WXRK-LP

WXRK-LP is an Active Rock and Alternative Rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Charlottesville, Virginia, serving Charlottesville and Albemarle County in Virginia.[1] WXRK-LP is owned and operated by Blue Ridge Free Media.[6][2]

WXRK-LP
Broadcast areaMetro Charlottesville
Albemarle County, Virginia
Frequency92.3 FM MHz
Branding"Rock Hits 92-3"
Programming
FormatActive Rock
Alternative Rock[1]
Ownership
OwnerBlue Ridge Free Media[2]
History
First air date
September 7, 2015[3][2]
Former call signs
WXRK-LP (2015–Present)[4]
Call sign meaning
callsign previously held by rock station, WXRK/New York[5]
Technical information
Facility ID192547
ClassL1
Power21 Watts
HAAT63 meters (207 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
38°4′39.50″N 78°28′20.00″W[6]
Links
WebcastWXRK-LP Webstream
WebsiteWXRK-LP Online

History

WXRK-LP signed on the air on September 7, 2015.[3] The callsign for the station was previous held by WXRK-FM in New York City.[5] From its outset, the station has aired a combination of Active Rock and Alternative Rock.[3]

In September 2019, Saga Communications, which operates the Charlottesville Radio Group under the Tidewater Communications licensee, filed a petition with the FCC requesting that WXRK-LP's license not be renewed.[7][8] Saga claimed the station, along with other Charlottesville-based low-power FMs, were operating as "a de facto cluster".[8] The station's founder Mike Friend called the petition to deny "'legal junk' and a deliberate 'misinterpretation' of FCC rules".[9] Friend pointed to other attempts by Saga to shutter low-power FM stations within Saga markets.[9]

Saga, in 2004, claimed that KFLO-LP in Jonesboro, Arkansas was airing announcements that "sound suspiciously like commercials".[9] Saga also petitioned the FCC to revoke the license of WLCQ-LP, a Christian station in the Springfield, Massachusetts market, "for equipment violations" in 2015.[9] In both cases, the FCC "admonished the station" but denied Saga's complaints.[9]

Jeff Lenert, co-founder of then-Progressive Talk station WPVC-LP, said that "though [the stations] share a building" all of "the stations all operate separately, having only limited and largely incidental contact with each other."[10] Lenert turned in the license for WPVC-LP on June 16, 2020, "As a result of the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic and recent increased costs of station ownership and operation, it has become impossible to operate station WPVC-LP in the manner that I wish."[11] Lenert largely blamed the "legal action by Saga Communications combined with a loss of sponsors during the pandemic" for the signing off of that station.[12][13]

As of late-March 2024, the FCC has not acted on the Petition from Saga and WXRK-LP continues to broadcast.[2]

References
  1. "Arbitron Station Information Profiles". Nielsen Audio/Nielsen Holdings. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  2. "WXRK-LP - FCCdata.org - powered by REC". REC Networks. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  3. "Rock Hits 92.3 - Testing...testing...1, 2, 3..." Blue Ridge Free Media/Facebook. September 7, 2015. Retrieved September 7, 2015.
  4. "Call Sign History". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  5. Kreps, Daniel (March 10, 2009). "New York Loses Biggest Rock Radio Station (Again): K-Rock Shifts to Top 40". Rolling Stone. New York, New York: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  6. "WXRK-LP Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  7. "Charlottesville Radio Group". Saga Communications. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  8. "Saga Hits Charlottesville LPFMs For Operating As A Radio Cluster". InsideRadio. September 11, 2019. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  9. Provence, Lisa (October 16, 2019). "License to bully?: Local nonprofit stations say Saga is out to bankrupt them". C-VILLE Weekly. Charlottesville, Virginia: C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  10. Hammel, Tyler (September 29, 2019). "WINA owner files complaint against local nonprofit radio stations". The Daily Progress. Charlottesville, Virginia: Lee Enterprises. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  11. "6-17-20 Letter to J. Bradshaw re License Cancellation (WPVC-LP Charlottesville VA - Promise Land Communications).pdf" (PDF). Federal Communications Commission, audio division. June 16, 2020. Retrieved July 9, 2020.
  12. "Local radio station goes silent". WCAV-TV/Lockwood Broadcast Group. June 17, 2020. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  13. Provence, Lisa (June 25, 2020). "Radio silence: Progressive station signs off; Saga sacks six, gears up for more acquisitions". C-VILLE Weekly. Charlottesville, Virginia: C-VILLE Weekly. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
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