The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum » Could WNED-FM Be Converting To A Commercial Station?

RadioActive · February 1, 2026 5:48 pm

The Buffalo Radio Discussions Board is filled with speculation about a new filing by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association, the owner of WNED-FM. It appears to be requesting the FCC allow them to change WNED-FM's status from non-commercial to an outlet that allows ads.

That would allow them to earn money without having to depend on uncertain fundraising drives.

The Board wonders is this is a move to sell the 94.5 frequency to someone else (like a Buddy Shula, owner of WECK and WUSW) or simply to find a way to get some badly needed cash now that the U.S. government has stopped funding public radio.

Classical 96.3 shows a commercial classical station could work, although it's admittedly a bit of a tough sell. Would a format change come next if the FCC says yes? Stay tuned - even if it doesn't come in very well in Toronto.

Here's a look at the salient part of the application:

RadioAaron · February 1, 2026 6:20 pm

I doubt it will change format. It would actually be a great combo-sell with Shula's WECK - with both stations having a mainly 60+ audience.

ckg927 · February 2, 2026 2:00 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
I doubt it will change format. It would actually be a great combo-sell with Shula's WECK - with both stations having a mainly 60+ audience.

Buddy himself posted in that thread, saying he's got something ELSE planned that has nothing to do with what BTPM has planned for WNED.

tvguy · February 2, 2026 3:10 pm

WFMT Chicago is all-classical and holds a "commercial" FM licence. I don't recall hearing a conventional commercial on the station, but the messages are more akin to sponsorship messages, for local businesses. The advertising on WFMT is very different than the types of lcoal and national ads we hear on CFMZ. Although some public radio stations and tv stations stretch the sponsorship message genre to the limit it is probably much easier for stations such as WFMT to attract advertisers, as commercial class radio stations. At a time when federal grants have disappeared for public radio in the US, this is probably a very smart move on the part of BTPM, and will make it easier to obtain advertising revenue

Last edited by tvguy (February 2, 2026 3:11 pm)

arc23 · February 3, 2026 10:13 pm

from an email I as a member

Our listeners account for over 50% of our funding. You are at the center of everything we do here, and we will always strive to be fully transparent with you. Though your support has been exceedingly generous since the immediate elimination of $2.2M in federal funding, we are still missing a considerable slice of our annual budget. We are exploring all reasonable revenue opportunities to stay as strong and vibrant as ever. As part of that effort, we recently applied to switch 94.5 to commercial — 94.5 has always been a commercial license, which we operate as a non-commercial station. This potential switch could provide additional revenue and, most importantly, ensure that the timeless music and familiar on-air voices you love remain unchanged. As plans develop further, we will continue to update you on whether we will switch to commercial and what that will sound like if we do.

arc23 · February 3, 2026 10:32 pm

=24pxThe music you love is not going anywhere. For listeners, nothing changes today. Classical music is an essential part of our service and our history, and there are no plans to eliminate that.

RadioActive · February 3, 2026 11:17 pm

Thank you for that. It certainly helps solve the mystery. I'm assuming if the FCC grants the request, it could happen soon.

cash · February 3, 2026 11:23 pm

arc23 wrote:
=24pxThe music you love is not going anywhere. For listeners, nothing changes today. Classical music is an essential part of our service and our history, and there are no plans to eliminate that.

And you wonder why they have no money.

RadioActive · February 4, 2026 9:19 pm

Here's The Buffalo News' take on this story. Notice the reference to the station reaching Southern Ontario.

Buffalo Toronto Public Media asks FCC to switch 94.5 FM to a commercial license, raising questions about its future

RadioActive · February 9, 2026 5:51 pm

Another take on this story, and another assurance that it's all about the loss of money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting - and there will be no format change or sale.

"[CEO Tom] Calderone said WNED will retain its classical format if the FCC approves the modification. BTPM plans to be “very surgical” about maintaining WNED’s aesthetic, he said, adding that it plans to hold focus groups and work closely with market research group Jacobs Media to determine the best path forward.

“Frankly, the classical station is really financially successful for us,” Calderone said. “We have a really loyal base that supports it.”

And there's another reminder of just how important Canadians are in this plan. Listeners north of the border make up nearly half of WNED-FM's audience. Even if there have been a few blips thanks to goings on elsewhere.

"He said the organization experienced “a couple of weeks of a little turbulence” in Canadian support following President Trump’s repeated references to Canada as the 51st state. Calderone said the slight dip prompted BTPM to be clearer with Canadian audiences about the benefits of public media and the importance of audience support."

Buffalo Toronto Public Media applies to make classical station commercial

Evuguy · February 10, 2026 9:32 pm

Re: "And there's another reminder of just how important Canadians are in this plan. Listeners north of the border make up nearly half of WNED-FM's audience" I find that impressive RA, considering their FM signal is so badly compromised in the GTHA by adjacent CHKX's HD Radio signal. They must be reaching their southern Ontario audience via the Internet or the WNED-DT OTA feed, as I don't think any BDU's carry it anymore (it was on Cable FM). The 94.7 contour map below gives some idea of how WNED-FM has very little protection. Note it is dated 2009 and thus before the station started broadcasting in HD. I'm making the assumption they are using the same signal pattern.

RadioActive · February 10, 2026 10:28 pm

I don't know what to tell you - I was quoting the station rep from the article, who insists that the Canadian audience is vital to the successful support of the station.

Maybe it's the Niagara area, although I'm not sure how many contributors come from there to have him say that Canada plays such an important role. The CEO says we make up half of their donors. That's surely a large number.

On a related subject, I do have a friend who lives in Toronto who listens to WNED-FM quite often over the web. So perhaps as you suggest that's part of it.

Evuguy · February 11, 2026 10:33 pm

I think it is showing that streaming is really starting to take over from conventional AM/FM listening. The bonus for WNED (or any other station) is they can see the IP address of the listener. This gives them the exact number of devices tuned at any given time and their general locations.

RadioActive · February 11, 2026 10:45 pm

Unless, of course, you're on a VPN.

Radiowiz · February 12, 2026 12:15 am

RadioActive wrote:
Unless, of course, you're on a VPN.

To be even more exact, the VPN MUST be set to Buffalo NY or any area on the American side that is within reasonable listening range. Otherwise, a message "You are outside the listening area" may still pop up.

Evuguy · February 12, 2026 10:29 pm

If I had to bet, I'd say a lot of streaming is done via smart speakers or phones. As for VPN's, I can't think many folks have VPN's configured in the network config of their wi-fi routers. They more likely have one set up on a TV streaming device so they can watch geo-blocked content. Anyway, WNED-FM doesn't look to be geo-blocked to Canada.

You can listen here via your PC: http://22213.live.streamtheworld.com/WNEDFM_SC

RadioActive · February 12, 2026 10:40 pm

Evuguy wrote:
If I had to bet, I'd say a lot of streaming is done via smart speakers or phones. As for VPN's, I can't think many folks have VPN's configured in the network config of their wi-fi routers. They more likely have one set up on a TV streaming device so they can watch geo-blocked content. Anyway, WNED-FM doesn't look to be geo-blocked to Canada.

You can listen here via your PC: http://22213.live.streamtheworld.com/WNEDFM_SC

It would make no sense to geoblock WNED-FM, since they say so many of their donors are from Canada. Why shut out some of your best contributors?

Gumshoe · February 27, 2026 11:01 pm

BTPM officially announced what they're calling a format realignment

Classical and some NPR programs going to 88.7, while news/talk and The Bridge move to 94.5 as a commercial station.

https://www.btpm.org/2026-02-27/buffalo-toronto-public-media-to-realign-88-7-fm-and-94-5-fm