WPST

WPST (94.5 FM, "94.5 PST") is a commercial radio station licensed to Trenton, New Jersey, airing a CHR format. Owned by Townsquare Media,[3][4] the station serves Central Jersey, the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia and its northern and eastern suburbs.[5]

Not to be confused with former Miami, Florida, television station WPST-TV.
WPST
Broadcast areaCentral New Jersey, Delaware Valley
Frequency94.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingYour #1 Hit Music Station! 94.5 PST
Programming
FormatContemporary hit radio
Ownership
Owner
WCHR, WKXW, WNJE
History
First air date
August 7, 1965 (1965-08-07)
Former call signs
  • WTTM-FM (1965–1969)
  • WCHR (1969–1998)
  • WNJO (1998–2002)
  • WTHK (2002–2005)
Call sign meaning
"Passport" or "Passport Stereo Trenton"[1]
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID25013
ClassB
ERP50,000 watts (horizontal)
48,000 watts (vertical)
HAAT150 meters (490 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°11′21.8″N 74°50′47.6″W
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Website945pst.com

The stations studios and offices are located at Alexander Road in Princeton, New Jersey. Its broadcast tower is located west of Morrisville, Pennsylvania at (40°11′21.8″N 74°50′47.6″W).[6] In addition to a standard analog transmission, the station can be streamed available online.

History

On August 7, 1965, 94.5 signed on as WTTM-FM. It was owned by the Scott Broadcasting Company, Inc. of New Jersey and was the adjunct to WTTM (920 AM).[7] On February 1, 1969, WTTM-FM became WCHR, a religious station; in 1974, it was approved to increase its effective radiated power to 50,000 watts.[8]

The Scott family sold WTTM and WCHR in 1996 for $20 million to Nassau Broadcasting Partners.[9] The sale prompted immediate speculation that a format change was in the offing for WCHR.[10] That November, WCHR's religious programming began being simulcast on 920 AM. On February 27, 1998, the 94.5 frequency began stunting with construction sound effects.

On March 2, 1998, at 5:00 p.m., 94.5 relaunched as "New Jersey's Oldies Station", with new WNJO call letters.[11] The station's format of primary 1960s oldies was selected so as to avoid cannibalizing Nassau's other Trenton station, WPST (97.5 FM). The first request on the new WNJO was made by Governor Christine Whitman, who attended the launch.[12]

WNJO brought in morning personality Don Kellogg Who was a ratings winner, but facing competition from WKXW which was moving in a 1970s direction, and inspired by the revenue success of a similar flip at Nassau's station in Allentown, Pennsylvania, WNJO became classic hits "The Hawk" on December 1, 2001[13] and adopted WTHK call letters on August 1, 2002.

WPST logo 2005-2020

WPST's contemporary hit radio format moved from 97.5 to 94.5 on February 14, 2005 at 5pm. At the same time, WTHK's programming moved to 97.5, which had been approved to move its community of license to Burlington, New Jersey, closer to Philadelphia.[14]

The station, along with nine other Nassau stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by NB Broadcasting in May 2012. NB Broadcasting is controlled by Nassau's creditors — Goldman Sachs, Pluss Enterprises, and P.E. Capital.[15][16] In November, NB Broadcasting filed a motion to assign its rights to the stations to Connoisseur Media.[17] The sale to Connoisseur Media, at a price of $38.7 million, was consummated on May 29, 2013.

On March 22, 2018, it was announced that the station had been sold by Connoisseur Media to Townsquare Media (along with WNJE and WCHR) for a deal totaling $17.3 million.[18] The acquisition was finalized on July 2, 2018.

Signal note

WPST is short-spaced to two other Class B stations: WXBK 94.7 The Block (licensed to serve Newark, New Jersey) and WDAC (licensed to serve Lancaster, Pennsylvania). They are also short spaced due to WJLK-FM on 94.3 in Asbury Park.

WPST and WXBK operate on first adjacent channels (94.5 MHz and 94.7 MHz) and the distance between the stations' transmitters is 59 miles as determined by FCC rules.[19] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on first adjacent channels according to current FCC rules is 105 miles.[20]

WPST and WDAC operate on the same channel and the distance between the stations' transmitters is 76 miles as determined by FCC rules.[19] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current FCC rules is 150 miles.[20]

See also

References
  1. "Call Letter Origins". Radio History on the Web.
  2. "Facility Technical Data for WPST". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. "WPST Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. "WPST Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
  5. "60 dBu Service Contour for WPST, Trenton, NJ, 94.5 MHz BMLH-20190128ABN". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. 28 January 2016. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  6. "FM Query Results for WPST". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2020-01-26.
  7. "FCC Approves Sale Of Trenton Station". Courier-Post. Associated Press. October 11, 1963. p. 8. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  8. FCC History Cards for WPST
  9. "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. October 4, 1996. p. 10. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  10. Darrow, Chuck (January 8, 1997). "Change is in the air for local radio scene". Courier-Post. p. 12E. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  11. Darrow, Chuck (March 6, 1998). "Not-so-oldies find home on 'new' station". Courier-Post. p. 9TGIF. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  12. "WBLS puts its money on veteran Doug Banks". Courier-News. March 5, 1998. p. D-5. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  13. "'Hawks' Soar to Ratings Heights" (PDF). Radio & Records. October 11, 2002. pp. 22, 29. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  14. "Street Talk" (PDF). Radio & Records. January 14, 2005. p. 18. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  15. "10 Nassau Stations Go To NB Broadcasting LLC". All Access. May 30, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  16. Pierce, David (June 12, 2012). "Pocono radio stations now in the hands of creditors". Pocono Record. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  17. "Connoisseur Moves To Assume Debtor's Bid To Buy 10 Nassau Stations, Including WPST". All Access. November 21, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  18. "Townsquare Adds CHR Powerhouse WPST To Its Trenton Talker WKXW". Insideradio.com.
  19. "Reference points and distance computations. 47 CFR § 73.208". Retrieved 2021-08-22.
  20. "Minimum distance separation between stations. 47 CFR § 73.207(b)(1)" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-01-26.
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