Maine Public will add a sixth radio station to its year-old classical music service, in Boothbay Harbor, beginning this fall.
The station will be heard on the air at 96.7 FM and will reach an area of about 350,000 people in and near the midcoast, said Mark Vogelzang, president of the statewide public TV and radio network. The station will join existing Maine Public Classical stations in Portland, Bangor, Ellsworth, Waterville and Fryeburg.
Vogelzang said the new station should be on the air in September or October, pending approval from the Federal Communications Commission. Maine Public has entered into an agreement to buy 96.7 FM for $550,000 from Blueberry Broadcasting, which is currently using it to broadcast rock music from its Augusta-based station WTOS. The station’s broadcast area spreads south to Freeport, west to Augusta and north to Camden.
Vogelzang said buying the station is part of Maine Public’s long-term plan to have classical stations reach every part of the state. Maine Public Radio, the news and information service of the network, has seven radio stations spanning from York County to Aroostook County. “We are working to make sure that people in Maine have the choice to listen to our classical music, or our news, wherever they are.”
Of the purchase price, $100,000 came from an anonymous donor. The rest will come from past and future fundraising, Vogelzang said.
Maine Public Classical was launched as a 24-hour classical music service in May 2016. Before that, Maine Public Radio’s broadcast day was split up between classical music and news and information programming. At the time, Maine Public’s management said they wanted to meet the demand of listeners who wanted a full-time news and information service while still satisfying classical music fans.
The classical music service began with three stations, then added a fourth a few weeks later and the fifth in December 2016. Vogelzang said Maine Public will continue to try to buy stations as they become available in other areas of the state.
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