WHOM

Last updated

WHOM
WHOM.png
Broadcast area Portland metropolitan area; Northern New England
Frequency 94.9 MHz
Branding94.9 H-O-M
Programming
Format Adult contemporary
Ownership
Owner
WBLM, WCYY, WJBQ, WPKQ
History
First air date
July 9, 1958;65 years ago (1958-07-09) (as WMTW-FM)
Former call signs
  • WMTW-FM (1958–1972)
  • WWMT (1972–1973)
  • WMTQ (1973–1976)
Call sign meaning
"We're High on the Mountain"
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 49687
Class C
ERP 50,000 watts
HAAT 1,141 metres (3,743 ft)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website 949whom.com

WHOM (94.9 FM, "94.9 H-O-M") is an American radio station which airs an adult contemporary radio format. WHOM is owned by Townsquare Media and transmits from atop Mount Washington in New Hampshire, its community of license. Mount Washington is the tallest peak in the Northeast.

Contents

WHOM's signal is among the strongest FM signals in the world, and the station can be heard in five states (New Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York) and one Canadian province (Quebec). Under proper conditions, the signal can reach as far east as Acadia National Park in Eastern Maine, as far north as Southern Quebec, as far south as Boston and as far West as the Adirondack Mountains in Upstate New York. Although the station can be heard over much of Northern New England, WHOM broadcasts from and considers itself part of the Portland radio market. WHOM claims on its website and on the air that it has the largest coverage area of any FM station in the United States. [2] Sister station 103.7 WPKQ also broadcasts from atop Mount Washington, but at 22,500 watts, its signal is not as strong as WHOM's.

In addition to local DJs, the station also airs the syndicated John Tesh radio show in the evening. From late November to December 25, WHOM switches to an all-Christmas music format.

History

WMTW-FM

The station that is today WHOM signed on the air July 9, 1958, as WMTW-FM. [3] Along with WMTW-TV (channel 8), which had signed on in 1954, WMTW-FM was owned by Mount Washington Television, an ownership group that included former Maine governor Horace Hildreth. [4] For most of its early years, WMTW-FM broadcast a beautiful music format, featuring quarter-hour sweeps of mostly soft instrumentals, with limited talking and commercials.

The WMTW stations were sold to Jack Paar of Tonight Show fame in 1963. [5] Jack Paar, in turn, sold WMTW-FM-TV to Mid New York Broadcasting in 1967. [6] In 1971, Mid New York sold WMTW-FM to Alpine Broadcasting while retaining the TV station.

With the ownership change, the radio station switched its call letters to WWMT in 1972, [7] [8] then to WMTQ in 1973, [9] and then finally to the current WHOM in 1976. [10] That call sign previously was used by New York City radio stations 1480 AM (now WZRC) and 92.3 FM (now WINS-FM). The station offered an easy listening format consisting of instrumental versions of pop songs from artists like Henry Mancini, Ray Conniff, Percy Faith, Chet Atkins, and Herb Alpert, as well as several soft vocals per hour like The Carpenters, Dionne Warwick, Johnny Mathis, and Perry Como. This format continued through the 1980s.

WHOM

In January 1990, WHOM dropped the easy listening music for a soft adult contemporary format, dubbed "soft and easy favorites" by the station. It continued to market itself as an easy listening station and retained its air staff. In the mid 1990s, the station began adding softer songs by contemporary hit artists and began playing current product. By 2000, WHOM was more of a mainstream adult contemporary station.

The station was sold to Fuller-Jeffrey Broadcasting by Barnstable Broadcasting in 1996. [11] Fuller-Jeffrey then sold most of its stations, including WHOM, to Citadel Broadcasting in 1999. [12] Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011. [13]

Sale to Townsquare Media

On August 30, 2013, a deal was announced in which Townsquare Media would acquire 53 Cumulus stations, including WHOM, for $238 million. The deal was part of Cumulus' acquisition of Dial Global; Townsquare and Dial Global were both controlled by Oaktree Capital Management. [14] [15] The sale to Townsquare was completed on November 14, 2013. [16]

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References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WHOM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "HOM's Signal Is HUGE!". 94.9 HOM. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  3. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1981 (PDF). 1981. p. C-147. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  4. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1958 (PDF). 1958. p. A-320. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  5. ↑ Marsters, Jack (October 11, 1963). "Jack Paar Buys WMTW-TV". The Gazette (Montreal) . p. 6. Retrieved March 12, 2010. Included in the deal, … is the affiliated FM radio station WMTW-FM.
  6. ↑ "Bits of Show Business". The Milwaukee Journal . November 10, 1967. p. 15. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  7. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1973 (PDF). 1973. p. B-125. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  8. ↑ "WHOM history cards" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission . Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  9. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 (PDF). 1974. p. B-132. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  10. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 (PDF). 1977. p. C-132. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 8, 2010. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  11. ↑ Fybush, Scott (June 18, 1996). "Portland Consolidates". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  12. ↑ Fybush, Scott (April 30, 1999). "Fuller-Jeffrey Sells Out". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved February 23, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  14. ↑ "Official: Cumulus Buys Dial Global, Spins Some Stations To Townsquare; Peak Stations Sold To Townsquare, Fresno Spun To Cumulus". All Access. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  15. ↑ "Cumulus Makes Dial Global And Townsquare Deals Official". RadioInsight. August 30, 2013. Retrieved August 30, 2013.
  16. ↑ "Cumulus-Townsquare-Peak Deal Closes". All Access. November 15, 2013. Retrieved November 16, 2013.

44°16′12″N71°18′14″W / 44.270°N 71.304°W / 44.270; -71.304

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