WNED-FM


WNED-FM is a non-commercial radio station licensed to Buffalo, New York. WNED-FM offers a classical music radio format. It is owned by the Western New York Public Broadcasting Association, which also operates PBS network affiliate Channel 17 WNED-TV and FM 88.7 WBFO. While WNED-FM airs no commercials, it does conduct periodic pledge drives on the air to seek donations for the station. WNED-FM has local hosts in most day-parts, including weekends.
Programming on WNED-FM is simulcast on WNJA 89.7 FM in Jamestown, New York for listeners in Southwestern New York and some parts of Pennsylvania. WNED's studios and offices are at Horizons Plaza on Lower Terrace in Buffalo, and the transmitter is off Zimmerman Road in Hamburg, New York. WNED-FM and TV also maintain an office in Toronto for listeners and contributors in Canada.

Superpower status

WNED-FM is a grandfathered "Superpower" Class B FM radio station, operating at 94,000 watts. WNED-FM is one of three Buffalo superpower FM stations: 92.9 WBUF, 99.5 WDCX-FM and 102.5 WTSS. Under current U.S. Federal Communications Commission rules, Class B FM's are not allowed to exceed 50,000 watts ERP. WNED-FM at one time broadcast at 105,000 watts; when it increased its antenna height some years ago, it also reduced its power. WNED-FM's signal extends into Canada; as such, the station has listeners in Toronto and around the Niagara Peninsula of Ontario.

History

WNED-FM first signed on as a commercial radio station on June 6, 1960, with the call letters WEBR-FM. It was a sister station to AM 970 WEBR. On September 24, 1971, WEBR-FM was renamed WBCE; on May 21, 1973, it became WREZ, before returning to the WEBR-FM call sign on April 21, 1975. In 1975, the Western New York Educational TV Association bought it and AM 970 WEBR, turning both stations into non-commercial operations. On August 14, 1976, 94.5 was renamed WNED-FM, and the following year began offering a classical music format. WNED-FM is the only station exclusively broadcasting classical music 24 hours a day in the Buffalo media market.
WNED-FM, along with sister stations WBFO and WNED-TV, began collectively referring to themselves as "Buffalo Toronto Public Media" on February 4, 2020; concurrently, WNED-FM amended its own branding from "Classical WNED 94.5" to "WNED Classical". While the rebranding in part reflected WNED-TV's significant Canadian viewership and financial support, WNED officials told The Buffalo News that the organization's radio stations have minimal listenership in Canada.

Local programming

WNED-FM has an extensive music library, which allows the station to produce local programming for most of its broadcast day. It collaborates with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and other local ensembles as well as local school music departments.

Other media

In addition to broadcasting on 94.5 and 89.7 FM, WNED can be heard online at wned.org/classical, on smart speaker systems via Radio By Tunein, a smart-phone app, via digital television through a subchannel of WNED-TV, and in Toronto on Rogers Cable Digital channel 938.