The simplest and most basic explanation of the decline of classical music
radio is ratings.  In broadcasting, you cannot run a business where only
tenths and tenths of a population listen to your station.  The economics
just aren't there when advertising comes into the picture.  The business
runs on numbers and more numbers.  Advertisers will not spend money to
reach a few people.  Unfortunately, in NY there are so many stations that
the listening audience gets to be fragmented so much that it mitigates a
station, unless they have a "popular" music format, to get those numbers
and to run a viable business.  Classical music is not "popular" and
I doubt it will ever be.  It's just an interest of a small select
population....like us.  For classical music, this is how it's gonna be
until they perhaps change broadcasting's business model but you will wait
for the universe to end before that happens.

Rich