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WBFO

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Coordinates:43°00′11″N78°45′54″W/ 43.003°N 78.765°W/43.003; -78.765
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WBFO
Broadcast areaBuffalo, New York
Frequency88.7MHz(HD Radio)
BrandingWBFO
Programming
FormatPublic radio
SubchannelsHD2: WBFO The Bridge (AAA)
HD3: Radio Bilingue (SpanishPublic radio)
AffiliationsNPR
Ownership
Owner
  • Buffalo Toronto Public Media
  • (Western New York Public Broadcasting Association)
WNED-TV,WNED-FM
History
First air date
January 6, 1959;65 years ago(1959-01-06)
Call signmeaning
WBFO: Buffalo
WOLN: Olean
WUBJ: University at Buffalo (Jamestown or Jazz)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID63113
ClassB
ERP50,000watts
HAAT117 meters (384 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
43°00′11″N78°45′54″W/ 43.003°N 78.765°W/43.003; -78.765
Repeater(s)88.1 WUBJ (Jamestown)
91.3 WOLN (Olean)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Listen live(HD3)
Websitewbfo.org
radiobilingue.org(HD3)

WBFO(88.7FM) is theNPRmember station forBuffalo, New York,carrying an almost entirelypublicnews/talk format. It broadcasts from studios in the Lower Terrace section of downtown Buffalo which it shares withWNED-TVandWNED-FM.[2]Previously, it broadcast from the South campus (a.k.a. Main Street Campus) of theUniversity at Buffalo.It currently leases an as-yet unutilized satellite studio inToronto,Ontario,Canada.[3]WBFO runs two permanentsatellite stations:WUBJ(88.1 FM) inJamestown, New York,andWOLN(91.3 FM) inOlean, New York,along with a digital audio simulcast on thesecond audio programofWNED-DT4.

WBFO is owned, along with the WNED stations, by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association, whichdoes business asBuffalo Toronto Public Media.

History

[edit]
First WBFO logo under WNYPBA ownership, used from 2012 to February 3, 2020

WBFO was founded in 1959 as apublic radiostation owned and operated by theState University of New York at Buffalo(UB). For many years prior to selling to its current owners, UB operated WBFO as ajazzstation, programmingNational Public Radio'sdrive timeprogramsMorning EditionandAll Things Consideredwhile carrying locally programmed jazz during the midday, evening and overnight hours, withblues musicand specialty programming on weekends.

UB was one of two public broadcasting organizations active in Western New York at the time, the other being the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association, whose AM, FM and TV stations all carried the call sign WNED and which carried no direct affiliation with any university or government entity. WNED's AM station, AM 970, was an all-spoken word format that duplicated coverage ofMorning EditionandAll Things Considered,along with some other spoken-word programming, with WBFO. By 2010, UB had eliminated the daytime and much of the evening music programming as merger discussions with WNED began.

WNED purchased WBFO in July 2011 and incorporated some of the channel's news features and staff into a combined lineup on March 1, 2012, through November 30, 2012 (when the sale of WNED toCrawford Broadcastingwas finalized and the call letters changed toWDCZ) which it broadcast on both stations. All of the network music programming WBFO had carried on weekends was dropped. Most of the spoken word programming lost in the merger formerly aired on WNED (although much of that was restored afterTalk of the Nation,previously a WBFO exclusive, ended its run, and additional slots were opened whenCar Talkwas dropped in 2017[4]). Among the programs eliminated from the old WBFO were the last jazz programs originating from a Buffalo area radio station at that time;[5][6]jazz would eventually return as part of the broad-based standards format on the revivedWEBRin 2020.

WBFO, along with WNED-FM-TV, began collectively referring to themselves as "Buffalo Toronto Public Media" on February 4, 2020.[7][8]The rebranding was in part to better identify WBFO and the WNED stations as part of a single organization; it also reflects WNED-TV's significant Canadian viewership and financial support, though WNED officials toldThe Buffalo Newsthat the organization's radio stations have minimal listenership in Canada.[7]

Programming

[edit]
The WNED and WBFO building

Prior to March 2012, WBFO presented afull-servicemix of news and music programming that incorporatedbluesandjazz.WBFO's local news department had been highly recognized by the New York StateAssociated PressBroadcasters Association. WBFO was all-news during the day and featured jazz overnight. On weekends there had been a mix of syndicated talk programs (such asCar Talk,Only a GameandWait Wait... Don't Tell Me!) mornings, and music programs (The Thistle & Shamrock,Bebop and Beyond,andPiano Jazz) in the evenings. Locally originated blues programming was broadcast on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

A four-hour block of jazz programming during the midday shift was eliminated in 2010, withFresh Airmoving to an earlier time slot and additional talk programming (all network or syndicated) added. The program changes also eliminated an additional two hours of jazz and local music in the evening time slot, pushing the start of jazz programming from 8 p.m. back to 10 p.m., being replaced by replays of programming that had already aired on WBFO earlier in the day.

All remaining local and syndicated music programming on WBFO, with the exception of the weekend afternoon blues blocks which were moved to evenings were eliminated on March 1, 2012, after WNED took over WBFO's operations; the only music programming on either WNED or WBFO were the blues blocks andA Prairie Home Companion,which had previously aired on WNED. (The latter show ended in 2016 withGarrison Keillor's retirement; neither WBFO nor WNED carried the successor programLive from Here,which ran until 2020.)

HD Radio programming

[edit]
The WBFO transmitter tower in Amherst, New York

A musical satellite feed called Exponential which had been carried on theHD2channel was replaced by a satellite jazz feed called JazzWorks. In November 2021, JazzWorks was moved to WNED-FM-HD2 to make way for "WBFO The Bridge," anadult album alternativeformat.[9]A third channel,HD3,consisting of NPR news and information which allowed the listening of programs at times they were not on the main channel, was eliminated when JazzWorks was added.[10]

On June 23, 2024, WBFO launched a Spanish public radio format on its HD3 subchannel, branded as "Radio Bilingue".[11]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for WBFO".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^"Contact WBFO".Archived fromthe originalon February 10, 2012.RetrievedMarch 24,2012.
  3. ^"Gusto- Ultimate guide to everything Buffalo".Buffalonews.2015-11-03.Retrieved2016-02-21.
  4. ^"Connection helped Filipowski land job at Channel 4".2017-08-23.
  5. ^"20 radio programs disappear in merger - Entertainment - the Buffalo News".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-03-02.Retrieved2012-03-02.
  6. ^"WNED-AM sale to Crawford Broadcasting finalized - Life & Arts".The Buffalo News.2012-11-29.Retrieved2016-02-21.
  7. ^abPergament, Alan (February 4, 2020)."A brand change for Buffalo's public broadcasting stations embraces Canada".The Buffalo News.RetrievedFebruary 4,2020.
  8. ^"What is Buffalo Toronto Public Media?".WBFO.February 4, 2020.RetrievedFebruary 4,2020.
  9. ^Adult Alternative Bridge Built In BuffaloRadioinsight - November 23, 2021
  10. ^"Find Stations".HD Radio.Retrieved2016-02-21.
  11. ^Radio Bilingue Launches on WBFO-HD3Radioinisight - June 23, 2024
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