WPEP

WPEP
Taunton, Massachusetts ; United States;
Frequency	1570 kHz
Programming
Format	Defunct (was full service news/talk/sports)
Affiliations	ABC Radio Networks ; Talk Radio Network ; USA Radio Network ; Westwood One ; Boston Red Sox Radio Network (2004–2005); Pawsox Radio Network (????-2003);
Ownership
Owner	Anastos Media Group
History
First air date	December 22, 1949;75 years ago
Last air date	October 18, 2007; (57 years, 300 days)
Former call signs	WTRN (never used on air)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	61601
Class	B
Power	1,000 watts (day); 227.4 watts (night);
HAAT	200 feet (60 m)
Transmitter coordinates	41°53′0.4″N71°3′48.2″W / 41.883444°N 71.063389°W
Links
Public license information	Public file ; LMS ;
Website	wpep1570.com via Internet Archive

Last updated January 20, 2025

WPEP (1570 kHz AM) was an AM radio station licensed to Taunton, Massachusetts. WPEP's format had been full-service, offering local news and talk programming, as well as music and nationally syndicated talk. The station was last owned by the Anastos Media Group.

History

1940s

In late 1948, Silver City Broadcasting Corp., owned by businessman John McGregor, applied for and was granted a construction permit for an AM broadcast station in Taunton. The station's callsign was originally to be WTRN, however the callsign was changed to WPEP before the station officially signed on the air December 22, 1949. When WPEP signed on, its studio was located atop the Roseland Ballroom, north of downtown Taunton. The original format is believed to have been all local programming. WPEP was a 1 kilowatt daytime-only station from 1949 to 1970. This meant that WPEP was required to cease transmitting from sunset to sunrise. WPEP's transmitter site was 760 County Street in Taunton, Massachusetts.

1970s

On November 27, 1970, WPEP received pre-sunrise authority, allowing it to sign on at 6:00 am with a power of 350 watts, which could be upped to the full kilowatt at sunrise (during months when sunrise occurs later than 6:00 am). News Director at the time was John P. Shaw.

1980s

Daytime-only status lasted until September 1, 1986, when WPEP was granted nighttime authorization, which allowed WPEP to transmit 227.4 watts of power.

1990s

WPEP was sold in 1997 by Silver City Broadcasting to J. Keating Willcox's Willow Farm Broadcasting.

2000s

This would be the final calendar decade of WPEP's existence. WPEP was sold to Anastos Media Group in 2001. Paul Giammarco was named general manager in 2002 until he left for WSAR in 2003. After Giammarco left, staffer A.J. Nicholson was promoted to general manager.

In 2004, WPEP added the Boston Red Sox Radio Network and carried the team's first World Series victory heard on radio. It was an affiliate in 2005 as well but station management had changed that March and did not air games. A May 5, 2005, article in the Taunton Daily Gazette said that the station was in jeopardy because WNSH in Beverly, Massachusetts, got approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to increase their daytime power.^[2] WNSH was owned by former WPEP owner J. Keating Wilcox. When Wilcox sold WPEP to Anastos Media, there was an informal agreement that Anastos Media would turn in the station's license to allow WNSH (on the same frequency) to up their power, contingent on the power increase being granted by the FCC. The city's mayor and U.S. Representative filed objections; however, the station's general manager at the time publicly dismissed the possibility the station may go dark. On December 5, 2005, Anastos Media filed a renewal of the WPEP license. The renewal was granted by the FCC on March 28, 2006. WPEP's license was turned in to the FCC on October 18, 2007.^[3]

Auxiliary licenses

KRN297: a Remote pickup unit (RPU) on 161.64MHz/161.67MHz.
WLI832: a Studio-transmitter link (STL) on 948MHz.

Status

Station license deleted.

Related Research Articles

WUBG is a regional Mexican station licensed to serve Methuen, Massachusetts. It has an FM translator, W287CW, at 105.3 MHz. The station is called "La Pantera". The WUBG transmitter is located in Andover, while W287CW's transmitter is in Medford. The station is owned by Costa-Eagle Radio Ventures Limited Partnership—a partnership between Pat Costa and The Eagle-Tribune. Under a local marketing agreement, WUBG is programmed by Costa Media Boston LLC, a similarly-named but separate company controlled by Jose Villafañe.

WTAQ and WTAQ-FM are conservative news/talk-formatted radio stations, licensed to Green Bay, Wisconsin (AM) and Glenmore, Wisconsin (FM), that serve the Green Bay and Appleton-Oshkosh areas. The stations are owned by Midwest Communications.

KMMQ is a radio station licensed to serve Plattsmouth, Nebraska, United States. The station is owned by NRG Media and the license is held by NRG License Sub, LLC, headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Its studios are located at Dodge Street and 50th Avenue in Midtown Omaha, while its transmitter site is located near Glenwood, Iowa.

WGLB is a commercial radio station licensed to Elm Grove, Wisconsin, and serving the Milwaukee metropolitan area. It airs an urban contemporary gospel radio format. The license is held by JJK Media, LLC. It is co-owned by the children of former owner Joel Kinlow, making WGLB one of only a few radio stations that is owned by an African-American family. The studios are on West Burleigh Street in Milwaukee.

WSSV is a commercial radio station licensed to Mechanicville, New York, and serving the Capital District. The station broadcasts a classic hits radio format and is owned by Loud Media.

WECZ is an American commercially licensed daytime-only radio station, licensed to serve the community of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. The station operates with a power of 5,000 watts daytime, and 1,000 watts during critical hours. WECZ is owned by Renda Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of Renda Broadcasting Corporation of Pittsburgh.

WKMC is a classic country radio station broadcasting in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is licensed to the community of Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, located approximately 12 miles southeast of Altoona.

WREC is a commercial AM radio station in Memphis, Tennessee. It broadcasts a news/talk format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Memphis. WREC is West Tennessee's primary entry point station for the Emergency Alert System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WDUZ</span> Radio station in Green Bay, Wisconsin

WDUZ and WDUZ-FM are radio stations serving the Green Bay, Wisconsin area, simulcasting a sports format as "Sports Radio 107.5 and 1400 The Fan". The stations were owned by Clear Channel Communications, though they were still operated by their previous owner, Cumulus Media, who swapped ownership of both stations to Clear Channel in exchange for 2 Ohio stations in early 2009. In August 2013, Clear Channel reached a deal to sell its Green Bay stations back to Cumulus. The sale was consummated on December 31, 2013, at a price of $17,636,643.

KTEM is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Temple, Texas. It serves the Killeen-Temple area with a talk radio format. KTEM is owned by Townsquare Media, through licensee Townsquare Media Killeen-Temple License, LLC. Its studios and offices are on Moody Lane in Temple.

WAAO-FM is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Andalusia, the county seat of Covington County, Alabama. The station, established in 1987, is owned by Three Notch Communications, LLC.

WJUS is a radio station licensed to serve Marion, Alabama, United States. The station is owned by Grace Baptist Temple Church of Selma, Alabama.

WYND is a radio station broadcasting a Christian radio format. Licensed to DeLand, Florida, the station serves the Daytona Beach metropolitan area. The station is owned by Clarence and Andrea Williams, through licensee Proclaim Media Group, LLC.

WPMZ is a radio station licensed to serve East Providence, Rhode Island, United States. The station is owned by Video Mundo Broadcasting Co., LLC. It airs a Spanish tropical format. WPMZ is relayed on an FM translator: W271CR on 102.1 MHz. The station has been assigned the callsign WPMZ by the Federal Communications Commission since November 1, 1995.

WVOJ is a commercial radio station, licensed to Fernandina Beach, Florida, and serving the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Norsan Consulting And Management, Inc. WVOJ airs a Regional Mexican radio format, largely simulcast with several other radio stations in the Southern U. S., including North Carolina and South Carolina.

WTWB is a radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican radio format. Licensed to Auburndale, Florida, the station serves the Lakeland-Winter Haven section of Central Florida. The station is currently owned by Carpenter's Home Church, Inc.

WACE is an AM radio station broadcasting a Catholic radio format. Licensed to Chicopee, Massachusetts, the station serves the Springfield radio market and has been permitted to identify itself as "Chicopee-Springfield" since 1969. The station is owned by Holy Family Communications, and operates as part of its The Station of the Cross network. EWTN Radio programming is also heard.

WVBF is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Middleborough Center, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Middleborough/Taunton area. The station is currently owned by Massachusetts state senator Marc R. Pacheco through his MRP Communications and Consulting, LLC. WVBF carries the Massachusetts Reading Network when not airing local programming. USA Radio News plays at the top of the hour during locally produced programs.

WKOK is a commercial radio station in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. It is owned by Sunbury Broadcasting Corporation and it broadcasts a combination News, Talk and Sports radio format. The radio studios and transmitter are on County Line Road in Selinsgrove.

WMNE was a pioneer commercial FM radio station, which was the second of two mountain-top broadcasting stations established by the Yankee Network. It began regular programming, as experimental station W1XER, in December 1940. In 1941 it was licensed for commercial operation from studios in Boston, initially with the call sign W39B, which was changed to WMTW in 1943. In late 1946 the station's designated community of license was changed to Portland, Maine, and its call letters became WMNE.

References

↑ "Facility Technical Data for WPEP". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
↑ Winokoor, Charles (5 May 2005). "WPEP faces threat of 'going dark'". Business. Taunton Daily Gazette . OCLC 9545291. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2021. According to an April 27 letter issued by the FCC, Anastos Media Group (Anastos), Inc. of Malta, N.Y. "proposes to surrender the WPEP license for cancellation, contingent upon grant of the WNSH minor modification application."
↑ "WPEP and the sound of silence". Taunton Daily Gazette . 1 August 2007. OCLC 9545291. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021. Radio Station WPEP has been a strong voice in the Taunton area for close to for 60 years, but it may be bowing out. The transfer of some of its shows, including Home Town Talk, from 1570 AM on the dial to WBUF, at 1530 AM, was disclosed with the expectation that PEP will be gone for good in September.

External links

Facility details for Facility ID 61601 (WPEP) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
FCC History Cards for WPEP (covering 1948-1980 as WTRN / WPEP)
Official website (via Internet Archive)

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Facility Technical Data for WPEP". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.

[WPEP_Dark_2005-2] Winokoor, Charles (5 May 2005). "WPEP faces threat of 'going dark'". Business. Taunton Daily Gazette . OCLC 9545291. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2021. According to an April 27 letter issued by the FCC, Anastos Media Group (Anastos), Inc. of Malta, N.Y. "proposes to surrender the WPEP license for cancellation, contingent upon grant of the WNSH minor modification application."

[WPEP_dark-3] "WPEP and the sound of silence". Taunton Daily Gazette . 1 August 2007. OCLC 9545291. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 8 March 2021. Radio Station WPEP has been a strong voice in the Taunton area for close to for 60 years, but it may be bowing out. The transfer of some of its shows, including Home Town Talk, from 1570 AM on the dial to WBUF, at 1530 AM, was disclosed with the expectation that PEP will be gone for good in September.

[1]

[2]

[3]