WSOX

WSOX
City Red Lion, Pennsylvania
Broadcast area South Central Pennsylvania
Northern Maryland
Branding 96.1 SOX
Slogan Susquehanna Valley's Greatest Hits
Frequency 96.1 MHz (also on HD Radio)
Translator(s) See tables below
First air date 1958 (as WGCB-FM)
Format Analog/HD1: Classic Hits
HD2: Talk (WSBA simulcast)
HD3: Christian radio (HOPE FM)
HD4: Sports (WGLD simulcast)
ERP 13,500 watts (analog)
135 watts (digital)[1]
HAAT 290 meters
Class B
Facility ID 55351
Former callsigns WGCB-FM (1958-1997)
WTHM-FM (1997-1998)
Owner Cumulus Media Inc.
(Radio License Holding SRC, LLC)
Sister stations WARM-FM, WSBA, WGLD
Webcast Listen Live
Listen Live via iHeart
Website 961wsox.com

WSOX (96.1 FM, "96.1 SOX") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Red Lion, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Radio License Holding SRC LLC, a part of Cumulus Media, and broadcasts a classic hits format. The station's service contour includes the metro areas of York, Harrisburg, Lebanon, Gettysburg and Lancaster, Pennsylvania as well as the northern suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland.[2] Its broadcast tower is located near Red Lion at (39°54′16.7″N 76°34′46.6″W / 39.904639°N 76.579611°W / 39.904639; -76.579611).[3]

WSOX uses HD Radio, and simulcasts the talk radio programming of sister station WSBA on its HD2 subchannel, while the sports programming of sister station WGLD is simulcast on its HD4 subchannel. HOPE FM christian radio programming is broadcast on the station's HD3 subchannel, which is simulcast on four FM translators.

History

The station signed on for the first time in 1958 as WGCB-FM[4] with a christian radio format. Red Lion Broadcasting owned the station.

In 1969, Red Lion Broadcasting lost a landmark First Amendment case (Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC), after the station refused to grant free on-air time for a journalist to rebutt the claims made against him by an on-air evangelist.[5]

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the station's license was transferred three times: in August 1997, from Thomas H. Moffit, Sr., to Pioneer Broadcasting Corporation; in March 2003, from Pioneer Broadcasting Corporation to Lancaster-York Broadcasting, LLC (owned by Brill Media[6]) and four months later, in July 2003, from Lancaster-York Broadcasting, LLC to Susquehanna License, LLC,[7] which was owned by Susquehanna Radio Corporation.[8]

On October 31, 2005, Cumulus Media announced the creation of a new private partnership, Cumulus Media Partners, LLC, formed with Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners, to purchase Susquehanna Radio Corporation for approximately $1.2 billion.[9] The purchase was completed on May 5, 2006,[10] at which time the license for WSOX was transferred to Radio License Holding SRC, LLC., a licensee of Cumulus Media Partners Susquehanna Corporation.[11]

Translators

The following four translators are licensed to Hope Christian Church of Marlton, Inc, and simulcast the programming of HOPE FM (owned by Calvary Chapel of Marlton[12]) broadcast on WSOX-HD3:

Call sign Frequency
(MHz)
City of license ERP
W
Height
m (ft)
Class FCC info
W237DC 95.3 New Holland, Pennsylvania 10 246.9 m (810 ft) D FCC
W256AV 99.1 Ephrata, Pennsylvania 10 142 m (466 ft) D FCC
W263BL 100.3 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 250 0 m (0 ft) D FCC
W265DE 100.9 Hershey, Pennsylvania 120 0 m (0 ft) D FCC

References

  1. "Request for Special Temporary Authority". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. January 9, 2006. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  2. "54 dBu Service Contour for WSOX, 96.1 MHz, Red Lion, PA". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  3. "FM Query Results for WSOX, Federal Communications Commission". Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  4. "John Norris Obituary". York Daily Record & York Dispatch. 2008-09-30. Retrieved 2016-04-23.
  5. "Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC". oyez.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  6. "Changing Hands". Broadcasting & Cable. March 16, 2003. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  7. "WSOX". fccdata.org. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  8. "Ownership Information for the Assignee". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  9. "Cumulus Media, Inc., and Investor Group to Acquire Susquehanna Radio". Business Wire. Atlanta. October 31, 2005. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  10. "Cumulus Media closes $1.2B acquisition of Susquehanna Radio". MarketWatch. San Francisco. May 5, 2006. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  11. "Transfer of Control Application". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2016-12-04.
  12. "About Hope". hopefm.net. Retrieved 2016-12-04.

Coordinates: 39°54′18″N 76°34′48″W / 39.905°N 76.580°W / 39.905; -76.580


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