The community-supported station has 200,000 weekly global listeners via terrestrial radio and online. Yet its YouTube channel, filled with taped performances of local and touring bands, boasts more than 1.7 million views a week, with three-fourths of those watching from outside the U.S.
"We're clearly extending worldwide," said KEXP 903. FM general manager Scott Bell. "The American and worldwide consumer is migrating away from the typical terrestrial radio signal and more toward the electronic and online properties, so we need to be a part of that movement."
Those YouTube numbers are likely to rise. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, the radio station will launch a new live video streaming technology with an in-studio performance by pioneering alternative rock band the Pixies.
KEXP's technology, powered by state-of-the-art equipment that's come down enough in price to fit the station's budget, has been tweaked for nearly a year, according to video producer Scott Holpainen.
"We've been definitely piecing together equipment that's probably never really been used in this way, in this combination," Holpainen said. "There's been a lot of testing, a lot of trial and error, but we're really pleased with the way that it's all come together."
Live video streaming in HD-quality resolution is the latest chapter in KEXP's story of tech innovation in the radio industry. The station says it was the first to offer CD-quality audio streaming on the internet, and was among the first to offer live performance videos.
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