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40th Anniversary of Met Broadcasts on WCLV
December 12th at 1:00 PM, with a performance of Puccini's Il Triticco, marks the 40th
anniversary of the Saturday afternoon Met Opera radio broadcasts on WCLV, making WCLV
one of a few commercial stations to have carried the Met for this length of time.
It was on December 6th, 1969, that WCLV began airing the Met broadcasts. At the time the
announcer was Milton Cross, and the sponsor was Texaco. Initially the broadcasts
came to WCLV via a low fidelity mono phone line. It wasn't until satellite transmissions
began in the early 80s, that we could hear the Met in full fidelity stereo. WCLV was then
located in the Terminal Tower, where we couldn't have a satellite dish. But WVIZ-TV
(Channel 25) offered us the use of their dish on Brookpark Road, to which we connected
with a pair of 15 khz balanced stereo lines, (high tech at the time). Technology has progressed
dramatically with the Met now available not only in stereo over the radio in the U.S., Europe
and Asia, but also on satellite radio and in HD video transmissions in movie theatres. As
one of the oldest continuous radio broacasts in the nation, the Met remains a vital segment
of the nation's culture.
The initial start of the Met broadcasts on WCLV was rocky. A labor dispute prevented live
performances of the Met, and the broadcasts presented commercial recordings until the first
Saturday in January, 1970, when a live broadcast of Aida was heard.
Details on the Met Opera's season here.
The Metropolitan Opera broadcasts on WCLV are made possible by Judson at University Circle.
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