A radio station in western Colorado is ending its FM signal after nearly 57 years.
KWSB 91.1 FM “Penguin” announced Monday it will transition from FM radio to a streaming-only digital platform.
Western Colorado University’s student-run campus radio station has been operating in the Gunnison Valley since 1968.
“This move is a recognition of the realities of operating a federally licensed radio station and the broader changes in the media landscape,” the university said in a statement. “This is a change that is both necessary and future-focused,” the station’s leaders said.
“Given the evolution of the medium, this project is critical and a true ‘step in time,'” said Dr. Terry Schliesman, the station’s longtime faculty advisor who was involved with the station from 2001 to 2021. “‘Broadcasting’ is now a world of content creation via mobile phones. As part of Occidental College of the Arts, KWSB joins the ranks of other student-centered media that have gone digital in the past decade or so.”
The university said KWSB has been live online at KWSB.org since the mid-2000s.
Western Colorado University says that by moving to a streaming-only platform, the university eliminates the cost of FM broadcasting while freeing up funds to reinvest in studio equipment, maintenance and student programming.