WFRD
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| Broadcast area | |
| Frequency | 99.3MHz |
| Branding | 99 Rock WFRD |
| Programming | |
| Format | Mainstream rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Sugar River Media, LLC |
| History | |
First air date | February 19, 1976 |
Call signmeaning | "FM RadioDartmouth" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 68281 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 6,000watts |
| HAAT | 100 meters (330 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°39′14.3″N72°17′42.5″W/ 43.653972°N 72.295139°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
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| Website | wfrd |
WFRD(99.3MHz"99 Rock" ) is acommercialFMradio stationlicensed toHanover, New Hampshire,and owned and operated by Sugar River Media. The station's studios are located inRandolph, Vermont.[2]WFRD airs amainstream rockradio formatwith somealternative rockandclassic rocktracks. Previously, it was owned and operated byDartmouth Broadcastingfrom a studio on theDartmouth Collegecampus.
In addition to a standardanalog transmission,WFRD is available online.
Programming
[edit]The station'splayliston weekdays is mostlymainstream rock,plusalternative rockandclassic rocktitles. Weekday mornings feature Chris Garrett and the "Rock N Go Morning Show".
History
[edit]WFRD's history goes back more than four decades. On February 19, 1976, WFRD firstsigned onthe air.[3]It originally broadcast a wide variety of music, fromclassical,jazz,folk musictoprogressive rock,punk rockandnew wave music.[4]Thecall lettersstand for "FM Radio Dartmouth", referring to Dartmouth College. There was a lengthy debate over whether to choose WDCR-FM to link the FM station with its former AM companion, 1340WDCR(now defunct), or to give the new FM station an independent identity. Among the arguments for an independent identity was the possibility of selling the AM station once FM became the more popular broadcast band.
Around 2001, WFRD began playing amodern rockformat, although by the 2010s, WFRD began including other genres of current rock.
As of2014,the station left theNielsen BDSAlternative Rock indicator panel and was added to the Nielsen BDS Mainstream Rock indicator panel.
In June 2021, Dartmouth Broadcasting announced plans to sell the station, citing ongoing unprofitability and low student involvement in its operations as deciding factors. The online station WDCR and Dartmouth Broadcasting itself were not part of the planned sale.[5]On October 13, 2021, Sugar River Media, owner of several other stations in the Lebanon-Hanover-White River Junction area (includingWNTK-FMandWUVR), announced its acquisition of WFRD.[6]
Notable alumni
[edit]- Eric Wellman '91, currentprogram directoratWAXQ( "Q104.3" ) inNew York City
- Eric MacDonald '04, former program director at WCTZ ( "96.7 The Coast" ) inNorwalk, Connecticut(nowWARW)
See also
[edit]Further reading
[edit]Brooks, Tim,College Radio Days: 70 Years of Student Broadcasting at Dartmouth College,Greenwich CT: Glenville Press, 2014.
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WFRD".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"FM Station WFRD".Licensing & Databases PUBLIC INSPECTION FILE.FCC.RetrievedJune 20,2023.
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-131
- ^Brooks, Tim,College Radio Days,p. 199.
- ^Dartmouth to Sell Commercial Radio Station, WFRD (99 Rock)Dartmouth News, June 22, 2021
- ^Venta, Lance (October 13, 2021)."Sugar River Media Acquires WFRD From Dartmouth College".RadioInsight.RetrievedOctober 14,2021.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Facility details for Facility ID 68281 (WFRD)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- WFRDinNielsen Audio's FM station database