WPKC (AM)
| Broadcast area | Seacoast Southern New Hampshire & Southern Maine. |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1540 kHz |
| Branding | Classic Rock 92.1 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Aruba Capital Holdings, LLC (operated by Port Broadcasting LLC under a Local Marketing Agreement) |
| WXEX-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1966 |
Former call signs | WKXR (1966-1982) WMYF (1982-1998) WGIP (1998-2009) |
Call sign meaning | Greater Exeter area |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 53386 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 5,000 watts day 2,500 watts critical hours 3 watts night |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°59′23.00″N 70°56′14.00″W / 42.9897222°N 70.9372222°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | WXEXradio.com |
WXEX (1540 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Classic Rock format. It is licensed to Exeter, New Hampshire, USA, and covers the New Hampshire Seacoast region. The station's license was acquired locally by Andy Hartmann and Steve Thomas under the name of Aruba Capital Holdings, LLC.[1][2] The station currently simulcasts with WXEX-FM Sanford, Maine and also via FM Translator in the Greater Seacoast New Hampshire and Southern York County Maine area on FM 97.1.
History
The AM 1540 frequency in Exeter went on the air in 1966 as WKXR under the ownership of Frank Estes, who also owned WKXL in Concord, New Hampshire.[3] Estes sold the station in 1978,[3] and on March 10, 1982, the station was renamed WMYF;[4] by the 1990s, the station held an adult standards format.[5]
In 1998, after Capstar acquired WMYF from CBS Radio[6] (which had obtained the station after its purchase of American Radio Systems[7]), the station began to simulcast the news/talk format of WGIR, a sister station in Manchester, New Hampshire;[8] a call change to WGIP followed on October 2.[4] The WMYF call letters would later be moved down the AM dial to 1380, where they remained until 2016 (that station is now WMGE).
After WGIP was placed into the Aloha Station Trust in 2008 as a result of the privatization of Clear Channel Communications[9] (who acquired the station after several mergers), the station was sold to Aruba Capital Holdings, LLC in 2009.[10] After Aruba closed on the sale on March 9, 2009, the call letters were changed to WXEX[4] and the WGIR simulcast was discontinued.
In August 2011 the station entered into a simulcast of co-owned WXEX-FM Sanford, Maine.
On April 14, 2015 WXEX owner Aruba Holdings LLC entered into a local marketing agreement with WNBP/WWSF owner Port Broadcasting LLC whereby the latter assumed operational control of WXEX and WXEX-FM.
On August 20, 2015 WXEX and its FM sister station shifted their format from classic hits to classic rock, branded as "Classic Rock 92.1".[11]
References
- ^ "WXEX Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ "WXEX Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
- ^ a b "NHAB Alumni: Frank Estes". New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters. October 28, 2001. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
- ^ a b c "WXEX Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (June 5, 1997). "ARS Grows Again". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (July 7, 1998). "North East RadioWatch". Retrieved March 14, 2009.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (September 19, 1997). "Extra: CBS buys ARS". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (October 1, 1998). "WNNZ Sold to Clear Channel". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (January 28, 2008). "Now Ryan's Gone at WLTW, Too". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
- ^ Fybush, Scott (January 12, 2009). "Santos Exits Amidst WBZ Changes". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
- ^ WXEX Shifts to Classic Rock
External links
- Official website
- WXEX in the FCC AM station database
- WXEX in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
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