WBUR’s On Point with Tom Ashbrook Expands to Philadelphia’s WHYY and San Francisco’s KALW

On Point Now Reaches 73% of the Country; National Listening Tour Continues to Connect with Listeners in their Communities

WBUR,  is pleased to announce that On Point with Tom Ashbrook has been picked up by NPR member stations WHYY in Philadelphia, PA and KALW in San Francisco, CA. These major market stations join WUSF, WFAE and GPB in recently adding On Point to their daily line-up, expanding the program’s broadcast penetration to 73 percent of the country.

“Expanding to these new markets enables us to engage in active discussions with even more listeners from coast to coast,” said host Tom Ashbrook. “It is imperative that we talk about issues that matter, especially as we see the divisions in our country continue to widen. Whether in a small rural community or at the heart of a major city, we invite listeners to speak their minds and listen to each other to bridge the gap between our political and social views.”

On Point, carried by more than 250 NPR stations, is one of the fastest-growing programs on the air with the number of listeners nationwide tuning in at any given 15 minutes of a show (or AQH) up 34%* and weekly cume up 29%* during the past year.

"At KALW, we've been thinking hard about how to best serve our listeners in this tumultuous time,” said KALW general manager Matt Martin. “On Point complements our local and global coverage with an American conversation that is truly national. Tom Ashbrook is interested in perspectives from across the country, and knows how to drive thoughtful, fact-based conversations about the most important issues that face us all. We're very glad to bring On Point to public radio listeners in the Bay Area."

“We are thrilled to bring On Point to our listeners,” said Naomi Starobin, radio general manager at WHYY. “We wanted to share On Point’s thoughtful reporting on a variety of topics that resonate with our audience. We feel it’s more important than ever to provide our listeners with the high-quality journalism and topics On Point delivers.”

In addition to reaching these new markets, On Point is conducting a national listening tour throughout 2017 called “Listening to America.” Host Tom Ashbrook will continue to broadcast from NPR member radio stations across the country to discuss today’s current events and  important local and national issues. The tour kicked off in Charlotte, North Carolina in January at NPR member station WFAE. Since then, On Point has visited Detroit, Michigan’s WDET and Tampa, Florida’s WUSF to engage in conversation with local communities..

Upcoming tour stops include:

While “Listening to America” is the show’s first national tour, On Point has broadcast in cities across the United States such as Buffalo, Cleveland, Denver, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, St. Paul, Santa Barbara, Tampa as well as internationally in Shanghai, China and Berlin, Germany.