WVXU - History, Union With WGUC

History, Union With WGUC

The station was originally licensed to Xavier University; it featured primarily a jazz format. It became an NPR affiliate when the network's Morning Edition debuted, circa 1979-1980. The existing NPR affiliate at the time, WGUC (which had carried the afternoon newsmagazine All Things Considered since the program debuted), did not want to replace its popular morning drive-time classical music show with the newsmagazine, so WVXU started carrying Morning Edition and other NPR programs. While the two stations together provided most of the NPR programs available to a single market, the two NPR flagship newsmagazines aired separately. Over time, WVXU added more news and spoken-word programs to supplement its music schedule, reflecting a trend in most of the U.S.

On August 22, 2005, Xavier transferred WVXU and its "X-Star Network" of translator stations to CPRI, bringing the station and WGUC under the same licensee. This permitted elimination of program duplication and a realignment of formats; WGUC now broadcasts classical music almost exclusively, while WVXU carries news and information programs, including both NPR flagship newsmagazines, along with some jazz and blues music programs on weekend evenings.

On March 1, 2009, Cincinnati Public Radio took over management of WMUB which is licensed to Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, though Miami has retained ownership of the station serving southwestern Ohio and southeastern Indiana. As part of the deal, WMUB is now a full-time satellite of WVXU, bringing WVXU's programming to areas north of Cincinnati where the main signal is weak.