WPLN-FM

WPLN-FM

Nashville, Tennessee United States
Broadcast area	Nashville metropolitan area
Frequency	90.3MHz(HD Radio)
Branding	Nashville Public Radio
Programming
Format	News/talk(Public)
Subchannels	HD2:Classical music HD3:BBC World Service(Full Time)
Affiliations	National Public Radio Public Radio Exchange BBC World Service
Ownership
Owner	Nashville Public Radio
Sister stations	WNXP
History
First air date	December 17, 1962(December 17, 1962)
Call signmeaning	"Public Library of Nashville"
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	53821
Class	C
ERP	80,000watts
HAAT	345 meters (1,132 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	36°2′8.2″N86°50′55″W
Repeater(s)	91.7WHRS (Cookeville) 91.5WTML (Tullahoma)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.wpln.org

WPLN-FM(90.3MHz), is anon-commercialpublicradio stationinNashville, Tennessee.It airs anews, talk and informationradio formatand is owned by Nashville Public Radio along with sister stationWNXP.The station'sstudiosand offices are located on Mainstream Drive north of downtown Nashville, which are considered among the finest radio production facilities in the U.S. WPLN-FM issimulcaston two low-powered repeaters on the fringes of the Middle Tennessee area:WHRS(91.7FM) inCookevilleandWTML(91.5 FM) inTullahoma.

WPLN-FM has aneffective radiated powerof 80,000watts.Thetransmitteris on Johnson Chapel Road West inBrentwood, Tennessee,near theLittle Harpeth River.The signal reaches most ofMiddle Tennesseeand some counties in southernKentucky.WPLN-FM shares thetowerwith other Nashville FM stations:WRLT,WKDFandWNRQ.It has broadcast from that site since 1984.

Programming

WPLN-FM offersnationally syndicatedpublic radio programs with local news updates. Weekdays featureMorning Edition,All Things Considered,Fresh AirwithTerry Gross,1A,Here and Nowand overnight, theBBC World Service.This Is Nashville,a local weekday interview show, is broadcast at noon and repeated at 7 p.m.

Weekends feature hour-long public radio specialty shows, includingWait, Wait, Don't Tell Me!,Snap Judgment,Radio Lab,The New Yorker Radio Hour,Hidden Brain,The Splendid Table,You Bet Your Garden,Freakonomics Radio,TED Radio HourandTravel with Rick Steves

As is the case with other similarly-formatted NPR affiliates, WPLN-FM only broadcasts music programming on Saturday evenings, with a mixture of folk and alternative rock shows. WPLN-FM broadcasts usingHD Radiotechnology. Its HD-2digital subchanneloffers theBBC World Serviceand co-owned 91.1 WNXP playsadult alternative music.Nashville Public Radio holds periodic on-the-airfundraisersand seeks donations on its website to support the services.

History

Former logo

Nashville Public Library

WPLN began as a modest extension ofNashville Public Library.Itsigned onthe air on December 17, 1962. The studios were in the Richland Park library branch on Charlotte Avenue in West Nashville. It broadcast a limited schedule, almost entirelyclassical music,and only on Mondays through Fridays. The power was limited and the station was only heard in and around the city of Nashville proper. A year later, Nashville andDavidson Countymerged to form ametropolitan government.The library, and with it WPLN, became an arm of the new structure.

WPLN was one of only a few non-commercial FM licenses held by a public library system in the U.S. In most cases, libraries usually operate radio frequencies only for radio-reading services for the blind and visually impaired, signals that are available only on special receivers.

In 1965, the library moved the station into the then-newly constructed main library downtown. By that time, the station had begun operating a full seven days a week. The station was one of the 73 charter members ofNational Public Radioin 1970. It was one of the first public radio stations inThe Southto join the network. The station's website claims it joined NPR in 1968, but this is incorrect; NPR was not founded until two years later.

Power boost

In 1972, WPLN began broadcasting in stereo and at a full 100,000 watts of power. A "Talking Library" subchannel for blind (and visually impaired) residents of the area began in 1975. Schedule and programming expansion continued at a steady pace throughout the 1980s and 1990s, while WPLN's physical plant did not expand beyond a block of rooms in the library building.

In order to rectify the space shortage and provide more extensive services to the community than was possible under the budgetary and bureaucratic constraints of the public library system, the library board decided, in 1995, to begin proceedings to release the station to an independent community board. The public library relinquished control of WPLN-FM on October 1, 1996, to a group known as "Nashville Public Radio". The station eventually moved out of the library into a modern studio in the Metrocenter area on May 24, 1998.

The success of this move may have prompted the Metropolitan Nashville-Davidson County school system, which operatedpublic televisionoutlet WDCN (channel 8), to follow suit three years later. That station is nowWNPT.

In 2002, Nashville Public Radio purchased an existing Medium Wave station to broadcast NPR and local news, talk, and public affairs programs for which the FM did not originally have time on its schedule. The new WPLN-HD2 and HD3 have given Middle Tennessee residents even more choices of music and spoken-word shows. For more information, seeWYGI.

In early 2006, WPLN-FM began broadcasting withHD Radiotechnology. More information is found below.

Ending classical music

On September 8, 2009, WPLN-FM discontinued its 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. classical music programming in favor of a block of news-and-talk programs from NPR and other providers.That action reflected a trend in medium-sized markets towards orienting public radio schedules in favor of more popular (and perhaps more accessible) political and features programming and away from classical music, whose audiences are aging, according to market researchers.

However, the demand for the spoken-word programs grew to the point that station officials decided to acquire theVanderbilt University-owned student stationWRVUand convert it into a full-time classical music station,WFCL,on 91.1 FM, on June 7, 2011. WPLN thereafter became a full-time news-and-talk station, with feature programming on weekends.

Beginning on November 30, 2020, the classical music on the main channel of 91.1 FM ended.WFCL became WNXP (with the call sign actually having changed in early October) and classical programming was replaced by an eclectic music format, largely revolving around theadult album alternativegenre. Classical music moved to the HD-2 signal.

Governance

WPLN is governed by a self-perpetuating board of directors, with a separate board of local residents who advise the board of directors on the needs of the listening area.

HD Radio

In addition to the main FM channel, WPLN now has twodigitalmulticast stations: 90.3 FM HD-2 and 90.3 FM HD-3.

Initially, 90.3 HD-2 featured primarily classical music and music programs, such asThe World CafeandEchoes.In June 2011, following the launch of Classical 91 One, 90.3 HD-2 switched to carrying time-shifted programming from WPLN's main channel. On May 22, 2014, after WPLN discontinued WRVU from its HD3 channel, and movedXPoNential Radiofrom its HD2 channel, to broadcasting full-time on its HD3 channel, WPLN replaced its time-shifted programming from WPLN's main channel with a simulcast of its AM sister station,WPLN (1430 AM).XPoNential Radio was previously heard on WPLN HD2 overnights, from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. As mentioned above, in November 2020, classical music replaced all the previous programming on HD-2, music that was heard since 2011 on the former WFCL.

The HD-3 channel initially carried much of the same programming as WPLN (AM). In June 2011, the HD-3 subchannel was temporarily silenced. On September 1, 2011, at noon, 90.3 HD-3 returned to the air, returning thecollege alternativeformat of Vanderbilt University's WRVU to the Nashville airwaves. This lasted until May 22, 2014, when WPLN discontinued WRVU from its HD3 signal (due to low ratings) and replaced it with XPoNential Radio. WRVU's programming is now solely available online, with no terrestrial broadcasting. Beginning in 2020, the simulcast of WPLN (AM) moved to the HD-3 subchannel of WPLN-FM, replacing XPoNential Radio.

These multicast stations can be heard using anHD Radioreceiver. 90.3 HD-2 and 90.3 HD-3 can also be streamed on the internet through WPLN's website.

Simulcasts

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	FID	ERP (W)	HAAT	Class	Transmitter coordinates	FCC info
WHRS	91.7 FM	Cookeville, Tennessee	66292	500	117 m (384 ft)	A	36°8′34.2″N85°28′1.9″W	LMS
WTML	91.5 FM	Tullahoma, Tennessee	94201	1,550	82 m (269 ft)	A	35°23′53.3″N86°8′40″W	LMS

External links

• Official website
• WPLN-HD2 digital signal
• Facility details for Facility ID 53821 (WPLN-FM)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
• WPLN-FMinNielsen Audio's FM station database