WIKE (1490 AM) is a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station located in Newport, Vermont. It is owned by Vermont Broadcast Associates, Inc. and it broadcasts a

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

format,

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

from 106.3 WMTK in Littleton, New Hampshire. Both stations call themselves "The Notch". WIKE's programming is also heard on

translator station A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater (two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tran ...

W276DK (103.1 FM) in Derby Center. Under a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one corporation, company agrees to operate a radio station, radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it ...

, Russ Ingalls' Green Mountain Broadcasters LLC operates the stations pending a full acquisition. WIKE went on the air in 1952. The station was a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

station in the 2000s, before switching to classic rock in the 2010s.

History

On October 12, 1952, WIKE first

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

. It was owned by Memphremagog Broadcasting and was powered at 250 watts. In the 1960s, the daytime power was boosted to 1,000 watts and in the 1980s, it also increased its nighttime power to 1,000 watts. In 1991, an FM station was added, 92.1

WMOO WMOO (92.1 FM; "Moo 92") is a contemporary hit radio formatted radio station broadcasting from Derby Center, Vermont, United States. It is owned by Vermont Broadcast Associates, Inc.; under a local marketing agreement, Russ Ingalls' Green Moun ...

, which is licensed to nearby Derby Center. WMOO is programmed with a

hot adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

format. In 2001, both stations were acquired by Northstar Media, Inc for just over $1 million.Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2005 page D-529
/ref> During most of the early 2000s, WIKE was a

station, switching to classic rock in the mid-2010s. On May 22, 2012, WIKE, along with 29 other

Nassau Broadcasting Partners Nassau Broadcasting Partners LP was a company based in Princeton, New Jersey that owned radio stations in New England and the Mid-Atlantic United States. Nassau's stations, which included both AM and FM frequencies, were located in Maryland, New J ...

stations in Northern New England, was purchased at a bankruptcy auction by Carlisle Capital Corporation, a company controlled by

Bill Binnie William Harrison "Bill" Binnie is an American industrialist, investment banker, and philanthropist, who is currently president of the Carlisle Capital Corporation, president of the media company New Hampshire 1 Network and owner of Carlisle One M ...

(owner of WBIN-TV in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

). WIKE, and 12 of the other stations, were then acquired by Vertical Capital Partners, controlled by Jeff Shapiro. (updated May 23, 2012) Soon after taking over, Vertical resold WIKE and

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

92.1 WMOO to Vermont Broadcast Associates. The sale of WIKE and the other 12 stations was consummated on November 30, 2012, at a purchase price of $4.4 million. The resale of WIKE and WMOO was consummated on January 1, 2013, at a purchase price of $760,000. In February 2025, Bruce James agreed to sell the seven Vermont Broadcast Associates stations to Green Mountain Broadcasters, owned by Vermont state senator Russ Ingalls, for $996,000. Green Mountain then began managing the stations under a

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References

External links

* * IKE Classic rock radio stations in the United States Newport (city), Vermont Orleans County, Vermont Radio stations established in 1952 1952 establishments in Vermont {{Vermont-radio-station-stub