Ideastream
Ideastream (stylized and marketed as lowercase ideastream public media) is a non-profit organization that owns and operates the major public broadcasting stations in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The company is the owner and licensee of PBS member WVIZ (channel 25), NPR member WCPN (90.3 FM), and classical music station WCLV (104.9 FM).[1]
The planning committees of WVIZ and WCPN held several meetings in 1999 to discuss partnering in order to serve the Northeast Ohio community. The two stations soon concluded they had so much in common that a merger was the best option.
The merger terms were approved by the boards of Educational Television Association of Metropolitan Cleveland (owner of WVIZ) and Cleveland Public Radio (owner of WCPN) in October 2000, and Ideastream was officially formed in July 2001.[2]
The two stations have since become very close sister stations to each other and share a facility at the Idea Center in Playhouse Square in downtown Cleveland.[3] WCLV was added to the group in 2012; it had moved its studios to the Idea Center in 2010.
Adding WKSU
In September 2021, the Kent State University Board of Trustees approved a deal where Ideastream would take over the day to day operations of WKSU 89.7 FM, absorbing it (and all of its respective translators and repeaters) under the "Ideastream Public Meadia" banner.
As part of the new operations arrangement - which is effective as of October 1 2021 - WKSU would become the sole NPR station for Cleveland and Akron. WCPN would then take WCLV's call letters and classical music format, and 104.9 would take the WCPN call letters and serve as a WKSU repeater, specifically targeting Lorain County. These changes are expected to occur by April 2022.[4]
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