Roll over Beethoven and tell Tchaikovsky the news: Los Angeles will soon be sharing its venerable classical music radio station KUSC with San Francisco.
Starting this summer, KUSC and the Bay Area’s KDFC will combine their programming and on-air staffs. Both USC-owned stations will present their broadcasts in a single audio feed under the moniker Classical California, which has been used in their branding for the last three years.
The full embrace of the Classical California name means the stations will no longer use their local call letters outside of legally mandated identifications given at the top of each hour. KUSC has been synonymous with classical music in Los Angeles since it was founded in 1947. USC acquired KDFC in 2011.
James Muhammad, president of Classical California, the nonprofit entity that operates both stations, confirmed the merger plans to The Times. He said the announcer staffs on KUSC and KFDC will be retained and continue to broadcast from their studios in downtown Los Angeles and San Francisco’s Civic Center.
“We have world-class on-air talent and what we’d like is for our entire network to be able to have access to that talent,” Muhammad said in a Wednesday interview.
Classical California distributes the KUSC and KFDC signals to other smaller stations in the state. KUSC’s programming is heard on stations in Oxnard, Palm Springs, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo. KDFC is also heard on stations in Ukiah, Monterey, Silicon Valley and Napa Valley.
Muhammad said the merger is not being driven by cost-cutting, but will help provide resources for expansion.
“There are a number of processes where there are duplication of efforts,” he said. “Through the savings of time we can provide more services and experiences for our donors.”
Like other radio stations, Classical California has used streaming audio channels on its website to provide more niche musical programming as a way to attract younger listeners. The merger will enable Classical California to combine the stations’ websites and create a more robust platform.
Muhammad believes the radio audiences will welcome the additional voices from out of town. A nightly program hosted by classical pianist Lara Downes is already heard on both stations. Muhammad noted that KUSC leaned on the KDFC staff to broadcast during the L.A.-area wildfires last month.
Radio stations in all formats have been scrambling to cut costs as they continue to lose listeners to podcasts and streaming audio. But Muhammad said KUSC and KDFC are “in good shape financially” thanks to strong listener contributions, although they did decline in 2024.
According to their recent annual reports, KUSC and KDFC are covering their costs.
In 2024, KUSC had revenue of $10.4 million, enough to handle the station’s $9.8 million in expenses. KDFC took in $7.3 million and had nearly $7 million in expenses.
The stations received $1 million in government funding, which could be in jeopardy as the Trump administration looks for budgets cuts.
The combination of KUSC and KDFC comes as both stations have scored some of their highest ratings.
KUSC, which airs on 91.5 FM in Los Angeles, pulled a 3.0 audience share in December, according to Nielsen. The station reached 472,000 listeners a week during that month, making it the largest classical radio audience in the country.
KDFC captured a 6.3 audience share, ranking third overall in San Francisco, an unusual achievement for a classical station in a major market.
Beyond playing music, classical radio stations serve as a connection to fine arts institutions such as opera companies and symphony orchestras through promotional partnerships and sponsorships. (KUSC has a major presence at the Los Angeles Times’ Festival of Books.)
Last year, KUSC aired performances of LA Opera, Pacific Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The station has sponsored concerts at the Hollywood Bowl for the last eight years.
The stations also are a source of civic pride among arts patrons in their communities. One of the challenges Classical California may face is convincing donors that their contributions to one station will not serve only their hometown.
Muhammad said Classical California will make the case that the changes will let it invest more in reaching the local communities it serves. “We really plan to lean in on providing even more services and more opportunities to engage in classical music that our listeners and donors appreciate” he said.
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