KYAT
KYAT is a radio station on 94.5 FM in Gallup, New Mexico, United States. Owned and operated by Millennium Media, the station broadcasts a country music format in the Navajo language known as Ya'a'te'eh Diné (Navajo Country).
City | Gallup, New Mexico |
---|---|
Frequency | 94.5 MHz |
Branding | Ya'a'te'eh Diné |
Programming | |
Language(s) | Navajo |
Format | Country |
Ownership | |
Owner | Millennium Media (Millennium Media, Inc.) |
Sister stations | KXXI, KYVA, KYVA-FM |
History | |
First air date | October 19, 1974 |
Former call signs |
|
Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 35028 |
Class | C0 |
ERP | 100 kW |
HAAT | 420 meters (1,380 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°36′22.08″N 108°41′28.31″W |
Translator(s) | K235BR (94.9 FM) Gallup East |
Links | |
Public license information | Profile LMS |
Website | gallupradio |
History
94.5 FM was launched as KGLP on October 19, 1974, airing a country format.[1] It was co-owned with KYVA (1230 AM),[2] which had previously mixed Top 40 and country tunes, much to the chagrin of its air staff; the new country outlet allowed the two formats to be split.[3] Both stations were sold to Road Runner Radio, Inc., owned by Russell Carpenter and George Malti,[4] for $500,000 in 1977, and the FM's call letters were changed to KOVO on October 24.[5] The station flipped to adult contemporary in 1986 and adopted the call letters KKOR.[6]
In 2010, the call letters were changed to KYAT as the station began broadcasting full-time in the Navajo language, the first FM station to do so.[7] Some program features remained in English, including news bulletins three times a day from the Navajo Times newspaper.[7] Coverage was extended to Navajo-language play-by-play of high school basketball games in January 2017.[8]
George Malti died in 2016 after owning KYVA and KYAT for 39 years.[9]
References
- "KGLP Will Begin This Saturday". Gallup Independent. October 16, 1974. p. 11. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- "KGLP(FM)" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1976. p. C-128 (382). Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- "Gallup's four radio stations informative". Navajo Times. October 5, 1978. pp. B-13, B-14. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 4, 1977. p. 61. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- FCC History Cards for KYAT
- "KKOR(FM)" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1987. p. B-188. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- Zah, Erny (October 17, 2011). "KYAT-FM offers 24-hour Navajo language". Navajo Times. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- Velasco, Dee (January 20, 2017). "KYAT launches local sports coverage program". Gallup Sun. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
- Dotson, Bernie (May 20, 2016). "Media mogul George Malti dies in Sedona, Ariz". Gallup Sun. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
External links
- KYAT in the FCC's FM station database
- KYAT on Radio-Locator
- KYAT in Nielsen Audio's FM station database