Prior to July 2018, KUED was one of two PBS member stations serving Utah, the other being Provo-licensed KBYU-TV (channel 11), owned by Brigham Young University.

The station originally broadcast from improvised studios set up in the basement of the old student union building on the University of Utah campus.

The station had humble beginnings with no props, primitive equipment, and a donated transmitter, courtesy of Time-Life Inc., then-owners of KTVT (channel 4, now KTVX).

Early programming was purely educational, in some cases consisting of nothing more than a teacher standing in front of a chalk board and lecturing.

KUED has two full power satellites serving rural areas of Utah, both digital-only: Notes: Aside from their transmitters, KUES and KUEW do not maintain any physical presence in their cities of license.