WXRG

WXRG (102.3 FM; "The River") is an American licensed radio station in Concord, New Hampshire. The station is owned by Steven Silberberg's Devon Broadcasting Company, Inc. and simulcasts the adult album alternative format of WXRV (92.5 FM) from Andover, Massachusetts.

For other stations which have held the WXRG call sign, see WXRG (disambiguation).
WXRG/WLKC
CityWXRG: Concord, New Hampshire
WLKC: Campton, New Hampshire
Broadcast areaWXRG: Concord, New Hampshire
WLKC: White Mountains and Lakes Region
FrequencyWXRG: 102.3 MHz
WLKC: 105.7 MHz
BrandingThe River
SloganBoston's Independent Radio (WXRV Slogan)
Programming
FormatAAA (WXRV simulcast)
Ownership
OwnerSteven Silberberg
(Devon Broadcasting Company, Inc.)
WLKC, WXRV
History
First air date
WXRG: March 7, 1972 (as WKXL-FM)
WLKC: May 1996[1]
Former call signs
WXRG: WKXL-FM (1972–2000)
WOTX-FM (2000–2005)
WWHK (2005–2014)
WLKC:
WVFM (1996–2005)
WUSX (2005)
Technical information
Facility IDWXRG: 8683
WLKC: 72211
ClassWXRG: A
WLKC: A
ERPWXRG: 3,000 watts
WLKC: 4,100 watts
HAATWXRG: 87 meters (285 ft)
WLKC: 119 meters (390 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
WXRG: 43°13′0.0″N 71°34′34.0″W
WLKC: 43°45′45″N 71°39′0″W
Links
WebcastListen Live (WXRG)
Listen Live (WLKC)
Listen Live (MP3)
Websitewww.theriverboston.com

History

The station began operations March 7, 1972[2] as WKXL-FM, the FM sister station to WKXL (1450 AM), under the ownership of Frank Estes, who also owned WKXR in Exeter, New Hampshire.[3] In 1980, Estes sold the WKXL stations to a group of station employees. At one point, WKXL-FM offered its own programming (including a modern rock format), but in 1991[4] it was converted to a simulcast of the AM side's programming.[5]

In 1999, the employee group sold the WKXL stations to Vox Media,[4] who, after buying WRCI (107.7 FM) in nearby Hillsborough several months later, shifted the simulcast to that station;[6] as a result, on January 3, 2000, the station returned to separate programming as a country station, WOTX-FM ("Outlaw Country").[7]

In 2004, Vox sold most of its stations in the area to Nassau Broadcasting Partners;[8] however, Nassau could not buy WOTX outright due to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ownership restrictions.[9] Nassau did take control of the station under a local marketing agreement,[9] and on February 7, 2005 swapped formats with WNHI (93.3 FM) and became a classic rock station as WWHK ("102.3 The Hawk"), in tandem with a nearby Nassau classic rock station, WWHQ (101.5 FM) in Meredith, New Hampshire.[10]

WWHK had planned to drop the classic rock format in favor of sports talk provided by Boston's WEEI in January 2008,[11] but the deal between Nassau and Entercom ended up collapsing.[12] In March 2008, the station shifted from classic rock to a more mainstream rock format.

However, in September 2006, the FCC ruled that local marketing agreements and joint sales agreements counted towards the operator's ownership count in a market.[13] Initially, Nassau continued to operate WWHK in violation of this ruling as it attempted to obtain a waiver to buy WWHK outright, but the FCC ruled in April 2008 that Nassau had worked with Arbitron to create a Concord radio market, and barred its purchase of WWHK.[9] Four months later, the FCC ordered Nassau to terminate the joint sales agreement with Capitol Broadcasting (the Vox Media subsidiary that continued to hold the WWHK license while Nassau ran the station).[13] Nassau complied, and on August 22, 2008, Vox reassumed control of the station with a commercial-free rock format.[14] The station switched to classical music in September 2008;[15] soon afterwards, the station went silent.[16]

Vox reached a deal to sell WWHK to Andrew Sumereau in 2009.[17] In the interim, Vox returned the station to the air in July, again airing a classic rock loop.[18] In April 2010, the station began simulcasting WTPL (the former WRCI and second WKXL-FM).[19] The sale to Sumereau's company, Birch Broadcasting, was finally completed on June 22, 2011; a week earlier, Vox temporarily signed WWHK off once more.[20] Birch returned the station to the air on June 15, 2012[21] (after an earlier return on June 8[22] was ended three days later due to the station's tower not being grounded to safely handle lightning strikes[23]). For nearly two years, 24 hours a day, the station aired rock songs performed in classical style by the group known as the Vitamin String Quartet,[24]

In early 2014, Steven Silberberg's Northeast Broadcasting reached a deal to purchase WWHK from Birch Broadcasting.[25] Northeast took control of the station through a local marketing agreement on April 1;[25] soon thereafter, WWHK began broadcasting commercial-free selections from Andover, Massachusetts sister station WXRV's "River Music Hall" performances.[26] On May 2, 2014, WWHK began simulcasting WXRV.[25] However, the station broadcasts separate news, weather, and advertising.[25][26] WXRV's programming was already available in portions of the Concord-Lakes Region market through WLKC (105.7 FM) in Campton;[26] WWHK is located between the coverage areas of WXRV and WLKC.[25] The sale to licensee Devon Broadcasting Company, Inc., at a price of $425,000, was consummated on June 19, 2014.

On March 28, 2016, WWHK changed their call letters to WXRG.

WLKC ("105.7 The River")

WLKC (105.7 FM), licensed to Campton, New Hampshire has simulcast WXRV since 1999. For a brief time during 2012–13, the station was programmed separately (though retaining the "River" branding and AAA format), before returning to the WXRV simulcast. In 2014, Northeast Broadcasting acquired a second New Hampshire station, WWHK (102.3 FM) in Concord; that station began broadcasting WXRV programming on May 2, 2014, though WWHK broadcasts separate news, weather, and advertising.[25][26] Later that month, WXRV added a translator in Needham, Massachusetts, W243DC (96.5 FM).

See also

References
  1. Fybush, Scott (May 21, 1996). "New England RadioWatch". Retrieved December 28, 2011.
  2. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. B-188. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  3. "NHAB Alumni: Frank Estes". New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters. October 28, 2001. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  4. Fybush, Scott (April 2, 1999). "The Eagle Has Crash-Landed". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  5. Wollman, Garrett. "WTPL promo vehicle". New Hampshire, June, 2005. Archives @ BostonRadio.org. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  6. Fybush, Scott (December 26, 1999). "Citadel Bulks Up in Worcester". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  7. Fybush, Scott (January 28, 2000). "Welcome Back WMEX, and We Take On LPFM". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  8. Fybush, Scott (March 22, 2004). "Vox Sells 10 More to Nassau". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  9. Fybush, Scott (April 7, 2008). "CBS Cutbacks Hit Local TV Staffs". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  10. Fybush, Scott (February 7, 2005). "Qantum Buys the Cape; Cherry Creek Buys the East End; WSMN Goes Dark". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  11. "Nassau Broadcasting Brings A Championship To New Hampshire" (Press release). Nassau Broadcasting Partners. October 26, 2007.
  12. "Entercom-Nassau Deal Falls Through". Radio Ink. January 4, 2008. Archived from the original on February 9, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2008.
  13. "FCC Denies Waiver Bid, Rules Nassau Must End JSA". Radio Ink. August 12, 2008. Archived from the original on December 28, 2013. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  14. Fybush, Scott (August 25, 2008). "Atlantic Coast, Nassau Shake Up Maine". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved August 26, 2008.
  15. Fybush, Scott (September 8, 2008). ""Now" Time at Philly's WJJZ". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  16. Fybush, Scott (September 29, 2008). "Scranton's Ron Allen Dies". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  17. Hanna, Maddie (March 21, 2009). "Off-air station purchased; future unclear". Concord Monitor. Retrieved March 21, 2009.
  18. Fybush, Scott (July 27, 2009). "Whither Pulse?". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved July 27, 2009.
  19. http://boards.radio-info.com/smf/index.php?topic=165514.0 WTPL on WWHK
  20. Sumereau, Andrew T. (June 24, 2011). "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
  21. "Resumption of Operations". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 15, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  22. "Resumption of Operations". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 8, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  23. "Notification of Suspension of Operations / Request for Silent STA". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. June 11, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  24. Lavoie, Rebecca (August 8, 2012). "From Classic Rock to Classical Pop". New Hampshire Public Radio. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
  25. WWHK Concord Begins WXRV Simulcast
  26. Doyle, Megan (May 1, 2014). "92.5 the River begins simulcast on Concord station". Concord Monitor. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
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