WLPA (AM)
WLPA (1490 AM, "ESPN Radio 92.5/92.7") is a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Hall Communications and simulcasts the sports programming of sister station WONN-FM. WLPA is one of Pennsylvania's oldest radio stations.
City | Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
Frequency | 1490 kHz |
Branding | ESPN Radio 92.5/92.7 |
Slogan | The Sports Station |
Programming | |
Format | Sports (WONN-FM simulcast) |
Affiliations | ESPN Radio |
Ownership | |
Owner | Hall Communications |
Sister stations | WONN-FM, WROZ |
History | |
First air date | June 1922 |
Former call signs | WGAL (1922–1977) WDDL (1977–1979) |
Former frequencies | 1210 kHz (1927) 1190 kHz (1927–1928) 1310 kHz (1928–1934) 1500 kHz (1934–1941) |
Call sign meaning | W Lancaster, PA |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 25870 |
Class | C |
Power | 600 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°03′38.0″N 76°18′59.0″W (NAD27) |
Translator(s) | See § Translator |
Links | |
Website | www |
The station offers coverage of the following sports teams, according to their official website:
History
WLPA first went on the air in 1922, one of the earliest years of commercial radio broadcasting. The original call letters were WGAL. The station was once housed in the historic Jasper Yeates House.[1] It was owned by the Steinman family, which also owned two local newspapers, the Intelligencer Journal and the Lancaster New Era. In 1944 a sister FM station went on the air (still co-owned with WLPA with the WROZ callsign) and in 1949, the family added Pennsylvania's first television station outside Philadelphia. The TV station is now owned by The Hearst Corporation and still has the WGAL call sign.[2] For most of its history, WLPA was a full service radio station, airing Middle of the road music, news, talk and sports. It was a long-time affiliate of the NBC Radio Network.
In the early 1990s, WLPA simulcasted WGAL News and CNN Headline News, before switching to One:on:One Sports, then Sporting News Radio. It also broadcast Phillies games.
In July 2005, WLPA changed to a Sports radio format, first affiliating with Fox Sports Radio. On August 1, 2013 WLPA became an affiliate of ESPN Radio. The station had attempted to affiliate with ESPN Radio for some years beforehand, but was unable to do so due to its geographic proximity to another ESPN affiliate, WGLD in Manchester Township. However, that station joined CBS Sports Radio in early 2013, making the ESPN affiliation available to WLPA.[3]
On April 1, 2015 WLPA changed its format from ESPN sports to Westwood One's America's Best Music adult standards format, returning to the music it once played decades ago.[4]
On April 4, 2016 WLPA changed its format back to sports, simulcasting the ESPN Radio programming of sister station WONN-FM. WLPA adopted that station's ESPN Radio 92.7 branding at that time.[5]
Translator
WLPA programming is broadcast on the following translator:
Call sign | Frequency (MHz) | City of license | Facility ID | ERP (W) | Height (m (ft)) | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W223CH | 92.5 | Lancaster, Pennsylvania | 155427 | 250 | 57 m (187 ft) | D | 40°02′18.3″N 76°18′21.8″W | FCC |
References
- "National Historic Landmarks & National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania" (Searchable database). CRGIS: Cultural Resources Geographic Information System. Note: This includes John J. Snyder, Jr. (June 1982). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form: Jasper Yeates House" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-02-23.
- "WGAL TV Photo Album; 60 Years of History". eyesofageneration.com. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
- Stark, Eric (June 23, 2013). "WLPA drops FOX in favor of ESPN". Sunday News. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
- Stuhldreher, Tim (2015-03-18). "Radio station WLPA-AM 1490 to change format". lancasteronline.com. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
- "WLPA Returns to ESPN Radio 92.7 Simulcast". Radioinsight.com. Retrieved 2016-05-13.
External links
- WLPA in the FCC's AM station database
- WLPA on Radio-Locator
- WLPA in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for WLPA
- W223CH in the FCC's FM station database
- W223CH on Radio-Locator