[Swprograms] Countdown to Classical at WETA

[Glenn Hauser <wghauser@xxxxxxxxx>]

** U S A. WETA/DC To Go Classical As WGMS Adopts 'George'

BONNEVILLE INTERNATIONAL -- owner of Classical WGMS/WASHINGTON -- and Public
Broadcasting station WETA/WASHINGTON announced that the latter will switch to a
Classical music format tonight at 8p and become the exclusive provider of the
music in the area.

"We're thrilled to partner with WETA to keep Classical music alive in the
WASHINGTON area," said BONNEVILLE CEO BRUCE REESE. "We think this agreement
will be great for WGMS fans, because a public radio station is more conducive
to Classical music than commercial radio."

"This is a wonderful gift for Public broadcasting and Classical music lovers in
the WASHINGTON community," said WETA Pres./CEO SHARON ROCKEFELLER. "We thank
BONNEVILLE for its generosity in donating its classical musical catalog to
WETA. We are proud to carry forward the tradition of WGMS, and we are committed
to creating a new classical music era in WASHINGTON through our on-air
programming and community involvement."

WGMS's Future

Meanwhile, WGMS flipped today to an Adult Hits format as "GEORGE 104 -- '70s,
'80s And Whatever We Want." Listen to the stream at http://www.george104.com
(allaccess.com via Brock Whaley, GA, DXLD) viz.:

CLASSICAL WETA 90.9 FM LAUNCHES --- For Immediate Release: 01/22/2007 
Public Broadcaster Becomes Exclusive Radio Home of Classical Music in Greater
Washington Area

Washington, D.C. - WETA 90.9 FM is changing to a classical music format tonight
at 8 p.m. [0100 UT January 23] and will become the exclusive provider of
classical music on the Greater Washington area radio airwaves through a
cooperative agreement with Bonneville International Corporation, owner of WGMS.


"Classical music, in all its power and beauty, is an essential part of the
cultural life of this city," said Sharon Percy Rockefeller, president and CEO
of WETA. "As the exclusive home for classical music on local radio, Classical
WETA 90.9 FM will celebrate classical music through our on-air programming and
community involvement. I am pleased to work with our colleagues at Bonneville
to ensure a home for classical music in the nation?s capital." 

"We?re thrilled to partner with WETA to keep classical music alive in the
Washington area and create a new music station that will energize many music
fans," added Bruce Reese, president and CEO of Bonneville. 

With more than 35 years of experience broadcasting classical music, WETA is
uniquely positioned to expand this rich tradition of service to the community.
Classical WETA 90.9 FM launches with a long-term professional on-air classical
music staff, exclusive WETA recordings of orchestral performances,
long-standing ties to area cultural institutions, and a powerful broadcast
signal reaching throughout the region. Bonneville is donating the WGMS
classical music library of 15,000 CDs, augmenting WETA?s extensive collection.

Classical WETA 90.9 FM has an all-classical music format. The station continues
to be the exclusive broadcast home in this market for the Metropolitan Opera
Radio Broadcasts Saturday afternoons. The local WETA arts and entertainment
preview program Out & About with 90.9 airs as short features throughout the
schedule, highlighting cultural news and events in the region. 

Bonneville is also transferring use of the WGMS call letters for WETA to use on
its 89.1 FM Hagerstown simulcast frequency, pending an application in process
with the FCC. Once the transfer is approved, the WETA call signal will be
"Classical WETA 90.9 FM Washington and WGMS 89.1 FM Hagerstown."

WETA changed to the classical format with the strong approval of the WETA Board
of Trustees, which met December 14 to consider the changing marketplace for
radio in the region. Rockefeller noted that the decision required choosing
between two strong options. "We are exceedingly proud of our current format and
the staff who have implemented it. However, given the dramatic changes in the
D.C. radio market, we had to consider how we should best meet the needs of our
community."

Classical WETA 90.9 FM and WETA TV 26 are member-supported public broadcasting
stations serving Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia with
educational, cultural and public affairs programming and related services.
Classical WETA broadcasts programming 24 hours each day on WETA 90.9 FM in
Arlington, Virginia and WETH 89.1 FM in Hagerstown, Maryland. WETA HD
broadcasts 24 hours each day on HD 90.9 (WETA via DXLD)

This is rather vague about what the exact program schedule will be. Surely they
have had time to work it out, but the schedule page on WETA website just goes
to the big news of the day. If they have a full-time professional classical
staff, we may assume it will not just be carrying one of the syndicated
satellite-fed classical services.

Until it is updated, here is the PublicRadioFan page of selected shows on WETA
http://www.publicradiofan.com/cgi-bin/station.pl?stationid=1486
Many of the talk shows and other non-classical we assume will be gone; will
WAMU in turn pick some of them up it has not already been duplicating?? What
about BBC overnight? (Glenn Hauser, OK, DX LISTENING DIGEST)


 
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