Talks of a cooperative agreement between the two entities began in 1999, but was first proposed in 1993, when co-founder Jerrold Wareham was named as WVIZ's general manager.

[5] Since 2021, Ideastream has operated WKSU and its repeater network on behalf of owner Kent State University,[6] and has been Cleveland and Akron's sole NPR station of record since March 28, 2022.

With a combined 22-county coverage area and potential audience of 3.6 million people, WKSU and its repeater network boast the largest collective footprint for an FM radio station in Ohio.

[17] A complex asset and intellectual property swap on July 3, 2001, re-established WCLV on 104.9 FM as part of a long-term plan initiated by founding owners Robert Conrad and Rich Marschner to preserve the format from being subsumed by ownership consolidation in the radio industry.

[23] WCLV's current 90.3 FM frequency was previously home to WCPN, one of Ideastream's two founding partners and, from 1984 to 2022, competed with WKSU as the region's other NPR member.