- GBH runs GBH 2 and GBH 44 on TV and GBH 89.7 and CRB Classical 99.5 on radio.
- WBUR at 90.9 FM calls itself Boston’s NPR news station.
- Most of Boston’s public and college radio sits between 88.1 and 91.9 FM.
Boston has several public broadcasters. Two of them, GBH and WBUR, produce programs heard across the country, and the bottom of the FM dial is lined with college and community stations. This guide sorts out who runs what.
GBH: television and radio
GBH, run by the WGBH Educational Foundation, describes itself as the producer of PBS programs including FRONTLINE, MASTERPIECE, ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, NOVA and AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, along with its own local news service, GBH News. On its own site it lists its television services as GBH 2, GBH 44, WORLD, Create, Boston Kids and Family and GBH Kids, and its radio stations as GBH 89.7 and CRB Classical 99.5.
| Service | Channel or frequency | FCC license |
|---|---|---|
| GBH 2 | Channel 2 (RF 5) | WGBH-TV, Boston |
| GBH 44 | Channel 44 (RF 32) | WGBX-TV, Boston |
| GBH 89.7 | 89.7 FM | WGBH, Boston |
| CRB Classical 99.5 | 99.5 FM | WCRB, Lowell |
On an antenna, WORLD, Create and the kids’ services show up as subchannels after a scan. GBH also streams its TV schedule at video.wgbh.org, and its site says you can watch live TV without a GBH Passport membership.
Tip: CRB Classical 99.5 still carries live Boston Symphony Orchestra performances on Saturday nights, a partnership GBH traces back to its first night on the air in 1951.
WBUR 90.9
WBUR-FM, licensed to Boston at 90.9, calls itself Boston’s NPR news station. It produces national programs heard on NPR stations, including On Point and Here & Now, and says it reaches approximately 6.2 million listeners across the country each week with those two shows. Locally it runs a dedicated newsroom and Radio Boston, a daily news magazine.
WUMB 91.9: folk and roots
WUMB, a community service of UMass Boston at 91.9 FM, describes itself as the country’s foremost radio station for folk and roots music: singer-songwriters, blues, Celtic, Americana and bluegrass. Its site lists a network of sister signals, including 91.7 FM in Newburyport, Stow and Kingston, 91.5 FM in Gloucester and 1170 AM in Orleans, so listeners far from Boston can still tune in.
Listening and watching online
Every public broadcaster on this page streams. WBUR and GBH stream live radio from their websites, CRB Classical streams from its own site, and GBH offers its TV livestream at video.wgbh.org. WBUR’s national programs, including On Point and Here & Now, are also available on demand. Streaming is handy at work or outside the signal area, but a battery radio remains the reliable option when the power goes out.
Which station for what?
| If you want | Try |
|---|---|
| NPR news and local reporting | WBUR 90.9 or GBH 89.7 |
| Classical music | CRB Classical 99.5 |
| Folk, blues and Americana | WUMB 91.9 |
| Something unexpected | The college stations at 88.1, 88.9, 90.3 and 95.3 |
| PBS programs and documentaries | GBH 2 and GBH 44 |
The college stations
| Frequency | Station | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|
| 88.1 | WMBR | MIT students, Cambridge |
| 88.9 | WERS | Boston’s UnCommon Radio, on the air since 1949 |
| 90.3 | WZBC | Boston College students, Newton |
| 95.3 | WHRB | Harvard Radio Broadcasting, Cambridge |
College stations are where you are most likely to hear something you have never heard before. Schedules often change by the hour, and student stations can follow the academic calendar, so check each one’s program grid.
Why so many on one corner of the dial?
The FCC sets aside 88.1 through 91.9 MHz for noncommercial educational FM stations. That rule is why WMBR, WERS, GBH, WZBC, WBUR and WUMB all sit within a few clicks of each other. WHRB at 95.3 and WCRB at 99.5 are exceptions licensed outside that band. For the rest of the dial, see Boston Radio Stations by Frequency: FM and AM Dial Guide.
Public stations also reach beyond their main frequency. WUMB’s network of smaller signals across Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire is one example; GBH’s several TV services carried as subchannels are another. If you cannot receive a public station well where you live, check its website for a sister signal closer to you before giving up on the radio.
For students and families, GBH’s kids’ services are worth knowing about. GBH lists Boston Kids and Family and GBH Kids among its TV services, and on an antenna they appear as subchannels after a scan, alongside GBH 2 and GBH 44. Check GBH’s own schedule pages for what airs when, because subchannel line-ups can change.
How public media is paid for
Public stations rely heavily on listener and viewer support. GBH said in October 2026 that it had begun a three-year, $225 million campaign to secure its future after the loss of federal funding. Pledge drives, memberships and underwriting announcements are part of how these stations stay on the air. For their history, see A Short History of Boston Broadcasting: From WBZ in 1921 to GBH’s 75th Year.