WPVQ-FM (95.3

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 ...

, "Bear Country 95.3") is a

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

Greenfield, Massachusetts Greenfield is the county seat, and sole city, of Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Greenfield was first settled in 1686. The population was 17,768 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Greenfield is home to Greenfield Commun ...

. The station is owned by Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC; it operates as part of Saga's Western Mass Radio Group. WPVQ-FM airs 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 ...

format.

History

In August 1996, Dynacom purchased WRSI (95.3 FM) and WGAM from Radio Skutnik, Inc. (Ed Skutnik, owner) for a reported sale price of $650,000. In August 1999, Vox Media Corp. purchased Dynacom and all of its radio assets, including WRSI, for a reported $5.5 million. In July 2000, Vox purchased WPVQ (93.9 FM) from Cardwell Broadcasting for a reported sale price of $2.925 million. In February 2001, WPVQ swapped frequencies with

WRSI WRSI (93.9 FM broadcasting, FM, "93.9 The River") is a radio station city of license, licensed to serve Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC. It airs a ...

so that WRSI now broadcasts on 93.9 MHz from

Turners Falls, Massachusetts Turners Falls is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Montague in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,512 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropo ...

, and WPVQ broadcasts on its current 95.3 MHz. The 95.3 FM station was assigned the WPVQ call letters by 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 ...

on February 1,

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

. In December 2003, Saga Communications announced that it had reached an agreement to purchase WRSI (93.9 FM) and WPVQ (95.3 FM) plus

WRSY WRSY (101.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Marlboro, Vermont. The station is owned by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Monadnock Broadcasting Group. WRSY airs an adult album alternative radio format, via a si ...

(101.5 FM) from Vox. The $7 million deal closed in April 2004. The station's call sign was modified to WPVQ-FM on October 5, 2018.

HD subchannels

On February 1, 2021, WPVQ-FM launched a

soft 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 on its HD2 subchannel, branded as "EZ 107.5"; the branding reflects its carriage on translator W298CA (107.5 FM) in Greenfield.Saga Gets EZ In Greenfield MA
Radioinsight - February 12, 2021 , WPVQ-FM's HD3 subchannel serves as the origination for the classic country format, branded "92.3 The Outlaw", carried on W222CH (92.3 FM) in Greenfield. The "Outlaw" programming and the 92.3 translator had been associated with WPVQ (700 AM) prior to Saga's sale of that station in 2022.

References

External links

* * * * * PVQ-FM Country radio stations in the United States Mass media in Franklin County, Massachusetts Greenfield, Massachusetts Radio stations established in 1981 1981 establishments in Massachusetts {{Massachusetts-radio-station-stub