WFNQ

WFNQ (106.3 FM; "Frank FM") is a radio station in Nashua, New Hampshire, serving the Manchester, New Hampshire area with an adult contemporary radio format. It is owned by Binnie Media. The station's studios are located on Dow Street in Manchester, and its transmitter is located in Merrimack, just west of the Merrimack Premium Outlets.

WFNQ
CityNashua, New Hampshire
Broadcast areaManchester, New Hampshire
Frequency106.3 MHz
Branding106.3 Frank FM
SloganNew Hampshire's Greatest Hits
Programming
FormatAdult contemporary
Ownership
OwnerBinnie Media
(WBIN Media Co., Inc.)
WEMJ, WJYY, WLNH-FM, WNNH, WNHW, WTPL
History
First air date
October 19, 1987 (1987-10-19) (as WHOB)
Former call signs
WHOB (1987–2005)
Call sign meaning
FNQ = Frank
Technical information
Facility ID23329
ClassA
ERP6,000 watts
HAAT81 meters (266 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
42°49′36″N 71°30′10″W
Links
WebcastListen live
Websitefrankfmradio.com

WFNQ can also be received in the northern portion of the Boston media market. The station has FM co-channel interference with Providence-market WWKX past this area.

WFNQ is the flagship station of a four-station classic hits network under the Frank FM branding. The station is simulcast on 99.1 WNNH, licensed to Henniker, which serves areas north and west of Manchester, including Concord; by late 2020, WNNH had become a simulcast of WLNH-FM. Additionally, 98.3 WLNH-FM in Laconia (serving the Lakes Region) and 98.7 WBYY in Somersworth (serving the Seacoast Region) share WFNQ's playlist, on-air staff, and branding, but have separate commercials.

History
WFNQ's logo prior to simulcasting on WNNH

WFNQ signed on October 19, 1987[1] as WHOB, under the ownership of Mario DiCarlo.[2] Although WHOB was a new license, it inherited the allocation previously assigned to WOTW-FM,[2] which operated from 1947[3] until 1985.[4] At one time a CHR station, the station began mixing in modern rock in 1996,[5] and had shifted to hot adult contemporary by 1999, when DiCarlo retired and sold WHOB to Tele-Media.[2]

Tele-Media sold WHOB, along with WNNH in Henniker and WLKZ in Wolfeboro, to Nassau Broadcasting Partners in 2004.[6] Nassau dropped the hot AC format in favor of the "Frank FM" classic hits format (the second Nassau station, after WFNK in Lewiston, Maine, to do so) and the WFNQ callsign on March 17, 2005.[7] The station, along with 16 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by WBIN Media Company, a company controlled by Bill Binnie, on May 22, 2012. Binnie already owned WBIN-TV in Derry and WYCN-LP in Nashua.[8][9] The deal was completed on November 30, 2012.[10]

WFNQ's logo under previous classic rock format

On June 1, 2015, WFNQ shifted its format to classic rock. It switched back to classic hits in 2018.

WFNQ's logo from when it was simulcast over WNNH

By late 2020, WNNH became a simulcast of WNNH by the end of 2020.

On April 1, 2019, WNNH in Henniker began simulcasting WFNQ, bringing the station's programming to Concord and the northern part of the Manchester market.[11] On May 24, 2019, WLNH-FM in Laconia and WBYY in Somersworth began carrying WFNQ's programming, but with separate advertising, forming a regional network.[12] By late 2020, the New Hampshire Frank network flipped to an adult contemporary format, emphasizing pop hits of the last four decades, while dropping all pre-1980s material and adding familiar recurrent hits from contemporary hit radio stations.[13]

References
  1. Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1989 (PDF). 1989. p. B-189. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
  2. Fybush, Scott (October 29, 1999). "Citadel Gets Huge, Shuffles Binghamton's AMs". North East RadioWatch. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  3. Broadcasting Yearbook 1981 (PDF). 1981. p. C-147. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  4. "NHAB Alumni: Bob Cohen". New Hampshire Association of Broadcasters. March 24, 2002. Retrieved January 17, 2010.
  5. Fybush, Scott (April 17, 1996). "New England Radio Watch". Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  6. Fybush, Scott (January 19, 2004). "Anchor in Florida Lands 'BZ in Headlines". NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  7. Kennedy, Eileen (March 19, 2005). "Frankly, it's not WHOB anymore". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 10, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  8. "Carlisle Capital Corp. Wins Bidding For Rest Of Nassau Stations". All Access. May 22, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  9. "WBIN Media acquires 17 N.E. radio stations". New Hampshire Union Leader. May 23, 2012. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  10. Kitch, Michael (December 1, 2012). "Binnie closes on purchase of WLNH". Laconia Daily Sun. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
  11. Frank Expands in New Hampshire, https://radioinsight.com/headlines/175811/frank-expands-in-new-hampshire/
  12. Venta, Lance (May 24, 2019). "Binnie Media Makes Trio Of Flips In New Hampshire". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 26, 2019.
  13. 98.7 Frank FM playlist
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