WXLF

WXLF

City of license	Hartford, Vermont
Broadcast area	New Hampshire and Vermont
Branding	95.3 The Wolf
Slogan	"#1 for Today's Country"
Frequency	95.3 MHz
First air date	February 1, 1969 (as WNHV-FM)
Format	Country
ERP	6,000 watts
HAAT	87 meters
Class	A
Facility ID	17801
Transmitter coordinates	43°39′14″N 72°17′44″W / 43.65389°N 72.29556°W / 43.65389; -72.29556
Callsign meaning	W X WoLF
Former callsigns	WNHV-FM (1969–1985) WKXE-FM (1985–1998) WWSH (1998-2001) WSSH (2001-2005)[1]
Owner	Binnie Media (WBIN Media Co., Inc.)
Sister stations	WZLF
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	953thewolf.com

WXLF (95.3 FM, "95.3 The Wolf") is a radio station licensed to serve Hartford, Vermont. The station is owned by Binnie Media. It airs a country music format.^[2] The station is simulcast on WZLF (107.1 FM) in Bellows Falls, Vermont and W298AH (107.5 FM) in Claremont, New Hampshire (relays WZLF).

The station has been assigned these call letters by the Federal Communications Commission since March 1, 2005.^[1]

History

WXLF started out its life as WNHV-FM, a simulcast of its once daytimer sister WNHV (910 AM) owned by Rex Marshall. Eventually the signals were split and WNHV-FM became WKXE otherwise known as "95-3 KXE" with a very eclectic presentation of the AAA music format, with elements by day, and entire programs by night, presenting blues, jazz, folk, Celtic and world music.

In the Upper Valley's first duopoly, WKXE and WNHV were sold to Dynacom Corporation, who also owned WHDQ (Q106) and WTSV AM 1230 in Claremont. Amid huge protest, Dynacom flipped the AAA station to a very soft AC format as "Lite 95-3". Over time, "Lite 95-3" evolved into "Wish" with Boston's legendary WSSH calls installed when they became available. WSSH was initially a 'trimulcast' of WSSH 95.3, and WZSH in Bellows Falls VT and for a time 101.5 WWSH in the Brattleboro, Vermont area. The Brattleboro "Wish" even had a sales office and FCC legal studio on Main Street in downtown Brattleboro. There was even a shorter time when "Wish" had a 'quad cast' with the fourth station of the simulcast being WVAY 100.7 in Wilmington, Vermont. Eventually WWSH became WRSY, with a simulcast of WRSI in Turners Falls, MA with an AAA format in the greater Brattleboro area. Originally WRSI was simulcast on WMTT 100.7 in Wilmington, and when that station went to a simulcast on WEXP in Rutland, it made sense to bring the popular AAA format closer to its core of listeners in Brattleboro. WRSI and WRSY were acquired by Saga, while all the other mentioned stations are still owned by Nassau. The two remaining "Wish Stations" dropped the AC format and went to country and took the "Bob Country" handle, that was once used on WMXR Woodstock / WCFR-FM Springfield prior to the sale of those stations to Clear Channel. Upon Nassau's takeover of the once Vox Radio Group stations, "Bob Country" was once again put to rest, and "95.3 The Wolf" was born.

Its signature voice is John Willyard, voice of the CMA Awards since 1996, whose signature voice work is heard on many notable Country stations across North America.

WXLF, along with 16 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by WBIN Media Company, a company controlled by Bill Binnie, on May 22, 2012. Binnie already owns WBIN-TV in Derry, New Hampshire.^[3][4] The deal was completed on November 30, 2012.^[5]

References

External links

• Official website
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WXLF
• Radio-Locator information on WXLF
• Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WXLF