South Florida has not exactly been kind to classical radio -- hell, we apparently can't even support a mainstream rock station. After the long-running station WTNI- WTMI-FM went off the air on New Year's Eve 2001, it was a battle to get the real oldies steadily broadcast throughout the tricounty area.
Luckily, Classical South Florida appeared in late 2007 with a nonprofit model that wouldn't depend so much on the whims of advertisers and minute-to-minute ratings tracking. Since October of that year, the station's been broadcasting all day, seven days a week, via WKCP-FM (89.7) in Miami. Besides featuring a regular rotation of DJs, the station plays syndicated national programs like Performance Today and SymphonyCast.
Now, Palm Beach County and the Treasure Coast can enjoy the audio bounty in better quality. Though 89.7 reaches Broward and a low-power transmitter broadcasts the programming in West Palm Beach on 101.9, service can be spotty.
Classical South Florida announced yesterday that it had purchased WXEL-FM (90.7), formerly a public station with a grab-bag variety of programs. Now, the call letters have changed to WPBI, though the dial number stays the same. A little confusingly, though Classical South Florida operates this station, it won't be a carbon copy of the station. Rather, 90.7 has been branded as "public radio news and classical" and boasts its own distinct schedule, though it's much more classical-music-heavy.
Though the buyout was originally announced April 20, it's now official, and you can tune in from Palm Beach County at 90.7. If you're cubicle-bound and away from a radio, visit classicalsouthflorida.publicradio.org to stream it live.
