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KLOR-TV (Utah)

From Alfawiki
Adapted from the English Wikipedia article KLOR-TV (Utah), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 30 November 2025
KBYU-TV
Company typeNon-commercial educational television station
IndustryBroadcasting
PredecessorKLOR-TV
FoundedNovember 15, 1965; 60 years ago (1965-11-15) (as KBYU-TV)
Headquarters
Provo, Utah
,
United States
OwnerBrigham Young University
ParentBYU Broadcasting
Websitewww.byutv.org

KBYU-TV (channel 11) is a non-commercial educational independent television station licensed in Provo, Utah, serving the Salt Lake City area and the state of Utah. This station is owned by Brigham Young University (BYU), which is affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Its production facilities are located on BYU’s campus in Provo, while its transmitter is positioned on Farnsworth Peak within the Oquirrh Mountains southwest of Salt Lake City.

The programming on KBYU-TV primarily caters to members of the LDS community, offering a mix of religious and educational shows alongside family-oriented entertainment that frequently emphasizes ethical values.

KLOR-TV

The initial concept for channel 11 in Provo was to operate as a commercial station. In October 1955, Beehive Telecasting Corporation, led by Samuel B. Nissley, submitted an application to establish channel 11 with studios planned for Orem and a transmitter site on Lake Mountain; the license was granted in December 1957. KLOR debuted on December 17, 1958, becoming Utah’s first independent television station and broadcasting entirely in color television from its inception.

However, KLOR’s commercial tenure was short-lived. It faced stiff competition from larger Salt Lake City stations and had to acquire an additional 18 hours of programming daily to fill its schedule. By December 1959, Nissley filed a lawsuit against General Electric for over $1 million, claiming that negligent installation of the transmitter impaired KLOR’s signal coverage in the vital Salt Lake Valley area. At this point, KLOR was also entangled in lawsuits from creditors and program suppliers. The station halted operations on March 12, 1960, after a power surge damaged a transformer. Beehive Telecasting declared bankruptcy on July 1, 1960.

Acquisition and operation by BYU

In March 1962, BYU submitted an application to purchase KLOR’s license, excluding its studio facilities located in Orem. The FCC approved this transaction on September 25, 1962, mandating that channel 11 operate as a non-commercial station; the call letters were changed to KBYU-TV on October 15. By 1964, BYU planned to move the studio into its Fine Arts Center and relocate the transmitter to Mount Vision in the Oquirrh Mountains. The original KLOR-TV studios were sold to local entrepreneurs and eventually demolished.

KBYU-TV recommenced regular broadcasting on November 15, 1965, having previously aired daytime educational programs in collaboration with Utah’s Department of Public Instruction. Initially affiliated with National Educational Television (NET), KBYU-TV transitioned to PBS following NET’s replacement in 1970. For many years, Salt Lake City was among the smallest markets nationwide with two PBS member stations; KBYU-TV’s main competitor was KUED (channel 7), operated by the University of Utah. In 2010, KBYU-TV adopted the brand name "Eleven."

On July 2, 2018, KBYU-TV discontinued its PBS membership and began simulcasting BYU’s specialized channel BYUtv on its primary subchannel. Michael Dunn, managing director of BYU Broadcasting, explained that approximately two-thirds of KBYU-TV's schedule duplicated KUED's programming, which was inefficient for contemporary broadcasting standards. This change left KUED as Utah’s only PBS-affiliated station.

Programming

Prior to July 2, 2018, KBYU-TV primarily aired general PBS content centered around children’s programming, educational shows, and entertainment. It also featured specials related to the LDS Church and a nightly segment showcasing classic television series such as I Love Lucy, Perry Mason, My Three Sons, The Andy Griffith Show, and Little House on the Prairie. This approach made it one of the rare public broadcasters airing content typically reserved for commercial syndication.

Currently, aside from simulcasting BYUtv content, KBYU-TV broadcasts a weekday half-hour newscast produced by students titled Eleven News at Noon. As a non-commercial educational broadcaster, KBYU-TV does not air traditional advertisements; however, BYUtv includes promotional spots for its own shows during breaks along with legal station identifications every hour.

KBYU-TV has been responsible for producing several nationally recognized programs. The genealogy series Ancestors, developed in partnership with the LDS Church’s Family History Library and PBS, achieved notable success and led to a second installment that gained even greater popularity. The 2005 documentary Small Fortunes: Microcredit and the Future of Poverty explored various microcredit business models through eleven different providers. Another enduring production from the station was Hooked on Aerobics.

Digital subchannels

KBYU-TV broadcasts multiple digital subchannels, structured as follows:

KBYU-TV Subchannel Lineup
Channel Resolution Aspect ratio Identifier Content
11.1 720p 16:9 KBYU BYUtv
11.2 480i 4:3 BYURDIO BYU Radio
11.3 KBYUFM Classical 89

Alternate audio streams are available through the secondary audio program (SAP) feature; the primary channel simulcasts the KBYU-FM (89.1) radio broadcast. The digital subchannel 11.2 formerly provided an additional BYU Radio audio feed, which was discontinued on June 30, 2018, following the shutdown of BYU TV International.

Transition from analog to digital

Originally, KBYU-TV was assigned UHF channel 39 for digital broadcasting in 1997 but shifted to UHF channel 44 in 1999 during a realignment coordinated by DTV Utah, a partnership that included KBYU. The station initiated digital transmissions on November 15, 2000, and obtained its official license on January 23, 2003.

In compliance with the federal mandate for digital transition, KBYU-TV terminated analog broadcasts on VHF channel 11 on June 12, 2009. Its digital signal has continued operating on UHF channel 44 while maintaining virtual channel identification as channel 11.

Following the FCC's incentive auction that removed channels 38 through 51 within the 600 MHz spectrum, KBYU submitted a construction permit application in September 2017 to move its physical broadcast frequency to channel 17. This change preserved existing transmitter location, power output, and antenna height.

Translator stations

To extend its broadcast reach across Utah and neighboring regions including northern Arizona, western Colorado, southern Idaho, and eastern Nevada, KBYU-TV manages an extensive network of translator stations:

... (additional translators continue in similar fashion)

Additional BYU Broadcasting Divisions

In addition to its primary offerings, BYU Broadcasting operates the classical music station KBYU-FM (89.1), BYU Radio, along with several internet-exclusive radio platforms.

External links

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