Tuesday, September 30, 2008

WKXL reportedly buying religious FM translator

WKXL, Concord's local AM radio station, petitioned the FCC last week to purchase a low-powered FM translator currently owned by Concord Bible Fellowship, according to paperwork filed at the FCC and postings on the radio-info.com gossip board.
WKXL has also filed paperwork to move the FM transmitter from Plausawa Hill to the AM's Redington Road location. They have also requested an increase in the power of the signal to 69 watts.
No word yet on what mechanisms or loopholes the station will have to set in place to allow these changes to take place. The station should be able to replace its commercials on the AM with underwriting notices on the FM, and get by the process of being a non-profit versus a for-profit. But these stations are usually set aside for specifically religious institutions or educational purposes, like churches, high schools and colleges, not for-profit businesses, no matter how good or positive the community programming is.
It will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

In other radio news, the former WKXL FM station, 102.3, recently servered its LMA agreement with Nassau Broadcasting after the FCC ruled the corporation had too many FM stations in the Concord/Lakes Region radio market.
No word yet from the current owners, Vox Communications, as to what they plan on doing with the station. The station was broadcasting hard rock on a loop with no ads and top of the hour bumpers after the LMA ended but the station was later taken off the air.

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