WFNQ

For other radio stations that have held the WFNQ call sign, see WFNQ (disambiguation).
WFNQ
Broadcast areaManchester, New Hampshire
Frequency106.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding106.3 Frank FM
Programming
FormatClassic hits
SubchannelsHD2: VSiN (Sports gambling)
AffiliationsNew England Patriots Radio Network
Ownership
Owner
  • Binnie Media
  • (WBIN Media Co., Inc.)
WEMJ, WJYY, WLNH-FM, WNNH, WNHW, WTPL
History
First air date
October 19, 1987; 37 years ago (1987-10-19)
Former call signs
WHOB (1987–2005)
Call sign meaning
"Frank"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID23329
ClassA
ERP6,000 watts
HAAT81 meters (266 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
42°49′36.3″N 71°30′8.2″W / 42.826750°N 71.502278°W / 42.826750; -71.502278 (WFNQ)
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Websitefrankfmradio.com

WFNQ (106.3 FM; "Frank FM") is a radio station in Nashua, New Hampshire, serving the Manchester area with a classic hits radio format. It is owned by Binnie Media. The station's studios are on Church Street in Concord, and its transmitter is located in Merrimack, just west of the Merrimack Premium Outlets.

WFNQ can also be received in the northern portion of the Boston media market. The station has FM co-channel interference with Providence-market WWKX past this area.

WFNQ is the flagship station of a three-station network under the Frank FM branding. WLNH-FM (98.3) in Laconia (serving the Lakes Region) and WBYY (98.7) in Somersworth (serving the Seacoast Region) share WFNQ's playlist and branding, but have separate commercials. Additionally, WNNH (99.1) in Henniker previously served as a full simulcast of WFNQ for areas north and west of Manchester; it is now an active rock station.

History

The 106.3 allocation in Nashua was originally assigned to WOTW-FM, which went on the air in March 1948,[2] lost its license in 1977,[3] and continued operating under an interim operator from 1978 to June 30, 1985.[4][5] After the revocation of the licenses for WOTW-FM and WOTW (900 AM) and a nine-year licensing process,[6] Gateway Broadcasting Associates was granted authority to build a new FM station in 1986;[3] the AM frequency was separately awarded to Merrimack Valley Broadcasting,[3][6] who would put WMVU on the air in 1992.[7] Gateway, controlled by Mario DiCarlo, selected the call sign WHOB in reference to the station's honey bee logo, which was intended to symbolize that it would be "an industrious station".[8] Following several delays, WHOB signed on at 6 a.m. on October 19, 1987.[9][10] In its early years, WHOB primarily focused on the Nashua area,[10] though its signal, originating from a tower in Hudson,[8] reached from Concord to Route 128 in Burlington, Massachusetts.[10]

Pre-2021 versions of the "Frank FM" logo; each version reflects the different formats used under this brand.

At one time a CHR station, the station began mixing in modern rock in 1996,[11] and had shifted to hot adult contemporary by 1999, when DiCarlo retired and sold WHOB to Tele-Media.[12] Tele-Media sold WHOB, along with WNNH in Henniker and WLKZ in Wolfeboro, to Nassau Broadcasting Partners in 2004.[13] Nassau dropped the hot AC format in favor of the "Frank FM" classic hits format (the second Nassau station, after WFNK in Lewiston, Maine, to do so) and the WFNQ callsign on March 17, 2005.[14]

The station, along with 16 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by WBIN Media Company, a company controlled by Bill Binnie, on May 22, 2012. Binnie already owned WBIN-TV in Derry and WYCN-LP in Nashua.[15][16] The deal was completed on November 30, 2012.[17]

On June 1, 2015, WFNQ shifted its format to classic rock. It switched back to classic hits in 2018.

WFNQ's logo from when it was simulcast over WNNH

On April 1, 2019, WNNH in Henniker began simulcasting WFNQ, bringing the station's programming to areas north and west of Manchester, including Concord.[18] On May 24, 2019, WLNH-FM in Laconia and WBYY in Somersworth began carrying WFNQ's programming, but with separate advertising, forming a regional network.[19] The "Frank FM" network transitioned to a hot adult contemporary format during 2021;[20] during this transition, on September 3, 2021, WNNH left the network and launched its own active rock format.[21]

Pink version of the "Frank FM" logo, used under the hot AC format

After morning host Marc Nazzaro (who used the air name "DJ Nazzy") was laid off from "Frank FM" in January 2023 as part of a refocus of Binnie Media's resources on its news and talk programming, vice president of programming Heath Cole told the Concord Monitor that "the music format that we do will change".[22] On February 1, 2023, WFNQ, along with the rest of the "Frank FM" network, again returned to a classic hits format; the stations also dropped their remaining on-air staff, who were reassigned to other positions within the company.[23]

HD Radio

On May 24, 2023, the format of WFNQ's second HD Radio channel was changed from a simulcast of active rock-formatted WNNH to VSiN's sports gambling network.[24]

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WFNQ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "Station WOTW Observes Eighth Birthday Today". Nashua Telegraph. September 13, 1954. p. 10. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Landrigan, Dan (October 12, 1986). "Two new radio stations to air". The Sunday Telegraph. pp. A1, A10. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  4. ^ "NHAB Alumni: Bob Cohen". New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters. March 24, 2002. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  5. ^ Jones, Cynthia (June 4, 1985). "WOTW to cease operations for good June 30". Nashua Telegraph. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Mertz, Mary (December 30, 1987). "AM station to hit the air soon". The Telegraph. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  7. ^ Bernstein, Hattie (March 19, 1992). "News, talk radio station will be music to their ears". The Telegraph. pp. 1, 9. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Landrigan, Dan (December 3, 1986). "New FM station closer to startup". The Telegraph. p. 64. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  9. ^ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. B-189. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  10. ^ a b c Connors, William W. (October 24, 1987). "'Radio void' filled in Nashua as local FM station hits the air". The Telegraph. p. 40. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  11. ^ Fybush, Scott (April 17, 1996). "New England Radio Watch". Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  12. ^ Fybush, Scott (October 29, 1999). "Citadel Gets Huge, Shuffles Binghamton's AMs". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  13. ^ Fybush, Scott (January 19, 2004). "Anchor in Florida Lands 'BZ in Headlines". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  14. ^ Kennedy, Eileen (March 19, 2005). "Frankly, it's not WHOB anymore". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  15. ^ "Carlisle Capital Corp. Wins Bidding For Rest Of Nassau Stations". All Access. May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  16. ^ "WBIN Media acquires 17 N.E. radio stations". New Hampshire Union Leader. May 23, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  17. ^ Kitch, Michael (December 1, 2012). "Binnie closes on purchase of WLNH". Laconia Daily Sun. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  18. ^ Frank Expands in New Hampshire, https://radioinsight.com/headlines/175811/frank-expands-in-new-hampshire/
  19. ^ Venta, Lance (May 24, 2019). "Binnie Media Makes Trio Of Flips In New Hampshire". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  20. ^ "Binnie Makes Musical Shifts In New Hampshire". RadioInsight. January 6, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  21. ^ Venta, Lance (September 2, 2021). "99.1 The Bone Debuts In Concord". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  22. ^ Duckler, Ray (January 22, 2023). "Even without his longtime role as on-air disc jockey, Nazzy still knows how to throw a party". Concord Monitor. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  23. ^ New Hampshire's Frank-FM Returns to Classic Hits Radioinsight - February 1, 2023
  24. ^ Binnie Media Brings VSiN to New Hampshire Radioinsight - May 24, 2023

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