K275CH (102.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

) is an American commercial FM

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...

licensed A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

Gresham, Oregon Gresham ( ) is a city in the Willamette Valley, Located in Multnomah County in the U.S. state of Oregon, bordered by Portland to the northwest and partially in the southwest. It was first settled in the early 1850s by the Powell brothers. It ...

, and broadcasting to the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metropolitan area, metro area with its urban area, core in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It has 5 principal cities, the largest being Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Man ...

. The station, billed as "WE 102.9," airs a

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

, owned and operated by

Alpha Media Alpha Media LLC is a radio broadcasting company based in Portland, Oregon, and led by Bob Proffitt. The group does business under the Alpha Media name. It was formed from the merger of Alpha Broadcasting, L&L Broadcasting, and Main Line Broadc ...

, which owns six full-strength radio stations in the Portland

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

. K275CH's studios and offices are in the Alpha Media studios located in the PacWest Center on Southwest Fifth Avenue in Portland. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is located off Southwest Fairmount Boulevard, amid other Portland-area FM and TV towers. K275CH broadcasts at only 99

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s while many Portland-area FM stations operate at 100,000 watts. Because the tower is 198 meters (650 feet)

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

, a bit less than the

Empire State Building The Empire State Building is a 102-story, Art Deco-style supertall skyscraper in the Midtown South neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States. The building was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and built from 1930 to 1931. Its n ...

, the station's signal is limited over Portland and its nearby suburbs in Oregon and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

History

K275CH signed on at 102.5 FM in 1994, and repeated contemporary Christian programming from the

K-Love K-Love (stylized as K-LOVE) is an American Christian radio network. Owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF), a non-profit Christian ministry, it primarily broadcasts contemporary Christian music. As of June 2019, the network's progr ...

network. It would later shift to 102.7 FM in 2001. In 2014, Alpha began programming the translator and flipped it to a simulcast of

KXTG KXTG (750 AM, "The Game") is a commercial radio station in Portland, Oregon. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by Alpha Media, a company headed by veteran radio executive Larry Wilson. The studios are on SW 5th Avenue in downtown ...

; the following year, the translator would shift frequencies again to 102.9 FM. The "WE" intellectual property began on August 1, 2016, at 5 p.m., when Alpha Media began operating KWLZ-FM (96.3 FM) under a Local Marketing Agreement with 3 Horizons, and flipped the station's format to Rhythmic CHR, branded as "WE 96-3". The station changed its call sign to

KWEE KXZZ (100.1 FM, "100.1 Hank FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Dayton, Nevada, and serving the Reno metropolitan area and Lake Tahoe. It is owned by Lotus Communications and broadcasts a classic country format. The radio st ...

on August 12, 2016. On June 4, 2019, 3 Horizons LLC sold KWEE to

WAY-FM Network The WayFM Network is a national, non-profit radio broadcasting network in the United States, primarily playing Christian adult contemporary music. While WayFM is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, it operates stations in 12 states (), with co ...

, whose Christian AC programming was also heard on K283BL via

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...

's KFBW-HD2. The sale also ended its LMA with Alpha Media, as WAY-FM moved the Christian AC format to KWEE on October 3, 2019. On September 16, 2019, Alpha began transitioning KWEE's format to 102.9, replacing the KXTG simulcast, relaunching as "WE 102.9." The transition was completed on October 3. Effective April 25, 2022, Alpha Media acquired the license for K275CH from

Educational Media Foundation Educational Media Foundation (formerly EMF Broadcasting, abbreviated EMF) is an American nonprofit Christian media ministry based in Franklin, a suburb of Nashville. EMF is the parent company of K-LOVE and Air1—the world's largest contempor ...

in exchange for KHHL.

References

External links

* * Radio stations established in 1998 275CH Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States {{Oregon-radio-station-stub