WPPY (92.7 FM, "Happy 92.7") is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

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 ...

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 ...

to Starview, Pennsylvania (a neighborhood of Mount Wolf), and serving the

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Harrisburg Harrisburg ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat, seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50, ...

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

s. It airs an

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 ...

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, ...

, switching to

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

for much of November and December. It is owned by Forever Media. WPPY's studios and offices are located at 275 Radio Road in

Hanover, Pennsylvania Hanover is a borough in York County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 16,429 at the 2020 census. Located southwest of York and north-northwest of Baltimore, Maryland, the town is situated in a productive agricultural region. It i ...

. Its

broadcast tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-m ...

is located near Copenhaffer Road in Conewago Township, York County at ().

History

On June 23, 1971, the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

granted Capital Media, Inc., a

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

for a new station on 92.7 MHz. While it was still being built, the station was assigned the WRHY

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally as ...

on September 7, 1971. It

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 ...

for the first time on November 22, 1971. WRHY was granted its first license by the FCC on January 20, 1972. By 1974, the station was airing a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

format. On May 13, 1976, the FCC granted a voluntary assignment of the station's license from Capital Media, Inc., to Harrea Broadcasters, Inc. By 1980, the station's format had shifted to AOR. In 1982, the format changed to "contemporary". The station's license was voluntarily transferred from Harrea Broadcasters, Inc., to Starview Media, Inc., on July 27, 1983. On August 12, 1983, the station switched call signs to WHTF. Its format changed to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

/top 40 branded as ''92 Rock''. The format evolved toward

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 ...

over the next two years, and by the summer of 1985, the station's branding changed to ''Starview 92'', then ''Starview 92.7''. On February 12, 1993, the station switched to an

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

format and re-branded as ''Solid Rock 92.7''. On November 13, 1995, Hall Communications, Inc., announced the purchase of station. The sale consummated on January 16, 1996. On February 23, 1996, the station returned to the classic rock format, changing the call sign to WEGK, and re-branding as ''92.7 The Eagle''. On June 6, 2001, the station switched its call sign to WHBO, and its format to

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

as "Big Oldies" 92.7, followed by another call sign change on March 1, 2004, to WSJW and a format change to

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

. On July 29, 2011, the station abruptly dropped its smooth jazz format and began stunting, mainly with cover versions of

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

's "

Stairway to Heaven "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released on 8 November 1971 on the band's untitled fourth studio album (commonly known as ''Led Zeppelin IV''), by Atlantic Records. Composed by the band's guitarist Jimmy ...

". The following message was displayed on the station's website: On August 1, 2011, the station changed its call sign to WKZF, returning to classic rock, and re-branding as ''92.7 WKZF'', with the first song being "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. Rick Everett, former Hall Communications operations manager of Cat Country 98.1

WCTK WCTK (98.1 FM, "Cat Country 98.1") is a country- formatted radio station in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The station covers much of southeastern New England, with studios in Providence, Rhode Island, and transmitter located south of New Bedford' ...

in Providence, Rhode Island, was hired as a consultant for the transition. The syndicated ''

The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show ''The Free Beer and Hot Wings Show'' is a syndicated morning talk radio show broadcast primarily from the Townsquare Media radio station WGRD-FM in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The show is hosted by Gregg "Free Beer" Daniels, Chris "Hot Wings" Miche ...

'' aired weekday mornings. WLPA ESPN92

On September 1, 2014, WKZF changed its call sign to WLPA-FM, in anticipation of its format change to

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

from

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

, which took place at midnight on September 3, 2014. On December 2, 2015, the WLPA-FM call sign was changed to WONN-FM. On July 23, 2021, it was announced that Forever Media would purchase WONN-FM, along with WLPA and its translator for a total of $400,000. This signals Hall Communications' withdrawal from the market, as the sale of 101.3

WROZ WROZ (101.3 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Lancaster and serving South Central Pennsylvania. The station is owned and operated by the Educational Media Foundation and carries its Air1 Christian worship music radio form ...

to religious broadcaster

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 ...

was announced earlier that month. The sale was consummated on October 15, 2021. WONN-FM simultaneously switched to a top 40 (CHR) format. The station’s call sign changed to WNUU on November 1, 2021. On November 1, 2022, WNUU dropped its top 40 (CHR) format and began stunting with

, branded as "Santa 92.7", with a new format to launch in January.Santa Arrives in York
Radioinsight - November 1, 2022 The station applied to change its callsign to WPPY, effective January 1, 2023. On that date, WPPY launched an

format branded as "Happy 92.7". The station again began playing Christmas music under the "Santa 92.7" name on November 1, 2023 and again on November 1, 2024.

References

External links

* {{Adult Contemporary Radio Stations in Pennsylvania PPY Radio stations established in 1971 1971 establishments in Pennsylvania Mainstream adult contemporary radio stations in the United States York County, Pennsylvania