Stephen Mindich's Phoenix Media/Communications Group is selling its Maine/NH FM satellite of WFNX for a cool million to the owner of daytimer WXEX/1540 in Exeter, NH. Is WXEX about to get a FM simulcast partner of its own, or does Andrew Hartmann have something else up his sleeve? Hopefully Mindich will now invest enough in WPHX(AM) to get it operational before its license is deleted!
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WPHX-FM/Sanford, ME sold
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I suspect some sort of simulcast although the overlap isn't exactly perfect. I suspect the AM is dead, there's just no point in it being a stand alone unless it's attached to some nice billing FMs.
Look at all the AMs in Maine, they're all licensed to major cities and/or are attached to FMs. The two 1400/1490 simulcasts (Citadel in Augusta and Saga in Portland) are add ons to the stronger FMs although both have their audiences. WSKW Skowhegan is sports but the money lies with the 2 FMs Mountain Wireless has. Stephen King basically pulled the plug on 620 in Bangor and moved 103.1 towards bangor and simulcasts it. WDEA is an add-on for Cumulus, Dick Gleason has 780, 1450 & 1240 but his country FMs pay the bills (but the AMs are heritage and can bill). JJ Jeffery's AMs are simulcasts of stronger FMs (In fact when he blew up 95.9 WRED and switched 96.3 from talk to sports, putting the talk on AM only he reversed course and put talk back on 95.5)
That leaves Dan Prestly's 2 conservo-talkers and WEGP. 1 of Prestly's AMs has an FM translator and it seems he has enough money for a small staff and to pay the bills, but nothing (other than commercials) is local. WEGP is licensed to Presque Isle and has a massive signal in the heart of Aroostook County, that pays the bills. Even locally owned WQDY pulled the plug on their AM after they couldn't find an owner after buying WCRQ.
Add Sanford to the list of "The AM is dead but the FM lives on". Farmington, Dover-Foxcroft, Houlton and Calais are amongst that list in Maine.
Look at all the AMs in Maine, they're all licensed to major cities and/or are attached to FMs. The two 1400/1490 simulcasts (Citadel in Augusta and Saga in Portland) are add ons to the stronger FMs although both have their audiences. WSKW Skowhegan is sports but the money lies with the 2 FMs Mountain Wireless has. Stephen King basically pulled the plug on 620 in Bangor and moved 103.1 towards bangor and simulcasts it. WDEA is an add-on for Cumulus, Dick Gleason has 780, 1450 & 1240 but his country FMs pay the bills (but the AMs are heritage and can bill). JJ Jeffery's AMs are simulcasts of stronger FMs (In fact when he blew up 95.9 WRED and switched 96.3 from talk to sports, putting the talk on AM only he reversed course and put talk back on 95.5)
That leaves Dan Prestly's 2 conservo-talkers and WEGP. 1 of Prestly's AMs has an FM translator and it seems he has enough money for a small staff and to pay the bills, but nothing (other than commercials) is local. WEGP is licensed to Presque Isle and has a massive signal in the heart of Aroostook County, that pays the bills. Even locally owned WQDY pulled the plug on their AM after they couldn't find an owner after buying WCRQ.
Add Sanford to the list of "The AM is dead but the FM lives on". Farmington, Dover-Foxcroft, Houlton and Calais are amongst that list in Maine.
Interesting...wonder if any offers have been made on WFEX
I listen to WPHX often, and will miss it. It's great however that is went to someone actually doing local radio !
CatCall said:I hope this is the end of FNX in Maine and the seacoast. I've disliked that station ever since they took over WCDQ (Mt Rialto Radio). WXEX AM has a good mix of oldies/classic hits and would be great in FM.
I liked the old WSME-FM (92.1) back in the mid to late 70's when they ran Drake-Chenault's Hit Parade during the week and Classic Gold on the weekend. The station had a nice sound and really good Stereo separation. They used the Billy Moore time checks and Glenn Wilde (sp) did the weather and local inserts.They had a lot of local programs including a "Swap Shop" and "The Electric Church" (on Sundays) as well. If WXEX goes all-oldies on FM, that would be super. It might be good to get the old WSME-FM call-letters (as in Sanford, ME). As for 1220, I hope someone would resurrect that daytimer. It's got 220 watts at night, more than enough to cover the Greater Sanford/Springvale area. It might be a good local voice for an area that has been without any meaningful local service for sometime. Let's see.......
Yes, I remember when WSME-FM 92.1 was Hit Parade. For a while there were Hit Parade stations all over Northern New England... WABK-AM-FM 1280/104.1 Gardiner ME, 102.3 WWSR-FM St. Albans VT, 107.1 WORK Barre VT and probably others I'm forgetting.
For those who don't remember, it was an automated AC format but all the song titles were announced and time checks were also given. The format alternated between two current/recent hits and two songs that were several years old, back and forth all day and night.
The owner of WXEX likes the format so much, he's posted on the Northern New England board before, when we were discussing Oldies stations that no longer play soft hits, even by giant stars, like The Carpenters and Barry Manilow. (He says WXEX still does.) So if WXEX is getting an FM sister, I'm sure it will simulcast the AM station. But like Hit Parade, I think automated or voice tracked stations should still give us the artist and title of the songs.
Gregg
[email protected]
For those who don't remember, it was an automated AC format but all the song titles were announced and time checks were also given. The format alternated between two current/recent hits and two songs that were several years old, back and forth all day and night.
The owner of WXEX likes the format so much, he's posted on the Northern New England board before, when we were discussing Oldies stations that no longer play soft hits, even by giant stars, like The Carpenters and Barry Manilow. (He says WXEX still does.) So if WXEX is getting an FM sister, I'm sure it will simulcast the AM station. But like Hit Parade, I think automated or voice tracked stations should still give us the artist and title of the songs.
Gregg
[email protected]
newsbot said:Hopefully Mindich will now invest enough in WPHX(AM) to get it operational before its license is deleted!
1220 AM is back on the air now simulcasting FNX-FM.
Is there any timetable when the new buyers are taking over?
92.1 has gone oldies. Elton John- Rocketman is playing right now. Just heard a jingle saying WXEX.jlehmann said:There's a post on WFNX's Facebook page this morning saying that WPHX-FM has been sold and is no longer broadcasting WFNX. Not being in range right now myself, can someone report what they're currently broadcasting?
I think it must have been shut off because even in my yard here in Sanford I couldn't even receive AM 1220. It was just static. The only AMs I could get on my Grundig were 680 WRKO, 850 WEEI, 930 WGIN, 1030 WBZ and 1400 WVAE. I wonder what FNX is going to do with AM 1220?CatCall said:Does anyone know the status of WPHX-AM? I drove through Lebanon ME this afternoon and AM 1220 wasn't on.
wpxt said:I wonder what FNX is going to do with AM 1220?
Wait til someone comes along to overpay for it. It happened in Lowell, so why not in Sanford?
CatCall said:WPHX-FM, or now WXEX, sounds great! They're still using ads from Exeter NH's AM 1540 on the Sanford FM.
I think the WXEX simulcast is permanent (They're IDing as WXEX Exeter/WXEX Fm Sanford, even though the legal call letters haven't changed yet)
From the website it seems like they're pushing 92.1 over 1540 (and they've dropped the "oldies" references too). I think FNX had sales office space in Sanford, WXEX will probably continue using that but broadcasting from their Exeter home. If they have the resources to split the simulcast during commercial breaks, they should do it but if they can handle both commercial loads for the 2 areas then they won't change a thing.
M
MikeMurphy
Guest
Mainedude2007 said:CatCall said:WPHX-FM, or now WXEX, sounds great! They're still using ads from Exeter NH's AM 1540 on the Sanford FM.
I think the WXEX simulcast is permanent (They're IDing as WXEX Exeter/WXEX Fm Sanford, even though the legal call letters haven't changed yet)
From the website it seems like they're pushing 92.1 over 1540 (and they've dropped the "oldies" references too). I think FNX had sales office space in Sanford, WXEX will probably continue using that but broadcasting from their Exeter home. If they have the resources to split the simulcast during commercial breaks, they should do it but if they can handle both commercial loads for the 2 areas then they won't change a thing.
Make note that it appears off the following FCC link that the WXEX-FM call sign was authorized this past Tuesday the 9th (http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws...ll_hist.pl?Facility_id=74067&Callsign=WPHX-FM)
The new WXEX gets mentioned in a couple of the local newspapers:
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110823/GJBUSINESS_01/708239982/-1/FOSNEWS
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20110824-NEWS-110829861
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110823/GJBUSINESS_01/708239982/-1/FOSNEWS
http://www.seacoastonline.com/articles/20110824-NEWS-110829861
For the past week I've been picking up WXEX-FM regularly in South Portland.Rarely could I pick up WPHX.92.1 was never a great signal.Maybe they did some fine tuning.When WPHX came on they had sales people in the Old Port in Portland hyping the station.I told them we couldn't pick it up here.They said they were going to fix that,but they never did.I like the music.And they are now I D'ing WXEX FM SAnford,Portsmouth,Dover Rochester.
92.1 WXEX-FM was off the air yesterday, I'm guessing due to the storm. In its place I was able to pick up WFEX from Peterborough NH on my car radio in Dover NH, and even at the coast in Maine at York Beach. The coverage map on rado-locator shows the WFEX signal to only reach as far east as about Epping NH. Is the map accurate?
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