Participating Organizations

WXXI Public Broadcasting Council was founded in 1958 as the Rochester Area Educational Television Association (RAETA), and the station's first few years were dedicated to producing instructional television programs for elementary school students. In 1959, Assignment: The World became the first educational series WXXI produced. More than fifty years later, the program went on to be the longest-running instructional TV program in the U.S., and was offered nationwide until it ceased production in 2013. On September 6, 1966, after a five-year quest for a broadcast license, Channel 21 went on the air, broadcasting 50 hours of programming a week. The following year, Congress established the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to promote growth of the industry, which resulted in a consistent funding base for the station. In 1974 WXXI signed on with its all-classical radio station Classical 91.5, and in 1984 it signed on its NPR station on AM 1370. Today, the station owns and operates three television channels (WXXI-TV/HD, Create, and World) and operates cable City 12 in partnership with the City of Rochester. Its radio stations now include: WXXI-AM 1370, WXXI-FM 91.5, plus two HD radio channels and Reachout Radio, a closed circuit 24-hour radio reading service for those who are visually impaired. WXXI also manages and operates WRUR-FM 88.5 in broadcast partnership with the University of Rochester, along with two radio stations in partnership with Hobart & William Smith Colleges – WEOS-FM 89.7 in Geneva, NY and WITH-FM 90.1 in Ithaca, NY. WXXI also provides educational and outreach services, and a robust web site, which serves the greater Rochester community with music, science, health, and news programs that inspire, engage, educate, and inform. In January 2012, WXXI and Rochester’s Independent Film House, Little Theatre, joined together in a formal, long-term affiliation.