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WTPA-FM

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Coordinates: 40°10′38.3″N 76°52′36.9″W / 40.177306°N 76.876917°W / 40.177306; -76.876917 (WTPA-FM)
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"WZCY-FM" redirects here. For the Hershey, Pennsylvania, radio station that held the call sign WZCY-FM at 106.7 FM from 2012 to 2018, see WWKL.

WTPA-FM
Broadcast areaHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
Frequency93.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding93.5 WTPA
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatClassic rock
SubchannelsHD2: Simulcast of WHGB (sports)
Ownership
Owner
WHGB, WNNK-FM, WQXA-FM, WWKL
History
First air date
November 1, 1978 (1978-11-01) (as WQVE)[1]
Former call signs
  • WQVE (1977–1983)
  • WKCD-FM (1983–1985)
  • WTPA-FM (1985–1986)
  • WTPA (1986–2011)
  • WWKL (2011–2018)
  • WZCY-FM (2018–2021)
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID54021
ClassA
ERP1,250 watts
HAAT219 meters (719 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°10′38.3″N 76°52′36.9″W / 40.177306°N 76.876917°W / 40.177306; -76.876917 (WTPA-FM)
Translator(s)See § Translators
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.935wtpa.com

WTPA-FM (93.5 MHz, "93.5 WTPA") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and broadcasts a classic rock format. Its broadcast tower is located on Reesers Summit in Fairview Township, York County, at (40°10′38.3″N 76°52′36.9″W / 40.177306°N 76.876917°W / 40.177306; -76.876917).[3]

WTPA-FM broadcasts using HD Radio and simulcasts the sports radio programming of sister station WHGB on its HD2 subchannel.

History

[edit]

The Federal Communications Commission granted West Shore Broadcasting a construction permit for the station on October 5, 1977.[4] The station was assigned the WQVE call sign by the FCC on December 5, 1977,[4] and signed on for the first time on November 1, 1978.[1] Studios were originally located in Mechanicsburg, with the transmitter located north of Dillsburg near Williams Grove.[4]

The branding was changed to Magic 93 in 1982, followed by a call sign change to WKCD.[5]

In 1985, FM104 WTPA changed call signs to WNNK and its branding to Wink 104. At that time, Jim O'Leary was an owner of WKCD, and his wife Caroline O'Leary was the General Manager at WNNK. The two organized a transfer of the WTPA call sign and the station's rock music format to 93.5.[6] In 1987, WTPA relocated its transmitter to a location closer to Harrisburg, along with an increase in effective radiated power from 535 to 830 watts.[7]

By the late 1990s, AMFM, Inc. owned WTPA. AMFM was purchased by Clear Channel Communications in a deal announced on October 3, 1999, and valued at $17.4 billion.[8] As a condition of the Clear Channel-AMFM merger, the United States Department of Justice forced the new company to sell 99 radio stations in 27 markets in United States. WTPA was one, as well as Harrisburg-area stations WNNK-FM, WTCY and WNCE-FM. All went to Cumulus Media.[9]

In 2011, the United States Department of Justice approved the purchase of Citadel Broadcasting by Cumulus, provided that Cumulus divest itself of three stations,[10] two of which were WWKL (the former WNCE-FM) and WCAT-FM as well as the "intellectual property" of WTPA.[11] Cumulus chose to swap the WTPA and WWKL licenses, effectively moving WTPA and its classic rock format to 92.1 and WWKL and its contemporary hit radio format to 93.5. Following the swap, the station changed its branding to Hot 93.5.[12][13]

On March 15, 2018, WWKL flipped to country music as part of a format swap with Nash FM-branded WZCY-FM (the 106.7 facility concurrently took on WWKL's CHR format and Hot branding). The move reduced signal overlap with Cumulus co-owned country station WIOV-FM (which targets the Lancaster, York and Reading radio markets), and gave the CHR format wider coverage in South Central Pennsylvania. Alongside the swap, the Nash FM format from WZCY-FM segued from a hot country format, to one focusing more on country songs and performers from the 1990s and 2000s.[14] The two stations also swapped call signs.

On December 20, 2021, WZCY-FM changed its format from country to classic rock, branded as "93.5 WTPA" under new WTPA-FM call letters, with the first song being "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns N' Roses.[15][a]

HD Radio

[edit]

Cumulus Broadcasting began adding HD Radio equipment to some of its stations in 2005. WTPA was one of the first ten stations to receive the new technology.[16]

The programming of WTPA-FM's second HD Radio channel is simulcast on the following translator:[17]

Broadcast translator for WTPA-FM HD2
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
W243BR 96.5 FM Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 144131 200 223 m (732 ft) D 40°10′38.3″N 76°52′36.9″W / 40.177306°N 76.876917°W / 40.177306; -76.876917 (W243BR) LMS

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ The previous WTPA at 92.1 had been sold to Educational Media Foundation, becoming K-Love station WKHL, in 2018.

References

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  1. ^ a b Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-380. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WTPA-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "FM Query Results for WTPA-FM". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  4. ^ a b c "History Cards for WTPA-FM". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 19, 2018.
  5. ^ Portzline, Timothy (2011). Harrisburg Broadcasting. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia. p. 87. ISBN 9780738575070.
  6. ^ Portzline, Timothy (2011). Harrisburg Broadcasting. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia. p. 99. ISBN 9780738575070.
  7. ^ "Minor Modification to a Construction Permit [WZCY-FM]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. October 20, 1987. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "Clear Channel gets AMFM". CNNMoney. October 4, 1999. Retrieved November 3, 2011.
  9. ^ "Clear Channel-AMFM Merger Gets Approval". Los Angeles Times. Washington. August 30, 2000. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  10. ^ "Cumulus gets antitrust OK to buy Citadel". Reuters. September 8, 2011. Archived from the original on March 6, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  11. ^ Venta, Lance (September 15, 2011). "DOJ Approves Cumulus/Citadel Merger Pending Additional Spinoffs". RadioInsight.com. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  12. ^ "Radio dial rotates 93.5 WTPA, HOT 92.1 and other area stations are undergoing changes". Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2014.
  13. ^ Fybush, Scott (September 12, 2011). "NY, PA Flooded; WEEI Moves to FM". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
  14. ^ "Cumulus Completes Harrisburg Format Swap; Revamps Nash Lineup". RadioInsight. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  15. ^ WTPA Returns To Harrisburg Radioinsight - December 20, 2021
  16. ^ Harnett, Mary Beth (April 24, 2006). "Harris Corporation Announces Multi-Deal Agreement as Exclusive HD Radio(TM) Supplier to Cumulus Broadcasting". EE Times. UBM Canon.[dead link]
  17. ^ "Station Search Details [W243BR]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
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