WBLQ (AM)

Not to be confused with WLBQ.

WBLQ
Broadcast areaSouthern Rhode Island, Southeastern Connecticut
Frequency1230 kHz C-QUAM AM stereo
Branding"Stereo 1230 and 103.1 FM WBLQ"
Programming
FormatFull service
Ownership
Owner
  • DiPonti Communications
  • (Thomas DiPaola, Administrator of Estate)
WWRI, WSUB-LP
History
First air date
July 1, 1949; 74 years ago (1949-07-01)
Former call signs
  • WERI (1949–1999)
  • WXNI (1999–2009)[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID71722
ClassC
Power1,000 watts
Transmitter coordinates
41°21′57.26″N 71°50′9.25″W / 41.3659056°N 71.8359028°W / 41.3659056; -71.8359028
Translator(s)103.1 W276DF (Westerly)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.wblq.net

WBLQ (1230 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Westerly, Rhode Island. The station is owned by DiPonti Communications. Its programming is also carried on FM translator W276DF (103.1).

History[edit]

WERI[edit]

The station, then called WERI, began broadcasting on 1230 kHz on July 1, 1949, using a daytime and nighttime power of 250 watts, non-directional. The station still uses its original 185-foot, Blaw-Knox, self-supporting tower, on Margin Street, beside the Pawcatuck River.

In the 1960s, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) increased the daytime power of all Class IV[3] AM stations to 1,000 watts. WERI still had to reduce power to 250 watts at night, as did all other stations on the same frequency.

In 1966, WERI added FM service with WERI-FM (103.7, now WVEI-FM). The FM antenna is initially mounted to the side of the AM tower on Margin Street in downtown Westerly. The FM station broadcasts for only a few days from this location before it is shut down due to harmonic interference to TV channel 12. In 1968, WERI-FM moved its transmitter to a new location on Route 3 in Ashaway, and begins regular broadcasting.

In the 1970s, the FCC increased the nighttime power of all Class IV stations from 250 to 1,000 watts, including WERI.

In the 1980s, WERI-FM moved its transmitter closer to Providence, changes callsign to WWRX, and effectively became a Providence station. In the 1990s, WWRX was sold to an independent owner from WERI.

WXNI[edit]

In 1999, WERI was sold to Boston University, and the callsign was changed to WXNI on January 4.[1] As WXNI, it aired a format of news and talk from National Public Radio.[4] It was a repeater of WRNI in Providence, and the two stations combined to provide a locally focused NPR member for Rhode Island–the forerunner of what evolved into Rhode Island Public Radio (now The Public's Radio).

WBLQ[edit]

In December 2007, BU reached an agreement to sell WXNI to Diponti Communications for a reported $350,000.[5] The move came after a local group took control of WRNI and acquired WAKX (later WRNI-FM, now WNPE) in Narragansett Pier to serve as its southern satellite. Diponti Communications announced its intention to move the local news and variety programming of WBLQ-LP (96.7 FM, Ashaway, Rhode Island) to WXNI's more powerful AM signal.[5] On November 29, 2009, WXNI changed its call letters to WBLQ; it would begin broadcasting in C-QUAM AM Stereo.

WBLQ began broadcasting on FM translator W276DF (103.1 MHz) in November 2019.

On December 1, 2021, WBLQ began airing the "Time Machine", weekday evenings and overnights. The Time Machine is a 1960s, 1970s and 1980s music format based upon the "WNBC Time Machine" aired in New York City, c. 1987–1988. The format was built by WBLQ on-air personalities Steve West and Bob Gilmore, with advice from former WNBC PD Dale Parsons.

On the night of October 13, 2022, WBLQ owner Chris DiPaola died unexpectedly from an apparent heart attack.[6] This came shortly after the station had settled with the city of Westerly on a five-year lease extension.

Translator[edit]

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
W276DF 103.1 FM Westerly, Rhode Island 26347 250 D 41°21′57.4″N 71°50′9.2″W / 41.365944°N 71.835889°W / 41.365944; -71.835889 (W276DF) LMS

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBLQ". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "AM Broadcast Station Classes; Clear, Regional, and Local Channels | FCC.gov". Archived from the original on April 30, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2013.
  4. ^ "Winter 2008 Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  5. ^ a b Fybush, Scott (December 24, 2007). "WAMC Backs Down in Noncomm Fight". NorthEast Radio Watch.
  6. ^ Burns-Fusaro, Nancy (October 14, 2022). "Chris DiPaola, 'the voice of Westerly,' remembered for his reliability, love of radio". The Westerly Sun.

External links[edit]

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