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WPLW-FM

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Coordinates:35°23′52.6″N78°8′6″W/ 35.397944°N 78.13500°W/35.397944; -78.13500
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For the FM radio station that used the call letters from 2010 to 2023, seeWKXU (FM).

WPLW-FM
Broadcast areaRaleigh/Goldsboro/
Rocky Mount/Greenville, North Carolina
Frequency96.9MHz
BrandingPulse FM
Programming
FormatTop 40/CHR
Ownership
Owner
WBBB,WGBR,WKJO,WKIX-FM,WKIX,WKXU,WPTF,WQDR,WQDR-FM
History
First air date
1946(1946)(as WGBR-FM at 99.7)
Former call signs
  • WGBR-FM (1946–1949)
  • WEQR (1949–1989)
  • WKTC (1989–1998)
  • WKIX (1998–2001)
  • WYMY-FM (2001)
  • WYMY (2001–2013)
  • WBZJ (2013–2014)
  • WWPL (2014–2023)[1]
Former frequencies
  • 99.7 MHz (1946–1950)
  • 93.3 MHz (1950–1954)
Call signmeaning
"Pulse"
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID48369
ClassC0
ERP100,000watts
HAAT300 meters (980 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
35°23′52.6″N78°8′6″W/ 35.397944°N 78.13500°W/35.397944; -78.13500
Translator(s)
103.7W279EJ (Hillsborough)
Repeater(s)94.7WQDR-FM HD2(Raleigh)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitethenewpulsefm.com

WPLW-FM(96.9MHz,"Pulse FM" ) is acontemporary hitradio stationlicensed toGoldsboro, North Carolina,which is east of theRaleigh-Durham Triangle.The station is owned byCurtis Media Group.Its studios are located in Raleigh, and the transmitter tower is nearPrinceton, North Carolina.

History

[edit]

Originally WGBR-FM at 99.7 FM and then 93.3 FM, this Goldsboro station for most of its early history originally simulcast its AM counterpart. It switched its call letters to WEQR in 1949. During much of the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the station, under the nickname "Q96", underwent several format changes over the years includingsoft rock(1978–1980),contemporary rock(1980–1984) andadult contemporary(to 1987) until evolving into aCHRstation. In 1989, Curtis Media Group bought the station and moved thecountry musicformat and calls of Tarboro'sWKTCfrom 104.3 to 96.9. The WEQR letters andhot adult contemporaryformat went to the former WOKN at 102.3 FM. "Katie Country" existed at 96.9 until January 9, 1998. The 96.9 frequency was then given the WKIX calls from what is nowWBBB.This station also ran a country format, simulcasting withWKXUinBurlingtonas "Kix 96.9 and 101.1".[3][4]This station simulcastWWMYfrom 2001 to 2003 as an 80s station until it changed its format and language.[citation needed]

On March 7, 2003, at 5p.m., WYMY broke from the WWMY simulcast and flipped toregional Mexicanas "La Ley 96.9". With the flip, the station became the strongest FM Spanish-language station in the Southeastern United States.[5]The last song on "Star" was "La Bamba"byLos Lobos,while the first song on "La Ley" was "La Cucaracha"byKumbia Kings.

On April 3, 2012, WYMY began a simulcast onWZTK(101.1 FM) inBurlington, North Carolina,[5]which lasted until January 3, 2013.

Logo while simulcasting with WPLW-FM

On January 3, 2013, at 12:00 a.m., WYMY changed its format to urban adult contemporary, branded as "96.9 BZJ", and changed call letters to WBZJ.[6]The radio station carried the nationally syndicatedSteve HarveyMorning Show andurban adult contemporaryprogramming throughout the remainder of the day.

On March 11, 2014, WBZJ changed its format back to regional Mexican, once again branded as "La Ley 96.9" and simulcastingWYMY.[7]On September 3, 2014, WBZJ changed its format to CHR, branded as "Pulse FM", simulcasting WPLW (102.5 FM).[8]On September 11, WBZJ changed its call letters to WWPL to go with the "Pulse FM" branding, as the former WWPL on 102.3 changed its calls to WFNL-FM.

A realignment of Curtis Media Group's Raleigh stations on December 26, 2022, saw WPLW-FM replace "Pulse FM" with a simulcast ofWKIX-FM,reducing the format's reach in theDurhamportion of the market. Concurrently, a pair oftranslatorson 104.7, which had been carrying the programming ofWKIX AM,joined WWPL in carrying "Pulse FM", improving the format's coverage of Raleigh.[9]The realignment was prompted by Curtis Media Group's re-acquisition of 102.3 FM (nowWKJO),[9]a move made possible after WWPL was deemed to no longer count as a Raleigh–Durham market station for the purposes of ownership limits.[10]

On January 11, 2023, translator W279EJ 103.7 returned on the air, simulcasting "Pulse FM" and restoring coverage to much of the Durham portion of the market.[11]Also, 96.9 changed its call letters to WPLW-FM, as 102.5 changed its call sign from WPLW-FM back toWKXU.

Translators

[edit]
Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP(W) Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
W284CD 104.7 FM Youngsville, North Carolina 148873 250 D 36°3′56.5″N78°29′25″W/ 36.065694°N 78.49028°W/36.065694; -78.49028(W284CD) LMS
W284CP 104.7 FM Raleigh, North Carolina 148876 99 D 35°47′35.5″N78°45′37″W/ 35.793194°N 78.76028°W/35.793194; -78.76028(W284CP) LMS
W279EJ 103.7 FM Hillsborough, North Carolina 152725 250 D 36°6′13.7″N78°57′55.7″W/ 36.103806°N 78.965472°W/36.103806; -78.965472(W279EJ) LMS

References

[edit]
  1. ^"Call Sign History (WPLW-FM)".FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.RetrievedMarch 24,2009.
  2. ^"Facility Technical Data for WPLW-FM".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^"Raleigh-Durham FM Dial".Archived fromthe originalon February 1, 2003.RetrievedApril 29,2010.
  4. ^David Menconi, "KIX Walks; 96.1 to Shift",News & Observer,January 9, 1998.
  5. ^ab"Raleigh-Durham's La Ley 96.9 to add second FM signal; expands coverage west to Greensboro-Winston Salem-High Point market".Curtis Media Group.RetrievedApril 6,2012.
  6. ^"Curtis Media Launches 96.9 WBZJ Raleigh".January 3, 2013.
  7. ^La Ley Raleigh Returns to 96.9
  8. ^Pulse 102 Raleigh Moves on to 96.9
  9. ^abVenta, Lance (December 26, 2022)."Curtis Media Shuffles Multiple Raleigh/Durham Formats".RadioInsight.RetrievedDecember 26,2022.
  10. ^Venta, Lance (December 18, 2022)."WKJO Becomes Christmas 102.3".RadioInsight.RetrievedDecember 26,2022.
  11. ^"Pulse-FM Returns To Durham - RadioInsight".January 11, 2023.RetrievedJanuary 11,2023.
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