Featuring BBC news and analysis of world events, the new station is scheduled to go on-air in early summer. Current KHSU programming will also continue.
“This will be a totally new radio station for Humboldt County,” says KHSU General Manager Ed Subkis. “KHSU’s current ‘Diverse Public Radio’ programming will not change and KHSU service will not be lost by anybody who currently listens.”
The new service, branded as KHSU-BBC, will be heard on a two-station network in Humboldt County - 103.3 FM on KHSM, a new radio station licensed to McKinleyville, and 90.1 FM on KHSF in Ferndale.
KHSF currently repeats KHSU programming, but will be re-engineered to broadcast the BBC program service. Listeners in Ferndale and the Eel River Valley will continue to hear KHSU programming on 88.7 FM, KHSU’s existing translator in that area.
KHSM and KHSF, when combined, will cover an area from the Humboldt-Del Norte county line south to Redcrest. Subkis projects 140,000 people will be served by the network. Local listeners with an HD radio will also be able to hear the BBC on KHSU’s 90.5 HD-2 signal.
KHSU-BBC will be fully automated, creating minimal added operational or financial burden on KHSU. The station will have a test signal on the air by the end of June.