WPEN (FM)
 |
|
| City | Burlington, New Jersey |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Philadelphia/Delaware Valley |
| Branding | 97.5 The Fanatic |
| Slogan | Philly's First FM Sports Station |
| Frequency | 97.5 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1949 (as WTOA) |
| Format | Analog/HD1: Sports HD2: Classical Music HD3: Spanish CHR ("Supra FM") |
| ERP | 26,000 watts (analog) 1,244 watts (digital) |
| HAAT | 208 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 47427 |
| Callsign meaning | William PENn Broadcasting (original owner of former sister station 950 AM, now WKDN) |
| Former callsigns | WTOA (1949–1971) WPST (1971–2005) WTHK (2005–2006) WJJZ-FM (2006) WJJZ (2006–2008) WNUW (2008–2009) WPEN-FM (2009–2013) |
| Affiliations | Philadelphia Union (MLS) |
| Owner |
Beasley Broadcast Group (Beasley Media Group, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WBEN-FM, WMGK, WMMR, WTEL, WTMR, WWDB |
| Webcast |
Listen Live or Listen Live via IHeartRadio |
| Website |
975thefanatic.com supraradio.com (HD3) |
WPEN (97.5 FM, "97.5 The Fanatic") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Burlington, New Jersey. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC and broadcasts a sports format. Studios are located in Bala Cynwyd and the station's broadcast tower is located in Wyndmoor at (40°04′57.0″N 75°10′52.2″W / 40.082500°N 75.181167°W).
The 97.5 frequency was originally allocated to Trenton, New Jersey. The station there began test broadcasts on January 10, 1949, then official operations on April 19, 1949, as WTOA. It was owned by the Mercer Broadcasting Company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trenton Times newspaper. WTOA started out broadcasting from 3 pm to 11 pm, with an ERP of 14,500 watts. Its original coverage area reached as far north as Queens, NY and as far west as Reading PA.
By the late 1960s, the station had been acquired by Nassau Broadcasting. Its call letters were changed to WPST on September 13, 1971.
The WPST calls originally stood for "Passport Stereo Trenton," a slogan of the station at the time. WPST is known for its mainstream CHR format, which they've had for many years. Tom Taylor was the PD who launched the format in the mid-1970s, and did mornings on the station until 1987. In August 1975, owner Herb Hobler hired Phil Gieger as the General Manager. Along with Tom Taylor, they revamped the station and coined the phrase, "From The Shore To The Poconos, The Music Is On The FM 97.5 WPST." They initially established an Adult Rock format, and by the Fall of 1975, the station took off and eventually became the number one station in the market. Some WPST DJ's over the years included John Mellon (aka Walt Ballard), Ed Johnson, Doug James, John Brown, Eddie Davis, Trish Merelo, Andy Gury, Brian Douglas, Mel "Toxic" Taylor, Jay Sorensen, Dave Hoeffel, Tom Cunningham, Michelle Stevens, Eric Johnson, Mark Sheppard, Andre Gardner, Phil Simon, Steve Trevelise, Joel Katz, Rich DeSisto, Lee Tobin, Steve Kamer, Lori Johnson, Mark DiDia, Bob Sorrentino, and Scott Lowe.
...
Wikipedia