KPBS-FM

Early years

The station signed on the air on September 12, 1960. The original call sign was KEBS-FM. It was owned by what was then San Diego State College. KEBS-FM was a college radio station, used for students to train for careers in broadcasting. In its first decade, the station was powered at 2,000 watts, a fraction of its current output.

It changed its call letters to KPBS-FM in 1970. When National Public Radio (NPR) was launched in 1971, KPBS-FM became one of the network's three charter members in California, along with KCRW in Los Angeles and KQED-FM in San Francisco. KPBS-FM was one of the 90 stations that aired the initial broadcast of All Things Considered when it premiered on May 3, 1971.

Adding KQVO

In 2005, San Diego State University bought a commercial FM radio station in an underserved part of Southern California. It paid $1.1 million for 97.7 KQVO, a Class A station in Calexico. KQVO first signed on the air in March 1984. Over the years, it aired a variety of formats.

KPBS-FM wanted to give Imperial County its first public radio station. KQVO began simulcasting KPBS-FM, airing news, talk and NPR programming. The station switched to non-commercial status.

From classical to news/talk

KPBS-FM primarily played classical music until mid-1990s, when it started adding more NPR programs and news to its format. The wake-up broadcast Morning Edition was put on the schedule along with midday talk shows including Fresh Air. Beginning May 23, 2011, the station discontinued its classical music programming in the evening hours and moved all music to an online stream. When it began broadcasting using HD Radio technology, KPBS-FM added a full time classical music subchannel.

In 2009, the radio, TV and digital news operations were merged into a single content-producing division. This allowed KPBS to produce television and radio news simultaneously.

San Diego wildfires

The California wildfires of October 2007 in the San Diego area affected KPBS broadcasts. Power was lost to the tower shared by KPBS-FM and KPBS television on Mount San Miguel.

Within three hours, alternative rock station KBZT agreed to air KPBS' wildfire coverage until the station could return to a backup operation from its studios on the San Diego State University campus, which occurred the next day. KPBS later restored full coverage from Mount San Miguel using a backup generator.

On October 1, 2012, KPBS boosted its effective radiated power from 2,700 watts to 26,000 watts. It also moved its tower from Mount San Miguel to Mount Soledad.

Adding KRAM

In 2025, Gabriel Wisdom of America Money Management bought a radio station in Borrego Springs, where radio coverage was inadequate despite being part of San Diego County due to the local topography. On February 10, 2026, the station began simulcasting KPBS-FM, providing radio news, talk, and NPR programming to the desert region. The station also provides emergency information in the event of cell or landline outage during natural disaster.

KPBS-FM, KQVO, and KRAM have a public radio format with an emphasis on talk, with programming sourced from NPR, American Public Media, the Public Radio Exchange and the BBC World Service. KPBS-FM also produces a daily one-hour San Diego-focused interview and call-in show, Midday Edition, hosted by Jade Hindmon.

HD subchannels and streaming

KPBS has three HD Radio channels. KPBS-HD1 is a digital simulcast of the main analog channel that airs NPR news and talk shows. KPBS-HD2 airs "Classical San Diego", featuring music from the syndicated Classical 24 service. KPBS-HD3 offers SomaFM's syndicated "Groove Salad" format.

The KPBS Radio Reading Service broadcasts the readings of newspapers, books, and magazines to those with low vision, blindness, and other impairments. The Reading Service is available 24 hours a day over a private audio channel, and online via audio webstream.