It is owned by the University of Southern California and broadcasts a classical music radio format, simulcasting KUSC (91.5 FM) in Los Angeles.
Signing on that year was KSCA, a full-power non-commercial station owned by the University of Southern California that served as a repeater of KUSC in Los Angeles.
Through the 1980s and 1990s, many commercial classical stations around the U.S. were sold and their formats changed to more mass-appeal musical genres; others, like WQXR-FM in New York City and WCRB in Boston, were converted to non-profit status.
In 2001, Michael Towbes, David Anderson, and Jean and Barry Schuyler bought KDB-FM with the goal of selling the station to a nonprofit organization that would keep the classical format and local orientation.
In 2010, KDB embarked on a three-year strategic plan to enhance and grow its service to the community with programming that enriched the lives of those who listen.
However, the organization also considered full-price offers from groups that would program a format of their choosing, in which case the proceeds would go toward an endowment to support classical music in the area.
The transaction would allow KCRW to shift its Santa Barbara broadcast coverage from a weak FM translator to the full-powered 88.7 signal then licensed to KQSC.