The WNET Group Launches the New 88.3 WLIW-FM Beginning June 15

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y., June 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The WNET Group, parent company of New York's THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, announced the call letter change of its Southampton, New York based radio station 88.3 WPPB-FM to 88.3 WLIW-FM, effective Monday, June 15. The station, Long Island's only National Public Radio station, will also now be available for listeners to stream on Long Island and beyond at wliw.org/radio.

The new 88.3 WLIW-FM will introduce a dynamic new programming schedule, keeping local shows and hosts in place while adding popular national radio titles. The local offerings will continue to include Morning Edition Long Island Local News with Michael Mackey, Heart of the East End with Gianna Volpe, The Afternoon Ramble with Brian Cosgrove, The Urban Jazz Experience and Friday Night Soul with Ed German, Media Mavens with Gianna Volpe, Broadway to Main Street and many other local programs. These local shows will now be joined by national shows including, Morning Edition and All Things Considered, The Takeaway, Fresh Air, Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me, Weekend Edition, The Moth, This American Life, Planet Money/How I Built This, RadioLab, Freakonomics, Ted Radio Hour, and more. Audio versions of public television programs PBS NewsHour, PBS NewsHour Weekend and MetroFocus will also be featured. Listeners can visit wliw.org/radio to explore the new schedule in full.

"We are excited about this new chapter for 88.3 WLIW-FM," said Long Island native and resident Diane Masciale, Vice President & General Manager of WLIW21 and 88.3 WLIW-FM and Executive Producer of local productions at WLIW. "Now, for the first time, you can find the local voices you have come to love as well as popular national titles on the same station. We are truly tapping into the power of public media to provide our community a better listening experience on Long Island's only NPR channel." 

The WNET Group acquired WPPB-FM, an NPR station based in Southampton, in March. Long-serving WPPB-FM General Manager Dr. Wally Smith has been named General Manager Emeritus.  The purchase, which was approved by the FCC and the New York State Attorney General's office, made WLIW a dual licensee, operating both a PBS television station and NPR radio station.

About WNET
WNET is America's flagship PBS station: parent company of New York's THIRTEEN and WLIW21 and operator of NJTV, the statewide public media network in New Jersey. Through its new ALL ARTS multi-platform initiative, its broadcast channels, three cable services (THIRTEEN PBSKids, Create and World) and online streaming sites, WNET brings quality arts, education and public affairs programming to more than five million viewers each month. WNET produces and presents a wide range of acclaimed PBS series, including Nature, Great Performances, American Masters, PBS NewsHour Weekend, and the nightly interview program Amanpour and Company. In addition, WNET produces numerous documentaries, children's programs, and local news and cultural offerings, as well as multi-platform initiatives addressing poverty and climate. Through THIRTEEN Passport and WLIW Passport, station members can stream new and archival THIRTEEN, WLIW and PBS programming anytime, anywhere.

About WLIW21
WLIW21 is one of America's most respected and innovative public media providers. A member of the WNET family of companies, WLIW21 is a unique cultural and educational institution that harnesses the power of television and electronic media to inform, enlighten, entertain and inspire. Since the first broadcast in 1969, public media station WLIW21 has been serving residents of Long Island and the greater tri-state community by delivering quality arts, education and public affairs programming on-air and online. In addition to presenting a range of popular PBS programming, including Nature, NOVA, Antiques Road Show and American Masters, WLIW21 also features such British television favorites as Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, and Doc Martin as part of WLIW21's High Tea daily program schedule. WLIW21 also produces acclaimed local programs such as MetroFocus, WLIW Arts Beat, Treasures of New York and Long Island Screening Room. With a broad reach across three states, WLIW21 is viewed by approximately 1 million people each week throughout New York City's five boroughs, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey, and Connecticut.  WLIW21 maintains a newly renovated production studio in Plainview, NY.

SOURCE WNET