Facility details for Facility ID 141580 (K276ET) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• K276ET at FCCdata.org
• Facility details for Facility ID 141589 (K286BZ) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• K286BZ at FCCdata.org
• Facility details for Facility ID 141689 (K295BL) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
• K295BL at FCCdata.org

35°17′22″N 97°21′31″W / 35.2895°N 97.3586°W / 35.2895; -97.3586

• Radio stations in Oklahoma City
• NPR member stations
• Jazz radio stations in the United States
• College radio stations in Oklahoma
• Radio stations established in 1970
• 1970 establishments in Oklahoma