The already hip Bay Area airwaves are about to become even hipper. That’s because KEXP, the eclectic, non-commercial radio station affiliated with the University of Washington, just bought Alameda/San Francisco radio station KREV 92.7 FM as part of a bankruptcy auction.
In a statement on the KEXP website, CEO Ethan Raup says, “On any given week, KEXP’s audience now includes tens of thousands of streaming listeners and over a million YouTube viewers. We already know that a good portion of our community lives outside the Seattle market—and that’s a strength. KEXP is open to music lovers everywhere, thanks in part to your support.
“With that in mind, we’ll continue to champion Pacific Northwest music and artists in every way we do now. And we’ll continue to be up front that our broadcast is rooted in a specific place, with real human hosts on the mic in our Seattle Center home, no matter where our listeners are located.”
Raup’s statement addresses one of the reasons for the purchase. “Over the years, we’ve seen constraints in listenership related to the weakness of our Seattle-area signal. … We’ll certainly continue our focus on digital and streaming capabilities. But I’m a strong believer that terrestrial radio will be with us for a long time, and I think we’ve already seen how broadcast and digital listening can build off one another to create a stronger music community.”
When the Bay Area station begins broadcasting in the coming months after receiving FCC approval, Raup explains that it will air the same programming that you’ll hear on the radio in Seattle. “We’ll also launch a Bay Area local music show that will air regionally (similar to “Audioasis” in Seattle). We’ll also be doing our best to build relationships and connections with the local music scene that will help us define the evolution of the Bay Area station.”