KNTU
Coordinates: 33°12′44″N 97°08′45″W / 33.2121°N 97.1457°W
![]() | |
City | McKinney, Texas |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Dallas/Fort Worth/Denton/McKinney/Sherman |
Frequency | 88.1 MHz |
Branding | 88.1 The One |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English (primary) Spanish (select programming) |
Format | Jazz/College Radio |
Affiliations | WFAA-TV (local news/weather partnership) Associated Press (national news partnership) |
Ownership | |
Owner | University of North Texas |
History | |
First air date | October 31, 1969 |
Former frequencies | 88.5 MHz (1969-1979) |
Call sign meaning | North Texas State University |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 69003 |
Class | C1 |
ERP | 100,000 watts |
HAAT | 135 meters |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°17′24″N 97°08′10″W / 33.29000°N 97.13611°W |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | kntu.com |
KNTU (88.1 FM) is the campus radio station of the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. The signal of the station covers much of the Dallas and Fort Worth Metroplex of North Texas with a format of news and primarily jazz music. Any University of North Texas student is welcome to work at the station, but most of the staff consists of those majoring in Media Arts, Broadcasting, or Journalism.
KNTU also serves as the flagship station of the Mean Green Sports Network, a radio property of Learfield IMG College, for football, as well as both men's and women's basketball at the University of North Texas.
Early history[]
KNTU was founded in 1969 by Bill Mercer, former voice of the Dallas Cowboys, North Texas Mean Green, and a member of the Texas Radio Hall of Fame. Originally on the 88.5 FM frequency, the station first went on the air on November 3rd, 1969 playing popular music of the time and public affairs. Soon added were Mean Green football games, with Mercer providing play-by-play coverage; UNT students usually served as his color commentator. The station switched to its current jazz format in 1981, while continuing to host public affairs shows and North Texas athletic events.
Programming[]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/c8/KNTU_Old.png/100px-KNTU_Old.png)
In addition to its main format of jazz, KNTU presents several specialty programs:
- Musical Starstreams: Electronica (Sun. 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and encore broadcast the following Sat. midnight to 2:00 a.m.)
- StarDate: A brief daily guide to the night sky and breaking astronomical news. Airs at 6:57 am, 11:57 am, 4:57 pm, and 7:57 pm
- The Green Guys Show: Talk show covering sports at the University of North Texas (Sun. 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.; except during the summer)
- Infrequent Exposure: Show featuring "local music" from bands in North Texas and Southern Oklahoma (Sun. 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.)
- Denton ISD Game of the Week (Friday or Thursday night football broadcasts featuring one of the four Denton ISD high schools)
- The Live Wire: A daily jazz concert calendar
- NT Notebook: Events and activities calendar focusing on the three University of North Texas campuses (Denton, Dallas, and HSC at Fort Worth)
In addition, KNTU broadcasts short hourly newscasts on weekdays from Associated Press Radio News and its own news/sports prepared and delivered by UNT students.
Former programs since discontinued include:
- La Pura Onda
- And Seldom Is Heard
Notable former KNTU students[]
- George Dunham (KTCK The Ticket)
- Craig Miller (KTCK The Ticket)
- Sean Bass (Sports Director, KTCK The Ticket)
- Mark Followill (PxP Dallas Mavericks, FC Dallas)
- Dave Barnett (PxP Dallas Mavericks, San Antonio Spurs, Texas Rangers)
- Craig Way (Voice of the Texas Longhorns)
- Tommy Bonk (LA Times writer who coined the phrase "Phi Slama Jama")
See also[]
External links[]
- KNTU website
- University of North Texas Department of Media Arts
- KNTU in the FCC FM station database
- KNTU on Radio-Locator
- KNTU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- DFW Radio/TV History
- University of North Texas
- Jazz radio stations in the United States
- Radio stations in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
- College radio stations in Texas
- Radio stations established in 1969
- 1969 establishments in Texas
- University of North Texas schools, colleges, and departments