WWMP (102.3 FM) is a radio station

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 ...

Grand Isle, Vermont Grand Isle is a town on Grand Isle in Grand Isle County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,086 at the 2020 census. A landing for the Lake Champlain Transportation Company's ferry to Plattsburgh, New York, at Cumberland Head is lo ...

, and serves the Burlington-Plattsburgh area. The station is owned and operated by Radio Broadcasting Services, Inc. It airs a

mainstream rock Mainstream rock (also known as heritage rock) is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada. Format background Mainstream rock stations represent a cross between classic rock, active rock and alternativ ...

music

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

known as "Rock 102.3". WWMP operates a

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 ...

in Burlington, W252CJ (98.3 FM); its programming is also simulcast on WSKI (1240 AM and 93.3 FM) in Montpelier, and separately-owned WKAF (1420 AM) in

St. Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman r ...

. WWMP has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 20,000 watts. While the station is licensed to a community in Vermont and has its studios and offices on Watertower Circle in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

, its

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 on Beartown Road in

Beekmantown, New York Beekmantown is a town in Clinton County, New York, United States. The population was 5,545 at the 2010 census. The town name is that of William Beekman, an original landowner. It is on the eastern border of the county, just north of Plattsburgh ...

, about ten miles north of Plattsburgh.

History

WWSR-FM "Stereo 102" and WLFE-FM country

The station 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 ...

in April 1970 as WWSR-FM, the

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 ...

of 1420

WWSR WWSR (93.1 FM, "93.1 The Fan") is a commercial radio station in Lima, Ohio, broadcasting a sports format. History WWSR (previously WFGF) was founded in August 1985 as WYRX "93 Rocks"(later 93-X and briefly as WFRY) which would become a sister ...

. Its format was

adult contemporary music 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, sou ...

using the

automated Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...

"Hit Parade" service, calling itself "Stereo 102". In the late 1970s, it dropped AC in favor of

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 ...

, using the

call letters 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 Identifier, unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be fo ...

WLFE.

Active rock format (2008–2012)

The station flipped from country music 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 ...

in November

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, and on December 29, 2008, the station moved to

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 ...

as Rock 102 "Pure Rock Radio" to go up against

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

station 99.9

WBTZ WBTZ (99.9 MHz "99.9 The Buzz") is a commercial FM radio station in Plattsburgh, New York, and serving the Plattsburgh area, the Burlington, Vermont metropolitan area and Greater Montreal. The station is owned by Hall Communications, and airs ...

in nearby

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The population of the sur ...

. In January 2009, the station added '' The Todd and Tyler Radio Empire'', a syndicated talk show based out of

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, to its morning schedule. On March 1,

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, WLFE-FM changed its call letters to WIER and rebranded as "102.3 The Wire".

Hot adult contemporary (2012–2024)

WIER switched to

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 ...

as "Mix 102.3" on March 30,

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. The station played only a few 1980s hits, much like its rival

WEZF WEZF (92.9 FM broadcasting, FM, "Star 92.9") is a commercial radio station located in Burlington, Vermont. The station airs an adult contemporary radio format and is owned and operated by Vox AM/FM. WEZF has studios and offices on Hegeman Avenue ...

. On August 13, 2012, the station changed its call sign to WIXM.

Mainstream rock (2024–present)

On September 12, 2024, the mainstream rock format of WWMP (103.3 FM) moved to WIXM; the two stations would swap call signs on September 18. With the move, the station also inherited WWMP's simulcast on WSKI (1240 AM and 93.3 FM) in Montpelier.Rock 103.3 Burlington on the Move
Radioinsight - September 12, 2024

Translator

References

External links

* * * WMP Mainstream rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1970 1970 establishments in Vermont Grand Isle, Vermont {{Vermont-radio-station-stub