WKRP-LP

WKRP

City	Raleigh, North Carolina
Broadcast area	Raleigh
Branding	101.9 WKRP
Slogan	"This is... 101.9 WKRP."
Frequency	101.9 MHz
First air date	November 30, 2015
Format	Community Radio
ERP	100 watts
HAAT	8 meters
Class	L1
Facility ID	191806
Transmitter coordinates	35°50′26″N 78°33′33″W / 35.84056°N 78.55917°W / 35.84056; -78.55917
Owner	Oak City Media, Inc.
Website	http://www.WKRPFM.com

WKRP-LP, or 101.9 WKRP is a community low power FM ("LPFM") radio station operating in Raleigh, North Carolina.

History

Organization

Capital Area Team Sports, Inc., a non-profit organization which had operated for nearly two decades as an operator of amateur sports programs and competitions, was granted a construction permit by the Federal Communications Commission to build an LPFM on March 18, 2014.^[1] The permit was the first LPFM construction permit granted in Raleigh since WRLY-LP over a decade earlier.

The organization changed its corporate name to "Oak City Media" to reflect its new and broader mission on June 15, 2014. Fundraising for the station progressed slowly over an 18-month period, concluding in October 2015 with the organization's long-time executive director, D.P. McIntire, donating the final $10,000 toward the project to ensure its completion.

Call sign and branding

Upon learning of the construction permit grant, McIntire contacted the FCC with intent to secure use of either "WNQQ" or "WASP" as the station's call sign. During the conversation, he jokingly expressed a wish that WKRP were an available call sign, never expecting it to be due to its popularity and use on WKRP in Cincinnati. The representative advised that the WKRP call sign was, in fact, available; at which point the organization immediately chose it over its intended selections as an homage to the series. On the day the station's antenna mast was erected, Oak City Media president Patrick Weiss would hoist an American flag from its top, jokingly proclaiming that the call letters henceforth would stand for "We Keep Raleigh Patriotic." So as to avoid potential trademark issues however, the station is branded as 101 9 WKRP.

Construction and sign-on

Station studio construction was completed in September 2015, with its transmitter, antenna and related equipment installed in November.^[2] The station's license was formally granted on November 30, 2015, and after a week of signal testing it went on the air at noon on December 5, 2015, playing "Babe" by Styx.

The station's current broadcast radius encompasses an area described on-air as "Between the 40s," a reference to Beltline and I-540 in northeast Raleigh. Plans exist to accompany its 100 watt terrestrial signal with a live internet stream of its programming via www.wkrpfm.com "when we raise enough money to pay for it."^[3]

"We Keep Replacing Parts"

On December 23, 2015, just weeks after going on air, the station's transmitter suffered a failure requiring that the station temporarily shut down. After nearly two weeks of examination by the manufacturer, the cause was found to be what the manufacturer described a "five-cent capacitor."

The station resumed broadcasting January 25, 2016, whereupon Oak City Media president Patrick Weiss recanted the joke he'd expressed when the station was launched, joking that WKRP's call sign should henceforth stand for "We Keep Replacing Parts." Just three months later however, the station's Technalogix transmitter would fail again, though this time causing just a brief period off the air.

Format

Currently 101.9 WKRP airs a Variety Hits programming format. Over time the station intends to evolve into a full service format station encompassing news, sports, comedy, educational programs and talk.

References

External links

• Official WKRP Website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WKRP
• Radio-Locator information on WKRP-LP
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WKRP