KYAT

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KYAT
Frequency94.5 MHz
BrandingYa'a'te'eh Diné
Programming
Language(s)Navajo
FormatCountry
Ownership
Owner
  • Millennium Media
  • (Millennium Media, Inc.)
KXXI, KYVA, KYVA-FM
History
First air date
October 19, 1974 (1974-10-19)
Former call signs
  • KGLP (1974–1977)
  • KOVO (1977–1986)
  • KKOR (1986–2010)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID35028
ClassC0
ERP100 kW
HAAT420 meters (1,380 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
35°36′22.08″N 108°41′28.31″W / 35.6061333°N 108.6911972°W / 35.6061333; -108.6911972
Translator(s)K235BR (94.9 FM) Gallup East
Links
Public license information
Websitegallupradio.com

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).

History[edit]

94.5 FM was launched as KGLP on October 19, 1974, airing a country format.[2] It was co-owned with KYVA (1230 AM),[3] 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.[4] Both stations were sold to Road Runner Radio, Inc., owned by Russell Carpenter and George Malti,[5] for $500,000 in 1977, and the FM's call letters were changed to KOVO on October 24.[6] The station flipped to adult contemporary in 1986 and adopted the call letters KKOR.[7]

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.[8] Some program features remained in English, including news bulletins three times a day from the Navajo Times newspaper.[8] Coverage was extended to Navajo-language play-by-play of high school basketball games in January 2017.[9]

George Malti died in 2016 after owning KYVA and KYAT for 39 years.[10]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for KYAT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "KGLP Will Begin This Saturday". Gallup Independent. October 16, 1974. p. 11. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  3. ^ "KGLP(FM)" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1976. p. C-128 (382). Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  4. ^ "Gallup's four radio stations informative". Navajo Times. October 5, 1978. pp. B-13, B-14. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  5. ^ "Changing Hands" (PDF). Broadcasting. April 4, 1977. p. 61. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  6. ^ FCC History Cards for KYAT
  7. ^ "KKOR(FM)" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1987. p. B-188. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  8. ^ a b Zah, Erny (October 17, 2011). "KYAT-FM offers 24-hour Navajo language". Navajo Times. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  9. ^ Velasco, Dee (January 20, 2017). "KYAT launches local sports coverage program". Gallup Sun. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  10. ^ Dotson, Bernie (May 20, 2016). "Media mogul George Malti dies in Sedona, Ariz". Gallup Sun. Retrieved August 2, 2020.

External links[edit]