New England RadioWatch: March 14, 1996

by Scott Fybush

• The mega-opolizing continues in northern New England. Saga Communications has agreed to pay $10 million for Ocean Coast Properties' WPOR AM-FM. The AM is a 1kw fulltimer on 1490, the FM is a full B on 101.9, and they simulcast country except when the AM breaks away for local sports play-by-play. Saga already owns news-talk WGAN 560, hot talk WZAN 970, classic rock WMGX 93.1, and oldies WYNZ 100.9 in the Portland market, so this deal makes it far and away the dominant owner up there. Only Fuller-Jeffrey comes close, with modern rock WCYY 94.3/WCYI 93.9, AOR (and blowtorch grandfathered-100kw) WBLM 102.9, and pending acquisition of hot AC WZPK 103.7.

• A few new sets of calls: WBLQ 99.3 on Block Island RI has applied for WERI-FM, to match the calls of new owner Philip Urso's WERI 1230 in nearby Westerly RI. Urso's southern-RI holdings now include WERI, WERI-FM, Newport's WADK 1540 (which is not off the air, despite reports to that effect in one hobby periodical) and WOTB 100.3, and modern-rocker WDGE 99.7 Wakefield-Peace Dale, which is a Providence rimshotter. Meanwhile up in southern Vermont, the WSSH calls that recently vanished from the Boston area have reappeared, on the CP for 101.5 Marlboro VT (formerly WAIG). This station looks like it might actually be on the air soon; it's applied for a slight power increase as well.

• More from FCC-land: It may be a while longer before Boston's WBCS makes the move from the "FM128" tower in Newton to the Prudential Tower in Boston's Back Bay. WBCS has applied for an extension of time on its CP to move to the 22.5kw, 735' AAT facilities there. WJMN 94.5 has a similar CP, as yet unbuilt. Providence's WALE 990 wants a replacement for its expired CP to change city of license to Greenville (a wide frost heave in the road somewhere in northwest Rhode Island) and increase to 5kw at night. Light of Life Ministries has applied for 95.3 up in Winslow, Maine, replacing a never-built CP for a WJBI, which expired in 1993. And the Green Mountain Education Fellowship wants 88.7 in East Berkshire, VT. On the translator front, the Monroe Board of Education in Connecticut wants to expand further east. It's applied for both 88.1 and 94.5 in New London for translators of its fine-arts network, based at WMNR 88.1 Monroe and also heard on WGSK 90.1 South Kent, WRXC 90.1 Shelton, and WGRS 91.5 Guilford. No apps this week for New England translators for WPCS, KAWZ, or the other pests.

• A few more station sales: WHOU-FM in Houlton ME, a class A on 100.1, goes from a bankruptcy trustee to local County Communications for $31,500. WHOU had been co-owned with dark WTOX 1450 and WHMX 105.7 Lincoln. And Biddeford, Maine's WIDE 1400 goes from Witham-Rhodes Communications to Saco Bay Communications group for $80K.

• And finally, Cape Cod's WCIB 101.9 Falmouth has shifted direction slightly, keeping its AC playlist but turning off "Lite 102" in favor of "Cool 102 FM."