WHRP

WHRP (94.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve Gurley, Alabama, United States. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and the license is held by Cumulus Licensing LLC. WHRP broadcasts an urban adult contemporary music format to the Huntsville, Alabama, market.[2] Its transmitter is located southeast of downtown Huntsville, but its main studios are in Athens, Alabama.

WHRP
CityGurley, Alabama
Broadcast areaHuntsville, Alabama
Frequency94.1 MHz
Branding94.1 WHRP
SloganThe Best Variety of R&B
Programming
FormatUrban adult contemporary
Ownership
OwnerCumulus Media
(Cumulus Licensing LLC)
WUMP, WVNN, WVNN-FM, WWFF-FM, WZYP
History
First air date
1996 (as WXQW)
Former call signs
WDJU (3/1995-11/1995)
WXQW (1995-2007)[1]
Technical information
Facility ID22264
ClassA
ERP710 watts
HAAT288 meters (946 feet)
Transmitter coordinates
34°40′50″N 86°30′55″W
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitewhrpfm.com

Programming

Notable personalities on WHRP include local weekday hosts Toni Terrell with the "At Work Network" mid-days,[3] Big O (a.k.a. The Mayor of Soul) Saturday mornings with Classic Soul on "The Time Tunnel", and Huntsville radio veteran Kevin "The Nighthawk" Williams weekends. Notable syndicated hosts include Tom Joyner of The Tom Joyner Morning Show, Michael Baisden of The Michael Baisden Show and Keith Sweat of The Keith Sweat Hotel.[4]

Notable former on-air personnel include Bobby Wonder, Nia Noelle[5] and Ronnie Rio.[6]

Former WXQW mid-day host Chuck Boozer, apparently local, was actually the evening host at WWMG-FM in Charlotte, North Carolina.[7] Boozer recorded his WXQW air shift in about forty minutes on a computer in Charlotte as digital voice tracks for later playback on the air in Huntsville.[7] This use of "voice tracking" is a practice common to many Clear Channel-owned radio stations, as then-WXQW was at that time.

History

This station received its original construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission on January 19, 1995.[8] The new station was assigned the call letters WDJU by the FCC on March 14, 1995.[1]

In June 1995, control of permit holder Digesu Broadcasting, Inc., was transferred from Frank Digesu Sr. to R. Parker Griffith and Thomas H. Griffith. The transfer was approved by the FCC on August 9, 1995.[9] In October 1995, Digesu Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Griffith Broadcasting, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on November 30, 1995, and the transaction was consummated on the same day.[10] The new owners had the FCC change the callsign for the station, still under construction, to WXQW on November 10, 1995.[1]

WXQW received its license to cover from the FCC on June 3, 1996.[11]

In June 1997, Griffith Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Southern Star Communications, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on August 8, 1997, and the transaction was consummated on October 2, 1997.[12] Southern Star Communications is a regional operating company of Capstar Broadcasting Corporation.[13] On October 1, 1997, the station flipped formats from adult contemporary to oldies music.[14]

In December 2005, Cumulus Media purchased this station (then known as WXQW) and sister station WWXQ (now WVNN) from the Capstar TX Limited Partnership division of Clear Channel Communications for a reported $3.3 million.[15] On December 21, 2007, WXQW switched to the WHRP call letters[1] of its sister station and that former WHRP was assigned new call letters WWFF-FM.[16]

Several other unrelated stations have held the WHRP call letters over the years, including the current WQKR (1270 AM, Portland, Tennessee) which was known as WHRP from 1986 to 1990 and WRJR (670 AM, Claremont, Virginia) which was known as WHRP from 2000 to 2001.[17]

References
  1. "22264 Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  2. "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  3. "In Brief - February 16, 2007". FMQB. 2007-02-16. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  4. Dunham, Darnella (2007-11-27). "'Sweat Hotel' Reaches Milestone". Radio & Records. Retrieved 2007-12-30. Premiere Radio Network’s slow jams program "The Keith Sweat Hotel" will surpass the 20-affiliate mark on December 3, with the addition of Next Media rhythmic oldies WQSL & WQZL/Greenville, N.C., and Cumulus urban AC outlet WHRP/Huntsville, Ala.
  5. "In Brief - April 27, 2006". FMQB. 2006-04-27. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  6. "In Brief - August 3, 2005". FMQB. 2005-08-03. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
  7. Washburn, Mark (May 26, 2002). "The voice of Charlotte... and Huntsville... and Jackson..." The Charlotte Observer. p. 1H. Retrieved November 25, 2008.
  8. "Application Search Details (BPH-19880126ME)". FCC Media Bureau. January 19, 1995.
  9. "Application Search Details (BTCH-19950612GE)". FCC Media Bureau. August 9, 1995.
  10. "Application Search Details (BAPLH-19951020GE)". FCC Media Bureau. November 30, 1995.
  11. "Application Search Details (BLH-19950602KC)". FCC Media Bureau. June 3, 1996.
  12. "Application Search Details (BALH-19970604GI )". FCC Media Bureau. October 2, 1997.
  13. "Capstar Broadcasting Announces New SEAStar Region to be Headed by Former SFX Exec John King" (Press release). Capstar Broadcasting Corporation. July 14, 1998.
  14. Sallee, Rebecca (December 17, 1997). "Radio station hits gold with oldies format". The Huntsville Times. p. M2.
  15. BIA Financial Networks (2005-12-19). "Deals". Broadcasting & Cable.
  16. "65223 Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  17. "Search by Old Broadcast Call Sign". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
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