WPEN (FM)
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2014) |
FCC | |
Facility ID | 47427 |
---|---|
Class | B |
ERP |
|
HAAT | 208 meters (682 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°04′57.4″N 75°10′51.6″W / 40.082611°N 75.181000°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live or Listen live (via iHeartRadio) |
Website | www |
WPEN (97.5
WPEN is the
Studios are located in
History
1940-1971: Early years
On November 22, 1940, the Federal Communications Commission granted Mercer Broadcasting Company a construction permit for a new station, licensed to serve Trenton, New Jersey, on 44.7 MHz[5] on the original 42-50 MHz FM broadcast band. On January 29, 1942, the FCC granted Mercer Broadcasting a change to 49.9 MHz.[5] After the FCC created the current FM broadcast band on June 27, 1945,[6] the station was reassigned to 97.5 MHz on July 10, 1947.[5] The station was granted its first license on September 27, 1949, with the WTOA call sign.[5]
The Trenton Times Corporation purchased the station effective June 28, 1962.[5]
Nassau Broadcasting Company, owner of then-new AM outlet WHWH, purchased the station effective December 12, 1964.[5][7]
1971-1975: MOR
On September 13, 1971, WTOA's call sign was changed to WPST as the station rebranded as "Passport Stereo". The station's format was middle of the road music.
1975-2005: Top 40
In August 1975, Nassau Broadcasting owner Herb Hobler hired Phil Gieger as the General Manager. Gieger and morning host/station manager Tom Taylor revamped the station. They initially established an
Taylor remained the morning host until 1987. Other WPST
2005-2006: Classic rock
On February 14, 2005, at 5 p.m., 97.5 swapped call signs and formats with sister station 94.5 WTHK. Branded on air as "The Hawk", WTHK had a classic rock format. Like WPST, WTHK was owned by Nassau Broadcasting and licensed as a station serving Trenton. In August 2005, WTHK's city of license was changed from Trenton to Burlington, a New Jersey city 18 miles north of Philadelphia.[8]
These changes were the first two steps of a three-step process designed to maximize the value of the licenses for 94.5 and 97.5. The reallocation of the 97.5 frequency from Trenton to Burlington moved it into the larger and more lucrative Philadelphia
Nassau Broadcasting chose to leave the final necessary step, the actual relocation of the 97.5 transmitter, to the eventual buyer, which would turn out to be Greater Media. Since Greater Media already had a Philadelphia classic rock station in WMGK, it was almost certain a new format would be chosen for 97.5. Clear Channel's decision to drop smooth jazz from 106.1 left a format hole in the market, and Greater Media decided to fill it with a new version of WJJZ on 97.5.
WTHK
2006-2008: Smooth jazz
WJJZ (106.1 FM) ended its smooth jazz format at noon on August 10, 2006, and flipped to a rhythmic adult contemporary format, branded as "Philly's 106.1". Many former WJJZ listeners protested when the format was abandoned in Philadelphia. Much to the delight of fans, Greater Media announced in late October that it would pick up the smooth jazz format for 97.5. The official transfer of ownership took place on November 15, when WTHK signed off and shut down its Trenton transmitter.
The new WJJZ launched on November 17, 2006, at 6 p.m.
At the station's start, it used Broadcast Architecture's
2008-2009: Adult contemporary
WJJZ's lack of ratings success fueled rumors of a format change. In the summer of 2008, Greater Media began doing listener research to change the station. Among the formats tested was
of the early 80s.On September 5, 2008, at 6:00 p.m., after playing
On October 31, 2008, at 5:00 p.m., the station switched to all-
The first on-air personality to be hired by WNUW was Glenn Kalina, whose morning show debuted on January 5, 2009. After finishing at #3 in the 2008 Holiday ratings, the station's audience fell off when it returned to its Hot AC format. WNUW trailed every other commercial Philadelphia FM and even Trenton station WPST, and Wilmington station WSTW in its last ratings period.
2009-present: Sports talk
On October 9, 2009, at 5 p.m., after playing Streetcorner Symphony by Rob Thomas, WNUW flipped to an FM simulcast of WPEN, with the new identity of "97.5 The Fanatic, Powered by ESPN". The call sign was switched from WNUW to WPEN-FM.
Some of the time, the two stations would simulcast; during national live game broadcasts from ESPN Radio or another network, the AM side would carry the games, while WPEN-FM would feature Philadelphia-focused sports talk. On December 21, 2012, AM 950 was sold to Family Radio and became WKDN. After the completion of the sale on January 10, 2013, 97.5 dropped the -FM suffix.
WPEN-FM was Philadelphia's only FM sports station for its first two years until CBS Radio owned rival WIP moved to FM, replacing WYSP.
Beginning with the 2012 NBA Playoffs, WPEN-FM became the flagship station for the Philadelphia 76ers, moving away from WIP-FM, where they were aired for years. Less than a week later, the Philadelphia Flyers announced they too were leaving WIP-FM for WPEN.
On July 24, 2014, Temple University and Greater Media entered into a multi-year agreement for the station to become the official radio broadcaster for Temple football games beginning in the 2014 season.[10]
In 2016, WPEN began airing Philadelphia Soul regular season games, in the Arena Football League.[11]
On July 19, 2016, the
On February 21, 2023, the Philadelphia Union and the Beasley Media Group announced a partnership agreement to make WPEN the official radio broadcast partner of the team. The station aired their first Union broadcast on February 25, 2023, in a match against the Columbus Crew.[14]
Signal note
WPEN is short-spaced to three other Class B stations: WENJ 97.3 ESPN (licensed to serve Millville, New Jersey), WRVV The River 97.3 (licensed to serve Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) and WALK-FM WALK 97.5 (licensed to serve Patchogue, New York).
WENJ and WRVV both operate on 97.3 MHz, a first adjacent channel to WPEN. The distance between WPEN's transmitter and WENJ's transmitter is 57 miles, while the distance between WPEN's transmitter and WRVV's transmitter is 91 miles, as determined by FCC rules.
WALK-FM and WPEN operate on the same channel and the distance between the stations' transmitters is 125 miles as determined by FCC rules.
WPEN uses a directional antenna to reduce its signal toward the southeast and the west, in the direction of WENJ and WRVV.[4]
HD Radio
WPEN HD2
WPEN's HD2 digital subchannel broadcasts Classical music.
WPEN HD3
WPEN's HD3 digital subchannel formerly broadcast a Spanish CHR format branded as "Supra Radio" (which was simulcast on translator W237EH 95.3 FM in
In October 2021, WPEN-HD3 began broadcasting
On January 15, 2024, WPEN-HD3 and W253DG switched to a simulcast of Spanish CHR-formatted WIFI 1460 AM Florence, NJ, branded as "Maxima 92.9".[18]
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WPEN". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "FCC 335-FM Digital Notification [WPEN]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. March 18, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "About / Contact Us".
- ^ a b "FM Query Results for WPEN". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f "History Cards for WPEN". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ "In the Matter of Allocation of Frequencies to the Various Class of Non-Governmental Services in the Radio Spectrum from 10 Kilocycles to 30,000,000 Kilocycles (Docket No. 6651)" (PDF). fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. June 27, 1945. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1969 page 109
- ^ "Street Talk" (PDF). Radio & Records. January 14, 2005. p. 18. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ "GREATER MEDIA, NASSAU BROADCASTING AND CHARLES RIVER BROADCASTING CLOSE BOSTON AND PHILADELPHIA RADIO STATION DEALS". Nassau Broadcasting. November 16, 2006. Archived from the original on December 14, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
- ^ "WPEN-FM, The Fanatic, Named Radio Home For Temple Football Through 2016-17". Temple. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ "WPEN Adds To Philly's Arena Football Soul Play". Insideradio.com. April 7, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ "Beasley Acquires Greater Media - RadioInsight". August 3, 2016.
- ^ "Beasley Closes On Greater Media Purchase; Makes Multiple Staff Moves - RadioInsight". November 1, 2016.
- ^ Union, Philadelphia. "Philadelphia Union And Beasley Broadcast Group Announce 97.5 The Fanatic As Official Radio Broadcast Partner". Philadelphia Union. Retrieved July 19, 2023.
- ^ a b "Reference points and distance computations. 47 CFR § 73.208". Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ a b "Minimum distance separation between stations. 47 CFR § 73.207(b)(1)" (PDF). Retrieved August 22, 2021.
- ^ "Music & Radio Station News | AllAccess.com". All Access.
- ^ Maxima Expands in South Jersey Radioinsight - January 19, 2024
External links
- Official website
- WPEN in the FCC FM station database
- WPEN in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- Announcement from Berks Jazz Fest
- Press Release