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2026 in radio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following is a list of events affecting radio broadcasting in 2026. Events listed include radio program debuts, finales, cancellations, station launches, closures, and format changes, as well as information about controversies and deaths of radio personalities.

Notable events

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January

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Date Event Source
2 Dutch DJ Tiësto launches his new weekly trance radio show, Prismatic, succeeding his previous EDM weekly show Club Life. [1]
5 The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which disbursed federal subsidies to public broadcasting stations in the United States, dissolves after it was defunded in a rescissions act passed the previous year. [2]
31 In a maneuver tied to the loss of revenue from the CPB dissolution and a decline in Canadian donations caused by international tensions, WNED-FM in Buffalo, New York, which had operated as a noncommercial classical music station for the previous 50 years, reverts its license to commercial operation and began exploring the sale of commercial advertising. The station later announces its intention to move its programming down the dial to noncommercially licensed WBFO, which will retain select NPR shows due to contractual obligations, in May. WNED-FM will shift to a commercially supported format with news, sports and other content to be determined. [3][4]

February

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Date Event Source
3 The Buffalo Bills Radio Network in the US announces the end of its 14-year relationship with Audacy, Inc. and announces that Good Karma Brands will assume control over affiliate relations from the 2026 Buffalo Bills season onward, hoping to expand its network throughout the United States and into Canada. Good Karma does not own a station in Buffalo, leaving it unclear where Bills games will be carried terrestrially in the Buffalo market. This change will also eventually affect the Sabres Hockey Network upon the conclusion of the 2025–26 NHL season. [5]
8 DWAR Abante Radyo (DWSS 1494 AM) and DWBL 1242 announce they will go off-air for a month, from midnight of February 9, 2026, until March 10, 2026, as the station is upgrading its transmitter to improve its coverage, while its cable channel counterpart, Abante TV and online livestream remain available. [6]
17–22 WGR Buffalo, New York, expands its programming into a regional network with the introduction of simulcasts of its programming along with the WGR brand on what was then WLKK in rural Wyoming County (which changes its call sign to WGR-FM) and WROC in Rochester. The move is part of a wider strategy by owner Audacy, Inc. to have FM simulcasts in a majority of major markets where it operates AM sports stations and counteract the pending loss of its major league sports rights (see February 3 above). [7][8][9]
17 Radio Free Asia announces that it has resumed its broadcast operations to China after almost a year of shutting down as a result of the reduction of its parent agency, the United States Agency for Global Media. [10]
18 It is announced that the Intervision 2026 song competition will be held in Saudi Arabia. [11]

March

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Date Event Source

Deaths

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References

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  1. ^ Kennedy, Aidan (6 January 2026). "Tiësto Follows Club Life Ending With New Radio Show, Prismatic". EDMTunes.com. Retrieved 16 January 2026.
  2. ^ Schneider, Michael (2026-01-05). "Corporation for Public Broadcasting to Shut Down After 58 Years Due to Trump Eliminating Funding". Variety. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
  3. ^ "Buffalo Toronto Public Media To Launch Commercial Full Service Talk Station - RadioInsight". 2026-02-27. Retrieved 2026-02-27.
  4. ^ Rodriguez, Francisco (2026-02-09). "Buffalo Toronto Public Media applies to make classical station commercial". Current. Retrieved 2026-02-13.
  5. ^ Staff, WKBW News (2026-02-03). "Buffalo Bills announce end of 14-year broadcast partnership with WGR-AM 550". WKBW 7 News Buffalo. Retrieved 2026-02-03.
  6. ^ Janer, Rose Ann (2026-02-08). "DWAR 1494 AM broadcast pansamantalang off-air simula Pebrero 9". Retrieved 2026-02-08.
  7. ^ WGR Launches FM Simulcast Radioinsight - February 17, 2026
  8. ^ Venta, Lance (February 12, 2026). "WGR to add FM simulcast". Radio Insight. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  9. ^ "WGR Expands To Rochester - RadioInsight". 2026-02-20. Retrieved 2026-02-20.
  10. ^ "Radio Free Asia resumes broadcasts to China after Trump cuts forced near closure". Guardian. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 25 February 2026.
  11. ^ Fursov, Evgeny (2025-10-27). "Россия намерена помочь Саудовской Аравии в организации конкурса «Интервидение»" [Russia intends to help Saudi Arabia in organising the "Intervision" contest]. Hibiny.ru [ru] (in Russian). Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  12. ^ Deliso, Meredith (January 6, 2026). "Michael Reagan, son of former President Ronald Reagan, has died, family says". ABC News. Retrieved January 6, 2026.
  13. ^ "È morta Raffaella Bragazzi, storica voce di «Ok, il prezzo è giusto», aveva 66 anni". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 7 January 2026. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  14. ^ Seyderhelm, Jennifer (14 January 2026). "Vale Brian Wilshire". RadioInfo Australia. radioinfo. Archived from the original on 14 January 2026. Retrieved 14 January 2026.
  15. ^ Behringer, Eva; Wobser, Jochen; Scherm, Christiane; Gläaser, Jürgen (15 January 2026). "Radio-Legende Ado Schlier mit 90 Jahren in Würzburg gestorben". Bayerischer Rundfunk (in German). Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  16. ^ "Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson Dies; Radio Voice Spanned Decades". InsideRadio. 17 February 2026. Retrieved 18 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Tv-presentator Koos Postema (93) overleden: 'Een losse en ongedwongen geest'". AD. Retrieved 2026-02-23.
  18. ^ "وفاة الإذاعى الكبير فهمى عمر عن عمر 98 عاما". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 2026-02-25. Retrieved 2026-02-25.
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