WFRQ
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| City of license | Harwich Port, MA |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Cape Cod |
| Branding | 93.5 Frank FM |
| Slogan |
"Cape Cod's Variety" and "We Play It All" |
| Frequency | 93.5 MHz |
| First air date | May 1989 (as WFXR) |
| Format | Adult Hits |
| ERP | 6,000 watts |
| HAAT | 77.4 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 29570 |
| Callsign meaning |
FRanQ (intentional misspelling) |
| Former callsigns |
WFXR (1989-1995) WUNX (1995-1996) WJCO (1996-1998) WYST (1998-2001) WDVT (2001-2006) WFQR (2006-2012) WHYA (8/2012-9/2012) |
| Owner |
John Garabedian (CodComm, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WHYA, WKFY, WPXC |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | frankplaysitall.com |
WFRQ (93.5 FM) — branded 93.5 Frank FM — is an FM radio station licensed to Harwich Port, Massachusetts. It serves the Cape Cod market with an Adult Hits format known as "Frank FM," which is similar to the "Jack FM" format.
93.5 & 101.1 Frequency History
- See WHYA for current information on the 101.1 frequency. This page is for a history of the 93.5 and 101.1 frequencies through March 2013 only.
1987-1993
WFAL (101.1) went on the air on February 12, 1987, under the ownership of Schooner Broadcasting, with principals Linda Baines and Brenda Westgate. WFXR (93.5) went on the air on May 18, 1989, with a satellite delivered soft rock format. In the fall of 1991, the owners of WFXR purchased WFAL. This deal was inked 2 days after a historic rule change by the Federal Communication Commission. The new rules allowed one entity to own two FM stations in the same market. This deal was the second in the nation to win FCC approval.
In the fall of 1991, WFXR and WFAL began simulcasting. The stations were then known as "Fox Radio 93-5 and 101 FM" with a soft rock format focused heavily on '80s music. In 1993, the stations were sold to Omni Broadcasting (then owners of WCOD). After stunting for a week with Steve Miller Band's "Fly Like An Eagle", the format changed to country as "Cape Country 93-5 and 101 FM." With the exception of its local morning show featuring Keith Lemire and Joe Rossetti, programming was provided by Jones Radio Networks "U.S. Country," (what is now "Mainstream Country" by Dial Global) a live 24-hour satellite-delivered music format from Denver, Colorado.
1994-1997
Omni was soon sold to Paul Levesque. With the failure of country music to attract an audience, another format change was made. WFXR became WUNX, while WFAL became WUNZ. Both stations continued their simulcast as an affiliate of the "Underground Network," a network of alternative rock stations that included WIBF ("WDRE Philly") in Philadelphia and WDRE on Long Island. The stations were then known as "UN 93.5 and 101.1" with the slogan "Cape Cod's Rock Alternative."
WUNX and WUNZ were sold to Ernie Boch's Boch Broadcasting in 1995, and the stations quickly took different paths. WUNX became WJCO, and adopted a satellite-delivered adult contemporary music format as "Coast 93.5," while WUNX became WWKJ, and adopted a satellite-delivered classic rock format as "KJ-101."
1998-2002
In 1998, WJCO stunted for a week with Chumbawumba's hit "Tubthumping". WJCO became WYST, relaunching as hot adult contemporary-formatted "Star 93-5" with the slogan "Continuous Hit Music." The format was again satellite-delivered by Jones Radio Networks "Adult Hit Radio" (what is now "Hot AC" by Dial Global). The station's voiceover talent was Mark Driscoll and two jingles were added from the 1989 JAM Creative Productions "Breakthrough" package. Star 93-5's morning show was provided by WPLJ New York's "Scott & Todd in the Morning Big Show". Scott & Todd's syndication attempt didn't last long. In 1999, the morning show was replaced locally with the satellite-delivered "Bob & Sherri" show and the station's slogan changed to "Today's Best Music."
In the spring of 1999, WYST dropped the satellite provided format and morning show. The station became automated locally with no DJs and a very narrow playlist of current artists from the CHR format. The hits lasted until late-1999, when the station again changed to a satellite-delivered oldies format as "Oldies 93.5."
In 2001, Boch brought in a new staff to run the Cape Cod stations. The new staff immediately changed the formats of WYST and WWKJ. WYST became WDVT and was known "93-5 The Vault," playing classic rock. WWKJ became WTWV and was known as "101.1 The Wave" with the slogan "The '80s and More." Before long, "The Vault" was closed and WDVT reverted to a simulcast of "The Wave." In 2002, WTWV began to add more current hits into the mix and it began to sound more like an adult hits station.
2003-2010
In 2003, Boch changed the formats of WDVT and WTWV to oldies as "93-5 & 101.1 The Wave." The station featured local personalities with a fun and upbeat delivery. A limited amount of jingles were also added. The station featured Bumper Morgan as one of their personalities, who was also the voice of then sister station WCOD. The talent line-up consisted of Greg Cassidy, Super Max Cooper, Johnny Thunder and Wild Bill Hayes.
In 2005, Boch Broadcasting was acquired by Qantum Communications. Qantum was required to sell off three of the combined company's stations. "The Wave" low-rated simulcast stations of WDVT and WTWV along with WPXC were sold to Nassau Broadcasting Partners.
On March 22, 2006, Nassau replaced the oldies format of "The Wave" with "Frank FM." Unlike Nassau's other classic hits stations in Portland, Maine and southern New Hampshire with the same name, WDVT and WTWV flipped to the adult hits format as "101.1 and 93.5 Frank FM" with the slogan "We Play It All." The voiceover talent selected for station imaging was voice actor/comedian George Lowe. On March 28, 2006, WDVT and WTWV became WFQR and WFRQ, respectively.
Frank FM has been jockless since its launch. In the absence of on-air personalities, Frank FM offered several features listeners. Weekday mornings from 6am until 9am was the "More Music Morning Show," promoting the fact that it is all music with no DJ chatter. The "Commercial Free Workday" followed from 9am until noon with no commercials for at least 180 minutes. As an added bonus, Frank FM never repeated the same song twice between 9am and 5pm on weekdays.
Weekends on Frank FM featured unique themes beginning on Friday at 5pm until Sunday at 11:59pm. Each weekend would be a different theme including the No Repeat Weekend (never hear the same song twice), Class Reunion Weekend (a different year featured every hour from 1970 through last year), Double Play Weekend (two songs in a row by the same artist), Number Ones Weekend (all #1 hits), Runner Up Weekend (all #2 hits), One Hit Wonder Weekend (an artist known mainly for only a single success), Frank Goes to the Movies Weekend (all songs from movie soundtracks), All American Weekend (all songs by American artists), Back to the '80s Weekend (all 1980s songs) and the Nothing But the '90s Weekend (all 1990s songs).
2011-2012
In September 2011, Goldman Sachs Lending Partners, Fortress Credit Opportunities and Private Equity Capital, LLC launched an involuntary bankruptcy filing against Frank FM's parent company, Nassau Broadcasting Partners, LP. In October, Nassau's involuntary Chapter 7 petition was converted to a voluntary Chapter 11 after it convinced lenders and the bankruptcy court that halting operations at its radio stations would ultimately hurt creditors.
On May 4, 2012, Nassau's properties were liquidated in a bankruptcy auction. WFRQ and WFQR plus sister station WPXC were all sold to highest bidder John H. Garabedian. This returned Garabedian to broadcasting on the Cape, as he placed 96.3 WGTF (what is now WEII) on the air in the 1970s. John named the newly formed company CodComm, Inc. On July 17, 2012, an FCC construction permit was granted to move the 101.1 transmission facility from Mashpee to Barnstable at the tower of sister station WPXC.
On August 17, 2012, changes began to take place under the guidance of new CodComm General Manager, Steve "McVie" Solomon. The call sign on 93.5 was changed from WFQR to WHYA and after finishing the "Back to the '80s Weekend," themed weekends were discontinued. On September 5, 2012, the call signs of 93.5 and 101.1 were then swapped. 93.5 was changed from WHYA to WFRQ and 101.1 was changed from WFRQ to WHYA.
On September 13, 2012, on-air programming on 101.1 was switched to CodComm's newly renovated broadcast studio at 243 South Street in Hyannis, followed by 93.5 a few days later. The format was tweaked and the station's image was updated as "93.5 and 101-1 Frank FM," with a new primary slogan of "Cape Cod's Ultimate Variety." Songs from the 1960s through 1980s began to see less airplay, with a greater focus on songs from the 1990s through today. The station's voiceover talent was replaced with James Justice and jingles were added from the TM Studios "AMP'D" package. On September 26, 2012, an FCC construction permit was granted to move the 93.5 transmission facility from Brewster to Dennis.
Present
On March 11, 2013, on-air sweepers and jingles were changed to "93.5 Frank FM," dropping the mention of 101.1. On March 18, 2013, CodComm applied for license to cover with the FCC to complete its 93.5 transmission facility move from Brewster to Dennis. Changes at the new site include going from a non-directional to a directional pattern to protect adjacent station WSNE-FM, but raising power from 3 kW to 6 kW. On April 1, 2013 at 5:00 PM, 101.1 WHYA broke away from its simulcast with 93.5 and began stunting.
External links
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WFRQ
- Radio-Locator information on WFRQ
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WFRQ
- CodComm.cc
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Coordinates: 41°44′20″N 70°00′40″W / 41.739°N 70.011°W