WXPN

WXPN

City	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Broadcast area	Delaware Valley
Branding	88.5 XPN
Frequency	88.5 (MHz) (also on HD Radio) 88.5 HD2 for "XPN2/XPoNential Radio"
Translator(s)	See tables below
First air date	1945 (carrier current on 730 AM) 1957 on 88.9 FM
Format	Analog/HD1/HD2: Adult Album Alternative
ERP	2,650 watts
HAAT	365 meters
Class	B
Facility ID	68229
Transmitter coordinates	40°02′19.3″N 75°14′14.2″W / 40.038694°N 75.237278°W / 40.038694; -75.237278 (NAD27)
Callsign meaning	W eXperimental Pennsylvania Network
Former callsigns	WXPN-AM (1945-1980) WQHS (1980-2003)
Former frequencies	730 AM (WQHS) (1945-2003)
Owner	University of Pennsylvania
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	WXPN Online

WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public FM radio station licensed to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format shows. WXPN produces World Cafe, a music program distributed by NPR to many non-commercial stations in the United States. The station's call sign, which is often abbreviated to XPN, stands for "Experimental Pennsylvania Network". The broadcast tower used by WXPN is located at (40°02′19.7″N 75°14′12.8″W / 40.038806°N 75.236889°W / 40.038806; -75.236889),^[1] in the antenna farm complex in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.

History

While the University of Pennsylvania has been involved with radio since 1909 when a wireless station was located in Houston Hall,^[2]^[3]^[4] WXPN itself first came into existence in 1945 as a carrier current station at 730 AM. In 1957, it was granted a full license as a 10-watt college radio station at 88.9 FM in addition to their frequency of 730 AM. From then into the mid-1970s, WXPN was a student activity of the university and as it grew, the station initiated unique programming designs including one of the earliest freeform radio formats, Phase II, in the 1960s. Prominent local DJ Michael Tearson got his start at WXPN in the late 1960s with a radio show The Attic. Tearson went on to replace Dave Herman at WMMR in 1970. In 1975, a controversial broadcast on the talk show The Vegetable Report led to an obscenity complaint with the FCC, which found the charges serious enough to decline renewal of the broadcast license. This incident (December 1975) marked the first time FCC pulled a license on grounds of obscenity. But a citizen's group organized to petition the FCC to consider XPN's unique service, and with a pledge from Penn to create positions for professional staff to run the station, the FCC allowed the license to renew.

With this new staff of five managers, WXPN became a steady fountain of high-quality folk, jazz, new and avant-garde music and public affairs programming produced by a combination of Penn students/alumni and community volunteers. Veterans of WXPN that have gone on to notable achievements in other areas include Broadway producer/director Harold Prince (the station's first program director), NBC news correspondent Andrea Mitchell (former news director); jazz producer Michael Cuscuna (former DJ) and Echoes producers John Diliberto and Kimberly Haas (former producers of Diaspar and other XPN shows).

Shows that have been staples on XPN since the '70s include The Blues Show with Jonny Meister (Saturday nights), Sleepy Hollow (Saturday and Sunday morning quiet music shows), Star's End (ambient and space music Saturday night/Sunday morning) and Amazon Country (lesbian-oriented music and programming on Sunday evening). XPN also broadcasts the Folk Show with Gene Shay on Sunday evening, which started at WHAT-FM in 1962 and continued on WDAS-FM, WMMR, WIOQ and WHYY-FM but moved to WXPN in the '90s when WHYY changed to a talk format.

In 1986 the station qualified for membership in the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and began the legal process to move from 88.9 to 88.5 on the FM broadcast band in order to increase signal coverage. Beginning the late 1980s, the programming and personnel were shifted from its diverse volunteer voice to full-time salaried programmers. Penn student radio activity is currently carried out on WQHS.

In 1988, WXPN started Kids Corner, a daily interactive radio show for kids hosted by Kathy O'Connell. Kids Corner has won numerous awards, including the Peabody Award and the Armstrong Award.

In 2004, WXPN moved to new facilities at 3025 Walnut Street, where the radio station shares space with a music venue called World Cafe Live. (World Cafe Live is an independent for-profit entity that pays a yearly fee to license the World Cafe name from WXPN.)

In October 2015, WXPN and WNTI jointly announced a sales agreement for transfer of ownership of the Hackettstown, NJ, public radio station owned by Centenary College. The sale price is $1,250,000 in cash and another $500,000 in underwriting value over 10 years. A Public Service Operating Agreement enabled WXPN to begin using the WNTI transmission facilities to air WXPN programming, effective October 15, 2015.^[5]

Programs

WXPN carries primarily locally originated programs, supplemented by a few nationally syndicated shows.^[6] The station's weekday programs are all produced by its own staff, including World Cafe, a show developed and hosted by WXPN host David Dye and now distributed by NPR.^[7] The station also produces most of its night and weekend specialty programs, including Kids Corner with Kathy O'Connell, The Geator's R&R, R&B Express with legendary Philadelphia DJ Jerry Blavat, The Blues Show with Jonny Meister, The Folk Show with Gene Shay and Sleepy Hollow, an early morning program of quiet music. The station's syndicated offerings include The Grateful Dead Hour with David Gans, The Many Moods of Ben Vaughn, Echoes with John Diliberto and Mountain Stage with Larry Groce.^[6]

WXPN also broadcasts the Penn Quakers men's basketball games.^[8]

Stations

One full-power station is licensed to simulcast the programming of WXPN full-time:

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	Facility ID	ERP/Power W	Height m (ft)	Class	Transmitter coordinates	Notes
WXPH	88.7 FM (HD)	Middletown, Pennsylvania	87834	7,000 vert, 75 horiz	216 m (709 ft)	B	40°02′07.3″N 76°37′17.9″W / 40.035361°N 76.621639°W / 40.035361; -76.621639 (WXPH) (NAD27)	Service Contour covers York and Lancaster

One full-power station currently has a Public Service Operating Agreement to simulcast the programming of WXPN:

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	Facility ID	ERP/Power W	Height m (ft)	Class	Transmitter coordinates	Notes
WNTI	91.9 FM	Hackettstown, New Jersey	9759	5,600 vert, 5,500 horiz	155 m (509 ft)	B1	40°51′07″N 74°52′35″W / 40.85194°N 74.87639°W / 40.85194; -74.87639 (WNTI) (NAD27)	Service Contour covers Hackettstown, northern New Jersey and northeastern Pennsylvania.

Translators

WXPN programming is broadcast on the following translators:

Broadcast translators of WXPN
Call sign	Frequency (MHz)	City of license	ERP W	Height m (ft)	Class	FCC info
W285DH	104.9	North Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania	13	105 m (344 ft)	D	FCC

Broadcast translators of WXPH
Call sign	Frequency (MHz)	City of license	ERP W	Height m (ft)	Class	FCC info
W259AU	99.7	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania	10	209.2 m (686 ft)	D	FCC

From 1993 to 2007, the WXPH call sign was used on 88.1 in Harrisburg, now WZXM.^[9] WXPN traded that facility to Four Rivers Community Broadcasting in return for 88.7 Middletown and W259AU.^[10]

Portions of WXPN's schedule are simulcast on WKHS 90.5 FM, Worton, Maryland (Eastern Shore Chesapeake Bay and Baltimore, Maryland areas).

WXPN-HD2

XPN2/XPoNential Radio is an Adult Album Alternative radio station broadcast on the HD2 channels of WXPN in Philadelphia and WXPH in Middletown, Pennsylvania. The station is also syndicated to several other public radio stations, which air it on their HD2 or HD3 channels.

History

On May 2, 2007, WXPN launched an indie rock format on its HD2 channel, branded as "Y-Rock on XPN".^[11] Y-Rock on XPN featured on-air personalities originally from Philadelphia radio station WPLY 100.3 FM, branded as "Y100". WPLY owner Radio One changed the station's format in 2005, ending the alternative rock format. Y-Rock on XPN was the latest incarnation of the Y100 brand^[12] that originally aired on WPLY, which was the market's alternative rock station from 1995 until 2005.

In mid-June 2010, "Y-Rock on XPN" programming was cancelled due to budget cuts.^[13] The "Y-Rock on XPN" branding officially changed to XPN2 at midnight, June 15, 2011.^[14] The HD2 channel and companion online stream would later be re-branded as "XpoNential Radio".

Former Y-Rock logo used from 2006 to 2010

WQHS

Main article: WQHS Radio

In 1970, WXPN-AM's operations moved from Houston Hall, directly in the center of campus, to 3905 Spruce Street. The FM radio station became professionally run by 1980, with a mix of community volunteers and students staffing the station, while the AM radio station was still student-run. WXPN-AM then became WQHS, which stands for Quad Hill Superblock (referring to student dormitories on campus). As of September 2005, the radio station is located on the 5th floor of the Hollenback Center, on the far east side of campus.

In 2003, the WQHS radio tower, formerly on top of Harnwell College House, fell in a severe storm. As a result, WQHS now broadcasts exclusively over the Internet, in an eclectic freeform radio format.

References

↑ "FM Query Results for WXPN, Federal Communications Commission". Retrieved 2014-08-28.
↑ "The Wireless Club Station - UP". Retrieved 2012-11-06.
↑ "A Brief History of the Club". Retrieved 2012-06-08.
↑ "The Wireless Club" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-06-08.
↑ "WXPN Picks Up Centenary College’s WNTI". RadioWorld.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
1 2 "XPN Program Guide". xpn.org. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "David Dye, NPR Biography". National Public Radio website. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Penn Basketball". xpn.org. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Call Sign History, WZXM". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Northeast Radio Watch, June 25, 2007". Fybush.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "WXPN Launches Y-Rock as HD2 Channel". RadioWorld.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Dept. of Sad Face". Philadelphia City Paper. June 16, 2010.
↑ "NorthEast Radio Watch, June 14, 2010". Fybush.com. Retrieved 2016-04-29.
↑ "Just Announced: Y-Rock On XPN to change its name to XPN2 at midnight". TheKey.xpn.org. Retrieved 2016-04-29.

External links

Official Website

Query the FCC's FM station database for WXPN

Radio-Locator information on WXPN

Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WXPN

Query the FCC's FM station database for WXPH

Radio-Locator information on WXPH

Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WXPH

Query the FCC's FM station database for WNTI

Radio-Locator information on WNTI

University of Pennsylvania

Schools	Annenberg School for Communication Annenberg Public Policy Center Center for Global Communication Studies School of Arts and Sciences School of Dental Medicine School of Design Graduate School of Education School of Engineering and Applied Science School of Law Perelman School of Medicine School of Nursing School of Social Policy and Practice School of Veterinary Medicine Wharton School

Programs	Center for Advanced Judaic Studies Fels Institute of Government Graduate Group in the Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology Lauder Institute Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics Singh Program in Networked & Social Systems Engineering (NETS) Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management Vagelos Scholars Program in Molecular Life Sciences

Places	University City Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts College Hall College Houses David Rittenhouse Laboratory Fisher Fine Arts Library Historic District Houston Hall Institute of Contemporary Art Irvine Auditorium Kelly Writers House Meyerson Hall Moore School of Electrical Engineering Morris Arboretum Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology New Bolton Center Penn Park Perelman Quadrangle Richards Medical Research Laboratories Van Pelt Library

Athletics	Penn Quakers Band "Fight on, Pennsylvania!" Basketball Men's Women's College Boat Club Lacrosse Penn Relays Soccer Men's Women's Class of 1923 Arena Franklin Field Meiklejohn Stadium Palestra

Media	The Daily Pennsylvanian Pennsylvania Punch Bowl University of Pennsylvania Press Wharton School Publishing WQHS Radio WXPN

Life	Student life Notable alumni and faculty Wharton School alumni Mask and Wig Penn Glee Club Penn Masala Penn MERT PennApps Philomathean Society "Hail, Pennsylvania!" "The Red and the Blue"

Radio stations in the Philadelphia market

By AM frequency	560 610 640 690² 740 800 860² 900 950 990 1060¹ 1110 1180 1210¹ 1310² 1340² 1360 1370 1420 1440 1460 1480 1490 1520 1540 1590 1640 1680² ¹ Clear-channel stations with extended nighttime coverage ²Broadcast in Spanish

By FM frequency	88.1 88.1 88.5 88.7 88.9 88.9 89.1 89.1 89.3 (Warminster) 89.3 (Coatesville) 89.5 89.5 89.7 90.1 90.5 90.9 91.5 91.5 91.7 91.7 91.7 92.5 93.3 93.7 94.1 94.5 94.9 95.7 96.5 97.3 97.5 98.1 98.5 98.9 99.5 99.9 100.3 101.1 102.1 102.9 103.9 104.5 105.3 106.1 106.5 106.9 107.9

NOAA Weather Radio frequency	162.425 162.475

Digital broadcast radio stations	610 950 1060 1210 1480 88.5-1 88.5-2 90.9-1 90.9-2 92.5-1 92.5-2 92.5-3 93.3-1 93.3-2 94.1-1 94.1-2 94.1-3 94.1-4 95.7-1 95.7-2 96.5-1 96.5-2 97.5-1 97.5-2 97.5-3 98.1-1 98.1-2 98.1-3 98.1-4 98.9-1 98.9-2 100.3-1 101.1-1 101.1-2 102.1-1 102.1-2 102.9-1 102.9-2 104.5-1 104.5-2 105.3-1 105.3-2 106.1-1 106.1-2 107.9-1

By callsign	KIH28 KYW¹ WBCB WBBO WBEB WBEN-FM WBMR WBYO WCHE WCHR WCOJ WCUR WDAS WDAS-FM WDNR WEMG² WEXP WFIL WFYL WHAT WHHS WHYY WIFI WIOQ WIP-FM WISX WJBR WKDN WKDU WKVP WMGK WMMR WNAP WNG704 WNJC WNJS-FM WNPV WNTP WNWR WOGL WPAZ WPEB WPEN WPHE² WPHI-FM WPHT¹ WPNX700 WPPZ-FM WPST WPWA WQHS WRDV WRFF WRNB WRSD WRTI WRTJ WSRN-FM WSTW WTEL WTHJ WTMR WTTM² WURD WUSL WVCH WWDB² WWJZ WWLU WWTX WXPN WXTU WXVU WYBF WYPA WZMP WZZE

Defunct stations	WCAU (AM) WCAU-FM WDRE WDVR WEGK WLCE WQHS WSNI WTHK WYXR

Pennsylvania radio markets Allentown–Bethlehem Altoona Bradford–Coudersport Chambersburg–Waynesboro Erie Harrisburg–Lebanon–Carlisle Lancaster Montrose New Castle Philadelphia Pittsburgh Reading Sayre–Towanda–Mansfield–Wellsboro Wilkes-Barre–Scranton Williamsport York Other Pennsylvania radio regions Bedford Indiana Johnstown Lewistown–Mifflintown Meadville–Franklin Punxsutawney–DuBois St. Marys–Emporium–Kane State College Stroudsburg Sunbury–Selinsgrove–Lewisburg Warren Philadelphia Metro Markets Allentown Monmouth-Ocean Reading Trenton Wilmington See also List of radio stations in Pennsylvania Mass media in the Philadelphia Area Radio stations TV stations Newspapers

Radio stations in the Harrisburg–Lebanon–Carlisle, Pennsylvania, market

By AM frequency	580 720 960 1000 1230 1270 1400 1460 1600 1640

By FM frequency	88.1 88.7 89.5 90.1 91.3 91.7 92.1 92.7 93.5 94.9 95.3 96.5 97.3 98.9 99.3 100.1 101.3 101.7 102.3 104.1 105.7 106.7

NOAA Weather Radio frequency	162.55

By callsign	KFX305 W211AA W237DE W243BR W269AS WCAT-FM WGTY WHKF WHGB WHP WHYF WHYL WIOO WITF-FM WJAZ WKBO WNNK WONN-FM WPDC WPFG WQIC WQLV WQXA WRBT WROZ WRVV WTKT WTPA WXL40 WWKL WXPH WZCY-FM WZXM

Defunct	WISL (1480 AM)

Pennsylvania radio markets Allentown–Bethlehem Altoona Bradford–Coudersport Chambersburg–Waynesboro Erie Harrisburg–Lebanon–Carlisle Lancaster Montrose New Castle Philadelphia Pittsburgh Reading Sayre–Towanda–Mansfield–Wellsboro Wilkes-Barre–Scranton Williamsport York Other Pennsylvania radio regions Bedford Indiana Johnstown Lewistown–Mifflintown Meadville–Franklin Punxsutawney–DuBois St. Marys–Emporium–Kane State College Stroudsburg Sunbury–Selinsgrove–Lewisburg Warren See also List of radio stations in Pennsylvania

Radio stations in the Allentown–Bethlehem–Easton, Pennsylvania market

By AM frequency	790 1100 1160 1230 1320 1400 1470 1600 1640

By FM frequency	88.1 89.3 89.5 90.3 91.3 91.7 92.7 93.1 93.7 93.9 94.7 95.1 96.1 96.9 97.1 99.3 99.9 100.7 102.5 103.5 104.1 104.9 (Easton) 104.9 (North Whitehall Township) 105.7 107.1 107.5

NOAA Weather Radio frequency	162.4

By callsign	W224AU W226AA W229AO W230AG W234AX W245AC W246AA W257AI W278AI W285DH W289AH WAEB WAEB-FM WBYN WBYN-FM WCTO WDIY WEEX WEST WGPA WHOL WJCS WJRH WLEV WLHI WLVR-FM WMUH WODE-FM WPNX700 WRFY-FM WSAN WTKZ WWPJ WWYY WXL39 WZZO

New York radio markets Albany–Schenectady–Troy Binghamton Buffalo–Niagara Falls Elmira–Corning Hudson Valley Nassau–Suffolk (Long Island) New York City Olean Plattsburgh Poughkeepsie Rochester Syracuse Utica–Rome Watertown Other New York radio regions Ithaca Jamestown–Dunkirk North Country Saratoga Pennsylvania radio markets Allentown–Bethlehem Altoona Bradford–Coudersport Chambersburg–Waynesboro Erie Harrisburg–Lebanon–Carlisle Lancaster Montrose New Castle Philadelphia Pittsburgh Reading Sayre–Towanda–Mansfield–Wellsboro Wilkes-Barre–Scranton Williamsport York Other Pennsylvania radio regions Bedford Indiana Johnstown Lewistown–Mifflintown Meadville–Franklin Punxsutawney–DuBois St. Marys–Emporium–Kane State College Stroudsburg Sunbury–Selinsgrove–Lewisburg Warren See also List of radio stations in Pennsylvania

NPR member stations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

Penn State University stations	Kane WPSX State College WPSU

Temple University stations	Jackson Township WRTY Ephrata WRTL Philadelphia WRTI Summerdale WJAZ Coatesville WRTJ

WQED stations	Johnstown WQEJ Pittsburgh WQED

WVIA stations	Scranton WVIA Williamsport WVYA

Other stations	Allentown WDIY Erie WQLN Harrisburg WITF Philadelphia WHYY Philadelphia WXPN Pittsburgh WESA Pittsburgh WYEP

See also List of NPR stations

See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Pennsylvania

Coordinates: 40°02′36″N 75°14′32″W / 40.0434°N 75.2421°W / 40.0434; -75.2421

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