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By KZION Press Release
KZION And KNAK Make Broadcasting Deal
ST. GEORGE, UTAH -- KZION LDS Internet Radio, the only independent,
Internet-based music radio station which caters to members of The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and KNAK Radio, 540 AM
tested a historical broadcasting experiment Sunday in hopes to be
able to establish a continuing partnership. KNAK, based out of Delta,
Utah, broadcasted KZION's "Sounds of the Sabbath" Internet stream to
all its listeners from Cedar City to Point of the Mountain.
Until now, KNAK was broadcasting LDS Radio as part of its Sunday
programming. Sam Bushman, General Manager and Owner of KNAK, saw a
need for his radio station to expand on the format they offered each
Sunday. Representatives at LDS Radio network referred him to KZION.
KZION had, coincidentally enough, been looking for ways to expand
beyond their 300 listeners per day audience. Having a working
partnership with KNAK would provide KZION with greater exposure in
southern and central Utah, an area heavily concentrated with
Latter-day Saints.
Sunday's experiment was a historical first according to LDS musician
James Anderson, who is expecting a partial release next month of his
newest project. Anderson had programmed the first LDS music
programming in Arizona when he worked for KXCI-FM in Tucson roughly
20 years ago. "I believe it's the first time an LDS Internet
broadcast has ever been rebroadcast over a traditional broadcast
radio outlet. I don't think Bonneville's feed to this same radio
station was via the 'Net, as they have a C-band satellite feed and
they weren't using mp3 as the Internet streaming format."
The experiment was a test run of sorts to see if the unprecedented
event would be feasible and if it could become a permanent part of
KNAK's broadcast schedule. Part way through the broadcast, Bushman
let John Hesch, KZION's Program Manager, know that everything had
been going well. "I have put KZION on KNAK this morning since
midnight. It's streaming so far with out a glitch." Pleased with the
quality of the stream and the absence of any technical difficulties,
Bushman guaranteed that KZION would be a part of KNAK's Sunday
programming.
"We passed the test and will become a permanent part of KNAK's Sunday
programming," Hesch reported later that day. "We hope to be able to
offer a similar service to other commercial radio stations in the
future."
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