KXOT

KXOT-FM (91.7 FM) is a National Public Radio member station in Tacoma, Washington. It is programmed by KUOW-FM under an agreement with Public Radio Capital.

KUOW broadcasts programming on KXOT that it has no room for on the main station. Among these programs are On Point, News and Notes, and live call-in shows Talk Of The Nation (which KUOW dropped for Day to Day) and The Diane Rehm Show.

History

Bates Technical College owned public radio station KBTC-FM until 2004, when it was sold to Public Radio Capital, which then licensed the frequency to KEXP. KEXP wished to extend their signal into the South Sound, and simulcast its regular program on the station, changing its call letters to KXOT.

The station began as KTOY in the 1960s and during the day was manned by Bates Technical College broadcasting students studying under former KJR DJ Lee Perkins. During the late 1970's until the mid 1980's, starting at midnight on Friday and lasting until 6:00 Sunday, KTOY broadcast Hip Hop (including electro) and urban music under the moniker "Giving You The Music of Tomorrow, Today" (during 1983-1984 the late night hip-hop catch phrase was "R&B's best in the Pacific Northwest" It was often used during station ID's). This format lasted from 1978 to 1984. By 1985, the format was no longer the entire weekend and by 1986, the station removed the KTOY ID and it reverted to calling itself KBTC from Bates Technical College. For a while, in the late '80s and early '90s, it was known as KTPS. The station only played Hip Hop and Urban music on Sunday for two hours in the form of a top 20 countdown.

On November 3, 2005, KEXP announced it was terminating operation on KXOT at the end of the calendar year due to a financial crunch. However, KEXP continued to simulcast on KXOT into 2006 while Public Radio Capital looked for a new lessee. On May 24, 2006, KUOW announced it signed a new lease with PRC. KXOT returned to broadcast over-the-air, programmed by KUOW, in August 2006.

KUOW has stated that it would be expanding KXOT's effective radiated power, but has not stated to what wattage it will be raised to or what area the new signal would cover.