WPOR

WPOR
City Portland, Maine
Broadcast area Portland, Maine
Branding WPOR 101.9
Slogan Today's Country
Frequency 101.9 MHz
First air date October 31, 1967
Format Country music
ERP 32,000 watts
HAAT 186 meters
Class B
Facility ID 49982
Callsign meaning W PORtland
Owner Saga Communications
Sister stations WBAE, WCLZ, WGAN, WGIN, WMGX, WYNZ, WZAN
Webcast Listen Live
Website wpor.com

WPOR is an FM radio station in Portland, Maine that broadcasts a country music radio format. It is owned by Saga Communications. It broadcasts at 101.9 MHz.

Programming

The WPOR airstaff consists of Jon Shannon, Sarah Sullivan, and Adam in the morning; other staff include Sarah Sullivan, Randi Kirshbaum, Matty Jeff, and Mike Matthews.

History

WPOR has had the same format since it signed-on as an FM simulcast of 1490 WPOR, now WBAE, on October 31, 1967. WPOR was owned by Hildreth Broadcasting Corporation at that time.[1] On March 2, 1971 WPOR and WPOR-FM were sold to Ocean Coast Properties.[2] 25 years later in March 1996 WPOR and WPOR-FM were sold again, this time to current owner Saga Communications for $10 million.[3][4]

Through most of its history, the AM and the FM stations either simulcast, or for some years, the AM station used a satellite-delivered Country music service, while live local announcers continued on the FM station. In March 1999 WPOR/1490 changed its call letters to WBAE.[5] The reason for the new call letters was made clear on May 24, 1999 when it changed its format to adult standards and became known on air as The Bay.[6]

In its heyday in the 1980s, WPOR had an announcer lineup that included Bud Sawyer, Tom Hennessey, Glen Slater, Deborah Delaney, Hal Knight, Brad Hughes, Chuck Brady, Ray Terry, Mike Audet, Gary Nelson, and others.

WPOR's Jon Shannon has hosted the POR Morning Crew since March 2001.

At one time, when it was Portland's only outlet for Country music, WPOR-FM was the most listened-to radio station in the state of Maine, and has been considered a leader in the field of American Country radio. For many years, WPOR-FM and album-oriented rock station 102.9 WBLM were consistently Portland's top two stations, with each vying for the lead in the ratings. Then in 2004, the Portland radio market got a second serious Country music contender in 99.9 WTHT, forcing WPOR-FM to share the Country audience.

References

  1. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1969 (PDF). 1969. p. 77. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  2. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1972 (PDF). 1972. p. 94. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  3. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1998 (PDF). 1998. p. 199. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  4. ↑ Fybush, Scott (March 14, 1996). "New England RadioWatch: March 14, 1996". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  5. ↑ "AM Query Results". FCC. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  6. ↑ Fybush, Scott (June 4, 1999). "The End of CBL is Near". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved March 6, 2012.

Coordinates: 43°45′32″N 70°19′12″W / 43.759°N 70.320°W / 43.759; -70.320

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