World Café, featuring interviews and performances with artists ranging the gamut from Yo-Yo Ma to Sting, has been recognized as a leader in the development of the Triple A format in public radio and has been instrumental in establishing the careers of many emerging artists. 'XPN recently received awards from both PRI and the Philadelphia Arts And Business Council, recognizing its innovative partnership with a for-profit restaurant and performance venue called World Café Live.

"NPR's commitment to arts and culture, specifically musical discovery, combined with its incredible reach in the market, provides us with the perfect partner to further World Café's goal to expose the music of significant artists to the widest possible radio audience," comments Dye.

"While NPR will offer us expanded carriage and broader public radio exposure, its leadership in the online arena as well as its strategies for every content platform will grow the established World Café brand in fresh new venues," adds 'XPN GM Roger LaMay.

"Both series are a perfect fit with NPR's longtime commitment to showcasing the world of arts and culture in substantive, insightful and entertaining ways," says NPR SVP Programming Jay Kernis. "We are very proud to bring these shows to our stations, listeners and new audiences."

World Café currently airs on some of the nation's most respected public radio outlets, including WFUV/New York, KCRW/Santa Monica and KUT/Austin.