Bellevue College's KBCS-FM Boosts Reach to Potential New Listeners

Bellevue College's radio station 91.3 KBCS-FM will expand its reach, after the successful relocation of its broadcast tower from its campus to the summit of Cougar Mountain in Issaquah, the college announced this week.

The move was made possible after the listener-supported station raised $150,000 for the project through donations and grants.

Now, the station can reach areas of Tacoma and Pierce County; west into Kitsap County, Silverdale and Bremerton; and east to North Bend. The signal has also improved for listeners on the Eastside and in Seattle, the college said.

“This is incredibly transformational for our station,” BC President David L. Rule said in a prepared statement. “Our geographic reach is now much, much larger. This is a big win for fans of public radio, because we provide unique programming that you just can’t get anywhere else, and we think a lot of folks out there will be delighted to have more choice on the radio.”

The listener-supported KBCS features a combination of music and news, including a variety of music genres, such as world music, Americana, soul, and jazz, among many others. The station also broadcasts news and public affairs shows, including the nationally syndicated “Democracy Now,” and a local program that premiered last year called “Music + Ideas.”

KBCS has a small staff that is helped by volunteer deejays, journalists and producers who share their passion for radio and contribute to the station’s distinctive style, cultivating a devoted listener base. 

The project and expansion was made possible after Tacoma's 91.7 KXOT was put up for sale, which created potential space in the FM spectrum for KBCS's expansion. After permission from the Federal Communications Commission, the station raised $150,000 to move the tower.

“This is something that’s extremely rare in a saturated radio market like the Puget Sound, where every last bit of the radio spectrum is spoken for. All radio stations want a stronger signal, but in public radio it’s even more critical to reach more people, because we rely on listener contributions to fund the station,” said KBCS General Manager Steve Ramsey. 

More information about KBCS can be found at http://kbcs.fm.