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WPEN (97.5
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 ...
, "97.5 The Fanatic") 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 ...
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 ...
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 serve
Burlington, New Jersey Burlington is a City (New Jersey), city situated on the banks of the Delaware River in Burlington County, New Jersey, Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2020 United States census, the c ...
, in the
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
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 ...
. The station is owned by the
Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Bea ...
through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC and broadcasts a
sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...
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, ...
. WPEN is the
flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyal ...
for the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
's
Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...
Radio Network and the
NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
's
Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...
Radio Network. It also carries
Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
games and
Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...
MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanctioned by the United ...
games. WPEN has local hosts days and evenings while carrying the
nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...
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 ...
network nights and some weekend hours. It is also affiliated with the
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 ...
network. Studios are located in
Bala Cynwyd Bala Cynwyd ( ) is a community and census-designated place in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located on the Philadelphia Main Line in Southeastern Pennsylvania and borders the western edge of Philadelphia at U.S. Rou ...
and the station's broadcast tower is located in Wyndmoor at (). WPEN broadcasts using
HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...
. Its HD2 subchannel airs a simulcast of
WWDB WWDB (860 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its studios and offices in the "555 Building" on City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group and broadcasts ...
. WPEN's HD3 channel airs a simulcast of
WIFI Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
.


History


1940-1971: Early years

On November 22, 1940, 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 Mercer Broadcasting Company a construction permit for a new station, licensed to serve Trenton, New Jersey, on 44.7 MHz on the original 42-50 MHz FM broadcast band. On January 29, 1942, the FCC granted Mercer Broadcasting a change to 49.9 MHz. After the FCC created the current FM broadcast band on June 27, 1945, the station was reassigned to 97.5 MHz on July 10, 1947. The station was granted its first license on September 27, 1949, with the WTOA call sign. The Trenton Times Corporation purchased the station effective June 28, 1962. Nassau Broadcasting Company, owner of then-new AM outlet WHWH, purchased the station effective December 12, 1964.


1971-1975: MOR

On September 13, 1971, WTOA's
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 ...
was changed to WPST as the station rebranded as "Passport Stereo". The station's format was middle of the road music.


1975-2005: Top 40

In August 1975, Nassau Broadcasting owner Herb Hobler hired Phil Gieger as the General Manager. Gieger and morning host/station manager Tom Taylor revamped the station. They initially established an
Adult Top 40 The Adult Pop Airplay (formerly known as Adult Pop Songs and Adult Top 40) chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and ranks "the most popular adult top 40 as based on radio airplay detections measured by Nielsen Broadcast Data Syste ...
format, not as youth-oriented as Top 40 stations heard on
AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...
at the time. By fall 1975, the station took off and eventually became the number one station in the market. Over time, the format moved to mainstream Top 40 music. Taylor remained the morning host until 1987. Other WPST DJs over the years included John Mellon (aka Walt Ballard), Ed Johnson, Doug James, John Brown, Eddie Davis, Trish Merelo, Andy Gury, Brian Douglas, Mel "Toxic" Taylor, Jay Sorensen, Dave Hoeffel, Tom Cunningham, Michelle Stevens, Eric Johnson, Mark Sheppard, Andre Gardner, Phil Simon, Steve Trevelise, Joel Katz, Rich DeSisto, Lee Tobin, Steve Kamer, Lori Johnson, Mark DiDia, Bob Sorrentino, and Scott Lowe.


2005-2006: Classic rock

On February 14, 2005, at 5 p.m., 97.5 swapped call signs and formats with sister station 94.5
WTHK WTHK (100.7 FM; "The Peak") is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. It is licensed to Wilmington, Vermont. The station is currently owned by Jeffrey Shapiro's Great Eastern Radio, and currently simulcasts sister station WKKN ...
. Branded on air as "The Hawk", WTHK had 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. Like WPST, WTHK was owned by Nassau Broadcasting and licensed as a station serving Trenton. In August 2005, WTHK's
city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...
was changed from Trenton to Burlington, a New Jersey city 18 miles north of Philadelphia. These changes were the first two steps of a three-step process designed to maximize the value of the licenses for 94.5 and 97.5. The reallocation of the 97.5 frequency from Trenton to Burlington moved it into the larger and more lucrative Philadelphia
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 ...
and made it possible to move the 97.5 transmitter to a site much closer to Philadelphia. This made 97.5 a much more valuable property, one ripe for sale to a major-market broadcast company regardless of what format it might currently be running. Meanwhile, WPST continued to operate as a popular and profitable Trenton-market station on the 94.5 frequency, which could not be moved. Nassau Broadcasting chose to leave the final necessary step, the actual relocation of the 97.5 transmitter, to the eventual buyer, which would turn out to be
Greater Media Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, was an American media company that specialized in radio stations. The markets where they owned radio stations included Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey. The comp ...
. Since Greater Media already had a Philadelphia classic rock station in
WMGK WMGK (102.9 FM, "102-9 MGK") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group and broadcasts a classic rock radio format. The broadcast tower used by the station ...
, it was almost certain a new format would be chosen for 97.5. Clear Channel's decision to drop
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 ...
from 106.1 left a format hole in the market, and Greater Media decided to fill it with a new version of WJJZ on 97.5. WTHK signed off on November 15, 2006, at 7 p.m. Shortly after that,
Greater Media Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, was an American media company that specialized in radio stations. The markets where they owned radio stations included Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey. The comp ...
began airing a
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) ...
of WMGK, the Hawk's former competitor, on 97.5 as a placeholder. Before WJJZ was to take over, messages urged listeners to reprogram their radios to WMGK to continue enjoying classic rock.


2006-2008: Smooth jazz

WJJZ (106.1 FM) ended its smooth jazz format at noon on August 10, 2006, and flipped to a
rhythmic adult contemporary Rhythmic adult contemporary, often abbreviated as rhythmic AC or RAC, is an adult contemporary radio format. The format focuses primarily on rhythmic contemporary, rhythmic hits aimed towards an adult audience, often resembling a mixture of the cla ...
format, branded as "Philly's 106.1". Many former WJJZ listeners protested when the format was abandoned in Philadelphia. Much to the delight of fans, Greater Media announced in late October that it would pick up the smooth jazz format for 97.5. The official transfer of ownership took place on November 15, when WTHK signed off and shut down its Trenton transmitter. The new WJJZ launched on November 17, 2006, at 6 p.m. After a minute of silence, a recording of smooth jazz artists greeted listeners was played (the same recording that was played at the closing of the old WJJZ), as well as a welcome message from
Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...
. The first song played on the new frequency was the
Grover Washington, Jr. Grover Washington Jr. (December 12, 1943 – December 17, 1999) was an American jazz-funk and soul-jazz saxophonist and Grammy Award winner. Along with Wes Montgomery and George Benson, he is considered by many to be one of the founders and le ...
tune "Protect the Dream". The new WJJZ began broadcasting from the same tower used by the old WJJZ, located on Mermaid Lane in
Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania Wyndmoor is a census-designated place (CDP) in Springfield Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,853 at the 2020 census. Wyndmoor has the same ZIP code, 19038, as the towns of Glenside, North Hills, ...
. At the station's start, it used Broadcast Architecture's syndicated "Smooth Jazz Network," with musician
Dave Koz David Stephen Koz (born March 27, 1963) is an American saxophonist, composer, record producer, and radio personality based in Los Angeles, California. Early life Dave Koz was born in Encino, California, to Jewish parents: Norman, a dermatologis ...
as the afternoon host, Program Director Michael Tozzi handling middays and
Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards ...
' morning show simulcast from WNUA in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. DJs from the old WJJZ were added over time, including Bill Simpson, Frank Childs, Teri Webb, Desirae McCrae, Al Winters and Lisa Fairfax.


2008-2009: Adult contemporary

WJJZ's lack of ratings success fueled rumors of a format change. In the summer of 2008, Greater Media began doing listener research to change the station. Among the formats tested was
soft AC 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, ...
,
hot AC 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, ...
, all-news on FM, FM talk, and a
AAA AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming * AAA (video game industry) - a category of high budget video games *'' TripleA'', an open source wargame Mu ...
format similar to
WIOQ WIOQ (102.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a contemporary hit radio radio format, format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The radio studio, studios and off ...
of the early 80s. On September 5, 2008, at 6:00 p.m., after playing
Boyz II Men Boyz II Men ( ) is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. Formed in 1985, they have been a trio composed of baritone Nathan Morris, tenor Wanya Morris, Wanyá Mo ...
's "
I'll Make Love to You "I'll Make Love to You" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Motown label. Written and produced by Babyface, it was released on 26 July 1994 as the lead single from the group's second album, '' II'' (1994). The song was a commer ...
", WJJZ began stunting with a loop of 15 songs, ranging from Blondie's " Heart of Glass" to
Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...
's " Complicated". Three days later, on September 8, at 9 a.m., "Now 97.5" made its debut as a hot AC station, and positioned itself as "a younger approach to today's soft rock", competing with the market AC leader,
WBEB WBEB (101.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station broadcasts an adult contemporary format, switching to Christmas music for part of November and December. The broadc ...
("B-101"). The first song was "
Who Knew "Who Knew" is a song by American singer Pink from her fourth studio album, '' I'm Not Dead'' (2006). Written by Pink, Max Martin and Lukasz " Dr. Luke" Gottwald, the song was originally released on May 8, 2006, by the LaFace label to radio as t ...
" by Doylestown native
P!nk Alecia Beth Moore-Hart (née Moore; born September 8, 1979), known professionally as Pink (stylized as ), is an American singer and songwriter. She is known for her acrobatic stage presence and activism. At the age of 15, Pink formed the shor ...
. On September 12, 2008, WJJZ changed call letters to WNUW to match the "Now" branding. On October 31, 2008, at 5:00 p.m., the station switched to all-
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 ...
. During WNUW's first week in the all-Christmas format, competitor B101 announced it would be sprinkling in Christmas tunes during the weekend of November 8–9, obviously in reaction to WNUW. Then on November 13, B101 flipped to all-Christmas. It was the earliest that B101 made the switch. Shortly thereafter,
adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...
AM station
WHAT What or WHAT may refer to: * What, an English interrogative word * "What?", one of the Five Ws used in journalism Film and television * ''What!'' (film), also known as ''The Whip and the Body'', a 1963 Italian film directed by Mario Bava * ...
also started playing an all-Christmas format. Then on November 26, in a surprise move, classic hits-formatted
WOGL WOGL (98.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, owned by Audacy, Inc. The station broadcasts a classic hits radio format. WOGL's transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, an ...
changed its format to all-Christmas for the first time. Including
WJBR-FM WVCW (99.5 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Wilmington, Delaware. Owned by VCY America, the station serves the Delaware Valley, including Philadelphia. The WVCW transmitter is located 8 miles north of downtown Wilmington ...
in nearby
Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...
, it gave the Philadelphia market five Christmas formatted stations in 2008. The first on-air personality to be hired by WNUW was Glenn Kalina, whose morning show debuted on January 5, 2009. After finishing at #3 in the 2008 Holiday ratings, the station's audience fell off when it returned to its Hot AC format. WNUW trailed every other commercial Philadelphia FM and even Trenton station
WPST WPST (94.5 FM, "94.5 PST") is a commercial radio station licensed to Trenton, New Jersey, airing a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by Townsquare Media, the station serves Central Jersey, the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia and its northern ...
, and Wilmington station
WSTW WSTW (93.7 FM, "93.7 WSTW") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Wilmington, Delaware. The station is owned by Forever Media and broadcasts a Contemporary hit radio format. WSTW's studios and offices are on Shipley Road in Wilmingt ...
in its last ratings period.


2009-present: Sports talk

On October 9, 2009, at 5 p.m., after playing '' Streetcorner Symphony'' by Rob Thomas, WNUW flipped to an FM simulcast of WPEN, with the new identity of "97.5 The Fanatic, Powered by ESPN". The call sign was switched from WNUW to WPEN-FM. Some of the time, the two stations would simulcast; during national live game broadcasts 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 ...
or another network, the AM side would carry the games, while WPEN-FM would feature Philadelphia-focused sports talk. On December 21, 2012, AM 950 was sold to
Family Radio Family Radio is a non-profit Christian radio network based in Franklin, Tennessee, United States. Established in 1959, Family Radio airs Calvinist teaching and Christian music. The network is most widely known for its false Family Radio#Failed ...
and became WKDN. After the completion of the sale on January 10, 2013, 97.5 dropped the -FM suffix. WPEN-FM was Philadelphia's only FM sports station for its first two years until CBS Radio owned rival WIP moved to FM, replacing WYSP. Beginning with the 2012 NBA Playoffs, WPEN-FM became the flagship station for the Philadelphia 76ers, moving away from WIP-FM, where they were aired for years. Less than a week later, the Philadelphia Flyers announced they too were leaving WIP-FM for WPEN. On July 24, 2014, Temple University and Greater Media entered into a multi-year agreement for the station to become the official radio broadcaster for Temple football games beginning in the 2014 season. In 2016, WPEN began airing
Philadelphia Soul Philadelphia soul, sometimes called Philly soul, the Philadelphia sound, Phillysound, or The Sound of Philadelphia (TSOP), is a genre of late 1960s–1970s soul music characterized by funk influences and lush string and horn arrangements. The ...
regular season games, in the
Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...
. On July 19, 2016, the
Beasley Media Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beas ...
announced it would acquire Greater Media and its 21 stations (including WPEN) for $240 million. The FCC approved the sale on October 6, and the sale closed on November 1. On February 21, 2023, the Philadelphia Union and the Beasley Media Group announced a partnership agreement to make WPEN the official radio broadcast partner of the team. The station aired their first Union broadcast on February 25, 2023, in a match against the
Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...
.


Signal note

WPEN is short-spaced to three other Class B stations:
WENJ WENJ (97.3 FM) is a radio station that airs a sports radio format, licensed to Millville. Its transmitter is located in Corbin City, New Jersey, where it shares a tower with WRTQ. The station is affiliated with ESPN Radio. Its studios are i ...
''97.3 ESPN'' (licensed to serve
Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 27,491, a decrease of 909 (−3.2%) from the 2010 census count of 28,400, which in turn reflected an in ...
),
WRVV WRVV (97.3 FM, "The River 97.3") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasts a classic rock format. The station's studios and offices are located at 6 ...
''The River 97.3'' (licensed to serve
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...
) and
WALK-FM WALK-FM (97.5 FM) is a hot adult contemporary radio station licensed to Patchogue, New York, and serving Long Island. The station is owned by Connoisseur Media, with studios and offices located at Airport Plaza in Farmingdale, New York, and its ...
''WALK 97.5'' (licensed to serve
Patchogue, New York Patchogue ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 12,408 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Patchogue is an incorporated community in the Town (New ...
). WENJ and WRVV both operate on 97.3 MHz, a first adjacent channel to WPEN. The distance between WPEN's transmitter and WENJ's transmitter is 57 miles, while the distance between WPEN's transmitter and WRVV's transmitter is 91 miles, as determined by FCC rules. The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on first adjacent channels according to current
FCC 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 ju ...
rules is 105 miles. WALK-FM and WPEN operate on the same channel and the distance between the stations' transmitters is 125 miles as determined by FCC rules. The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current
FCC 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 ju ...
rules is 150 miles. WPEN uses a
directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...
to reduce its signal toward the southeast and the west, in the direction of WENJ and WRVV.


HD Radio


WPEN HD2

WPEN's HD2 digital subchannel formerly broadcast Classical music. As of December 2023, the subchannel now airs a simulcast of WWDB.


WPEN HD3

WPEN's HD3 digital subchannel formerly broadcast a Spanish CHR format branded as "Supra Radio" (which was simulcast on translator W237EH 95.3 FM in
Pennsauken, New Jersey Pennsauken Township is a township in Camden County, in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, and it is located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which it borders directly on the Delaware River. As of the 202 ...
). In October 2021, WPEN-HD3 began broadcasting
Spanish tropical Tropical music () is a term in the Latin music industry that refers to music genres deriving from or influenced by the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean. It includes the islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean ...
music known as "Ritmo FM," which was formerly broadcast on
WIFI Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
(AM 1460). On January 15, 2024, WPEN-HD3 and W253DG switched to a simulcast of Spanish CHR-formatted
WIFI Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
1460 AM Florence, NJ, branded as "Maxima 92.9".Maxima Expands in South Jersey
Radioinsight - January 19, 2024


References


External links

* *
Announcement from Berks Jazz Fest

Press Release
{{Philadelphia Union PEN (FM) Sports radio stations in the United States PEN (FM) Radio stations established in 1949 1949 establishments in New Jersey