KUSC

KUSC
City of license Los Angeles, California
Broadcast area Southern California
Frequency 91.5 MHz
(also on HD Radio)
Repeaters KPSC: 88.5 MHz
KDSC: 91.1 MHz
KDB: 93.7 MHz
KESC: 99.7 MHz
First air date October 24, 1946
Format Classical music
ERP 39,000 watts (directional antenna)
HAAT 891 meters (2,923 ft)
Class B
Facility ID 69318
Transmitter coordinates 34°12′48″N 118°03′41″W / 34.21333°N 118.06139°W
Callsign meaning K
University of
Southern
California
Owner University of Southern California
Webcast Listen Live
Website kusc.org

KUSC (91.5 MHz FM) is a listener-supported classical music radio station broadcasting from downtown Los Angeles, California, USA.[1] KUSC is owned and operated by the University of Southern California, which also operates student-run Internet station KXSC (AM) and San Francisco's classical station KDFC. It is the largest non-profit classical music station in the country and the only classical radio station in the Greater Los Angeles Area. In February 2014, public radio station KCRW of Santa Monica announced that it would buy the Santa Barbara Foundation's classical station KDB (FM) 93.7 in Santa Barbara for $1 million. The transaction will allow KCRW to begin using KQSC, USC's current repeater station in Santa Barbara, as a repeater for KCRW's programming, while transferring KUSC's classical programming from KQSC to KDB, thus perpetuating KDB's role as Santa Barbara's classical station. The legacy KDB call letters will be retained. U.S. Federal Communications Commission approval is likely to take two to three months.

Notable local programming[2] includes Dennis Bartel's weekday morning show, Rich Capparela's weekday afternoon program, Jim Svejda's weekday evening show, Duff Murphy's Saturday opera show, and special features by Gail Eichenthal. Other announcers include Alan Chapman and Brian Lauritzen. Management helped establish the nationwide Classical 24 network and also supervised Virginia's WMRA network before taking up leadership at KUSC.

The station holds three membership drives annually to help support operational costs. These drives usually last less than ten days. Corporate sponsors include Lexus, Miramax Films, University of Redlands, Universal Music Group, City of Hope National Medical Center and Providence Health & Services.

KUSC broadcasts in HD.[3]

Transmitter network

Call sign Frequency Location Power
KUSC 91.5 FM Los Angeles 39,000 watts
KPSC 88.5 FM Palm Springs 1,250 watts
KDSC(†) 91.1 FM Thousand Oaks 4,800 watts
KDB 93.7 FM Santa Barbara 12,000 watts
KESC(‡) 99.7 FM Morro Bay 285 watts

† KDSC is non-directional (fcc.gov). Coverage pattern is not circular due to mountains to the NE which block line-of-sight FM transmissions. Any interference with the 91.1 (XETRA-FM) in Mexico goes both ways and is caused by a phenomenon called 'ducting'. Ducting occurs most often along coastal areas, particularly during spring and fall when temperature inversions occur. Ducting causes VHF signals to travel farther than normal. All VHF signals experience periodic interference from this phenomenon. (FM is in the VHF band just above TV channel 6.)

‡ KESC used to be KXTY.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Classical KUSC About US". USC. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  2. ↑ http://www.kusc.org/new/Programming/schedule.php
  3. ↑ http://www.hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=36

External links