KQED extends offer for pledge-free listening

San Francisco’s KQED Radio will re-launch its pledge-free stream for donors seeking respite from on-air pitches during its fall fundraising drive. Listeners and members who contribute $45 to the station before Sept. 8 will gain access to a web-based alternative channel of regularly scheduled KQED Radio programming delivered to their computers or mobile devices. When KQED first offered its pledge-free alternative channel during its spring drive, it was a big hit with donors. In a survey of contributors, 98 percent of those who used the stream asked KQED to bring it back, according to the station.