University of Pennsylvania AAA 88.5 WXPN Philadelphia is turning its venerable “Kids Corner” show into a 24/7 online stream hosted and curated by Kathy O’Connell.
The 36 year-old show will drop from airing on WXPN four nights per to just two with the addition of the non-stop stream. Kids Corner will now air on just Monday and Tuesday evenings from 7-8pm. The station’s afternoon show hosted by Dan Reed will be extended an additional hour to run 4-8pm on Wednesday and Thursday replacing the specialty show.
Other weeknight changes include:
- Rhythm Lab Radio hosted by Tariq Moody moves from Wednesdays 8-10pm to Mondays 10pm-12am
- Indie Rock Hit Parade hosted by Eric Schuman moves from Friday 11pm-2am to Tuesday 10pm-12am
- American Routes with Nick Spitzer moves from Sunday 4-6pm to Saturday 11pm-1am
- Echoes hosted by Jon Diliberto moves back an hour from 11pm-1am weeknights to 12-2am
- Three shows that had been rotating on Friday nights will move to the weekly schedule. Land of the Lost hosted by Robert Drake, will air on Fridays from 7-9pm. John Vettese’s What’s the Frequency? claims Fridays 9-11pm. Culture Cypher Radio hosted by John Morrison moves to Wednesdays at 10-11pm.
- WXPN will drop Latin Alternative, Sound Opinions, and the Grateful Dead Hour from their schedule.
WXPN, the member-supported, public radio service of the University of Pennsylvania, announced today that it will launch Kids Corner 24/7, a new music stream curated and hosted by Kathy O’Connell. Additionally, WXPN will launch a new website at kidscorner.org, as well as some changes to its programming schedule, starting Monday, January 29.
New KidsCorner.org website and Kids Corner 24/7 music stream
A new KidsCorner.org website will host many of the program features and interviews with special guest contributors heard on WXPN’s Peabody Award-winning Kids Corner radio program, making it more accessible to both its core audience of children ages 5-13 as well as parents, educators and professionals in child-related fields. At KidsCorner.org, audiences will be able to enjoy the Kids Corner 24/7 stream of family-friendly tunes whenever they want, with new audio and video features available on demand.
Kids Corner, helmed by beloved host Kathy O’Connell, is renowned for its original, stimulating, and fun mix of educational and entertaining programming for kids. With this shift to digital, the show’s on-air broadcast will move from four nights to two, and will be heard on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.
About the new online resource, O’Connell said, “Just as we brought a new world of music and fun to the radio 36 years ago when Kids Corner launched on WXPN, we are now taking that mix to the next level – directly to families worldwide, 24/7.”
Programming changes effective January 29
Three popular WXPN programs that have been rotating on Friday nights will become part of the weekly schedule. Friday nights will feature Land of the Lost, hosted by Robert Drake, at 7 p.m., and What’s the Frequency? hosted by John Vettese at 9 p.m. Culture Cypher Radio with host John Morrison will be heard Wednesdays at 10 p.m.
Additionally, WXPN Afternoons, hosted by Dan Reed Monday through Friday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., will be extended to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Other program schedule changes include:
Rhythm Lab Radio hosted by Tariq Moody is moving to Monday nights at 10 p.m.
Indie Rock Hit Parade hosted by Eric Schuman will be heard Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
American Routes with host Nick Spitzer will air on Saturdays at 11 p.m.
Echoes, hosted by Jon Diliberto, will be heard at midnight, Monday-Friday
With these changes, WXPN will no longer broadcast the programs Latin Alternative, Sound Opinions, and the Grateful Dead Hour.
The new WXPN broadcast schedule can be seen here. All WXPN programming can also be heard online at xpn.org.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com