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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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WBYY
WBYY (98.7 FM; "Frank FM") is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Somersworth, New Hampshire, United States, with studios in Dover, the station serves the Seacoast Region of New Hampshire and Southern Maine. The station is owned by Binnie Media.

History

Original version of the "98.7 Frank FM" logo

The station was assigned the call letters WTSN-FM on September 6, 1991. The call sign was changed to WRZY on October 15, 1993, and to WRGW on April 18, 1994; under that call sign, the station took to the air January 25, 1995, with an adult contemporary format branded as "The Rock Garden". The station changed its call letters to WRDX on April 15, 1996, concurrent with a switch to an adult standards format branded "Radio Deluxe"; however, the AC format returned a month later, and the station became WBYY on June 14, 1996, to reflect its "98.7 The Bay" branding.

On August 31, 2015, WBYY and its sister station WTSN announced plans to merge with Port Broadcasting's WNBP and WWSF and Aruba Capital Holdings' WXEX and WXEX-FM to form Coastal Radio Partners. The three-way merger was not completed; on September 29, 2016, WBYY and WTSN were instead sold to Binnie Media for $2.1 million.

Pink version of the "Frank FM" logo, used during the hot AC format

On May 24, 2019, WBYY changed its format from adult contemporary to classic hits, branded as "Frank FM"; the programming is largely simulcast with Nashua sister station WFNQ, though WBYY breaks away for local commercials and station identifications. The "Frank FM" network, which also includes WLNH-FM in Laconia, transitioned to a hot adult contemporary format during 2021.

After morning host Marc Nazzaro (who used the air name "DJ Nazzy") was laid off from "Frank FM" in January 2023 as part of a refocus of Binnie Media's resources on its news and talk programming, vice president of programming Heath Cole told the Concord Monitor that "the music format that we do will change". On February 1, 2023, WBYY, along with the rest of the "Frank FM" network, returned to a classic hits format; the stations also dropped their remaining on-air staff, who were reassigned to other positions within the company.

References

  1. ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-282. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  2. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBYY". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. ^ "WBYY Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  4. ^ "WBYY Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  5. ^ Fybush, Scott (May 15, 1996). "New England RadioWatch". Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  6. ^ Fybush, Scott (May 21, 1996). "New England RadioWatch". Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  7. ^ Fybush, Scott (July 5, 1996). "WRKO Fun, and San Juan too!". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  8. ^ Venta, Lance (August 31, 2013). "Three New England Groups Merge Into Coastal Radio Partners". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  9. ^ Venta, Lance (November 29, 2016). "Aruba Capital Holdings & Port Broadcasting Finally Merge". RadioInsight. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
  10. ^ Binnie Media to acquire WTSN and WBYY Nik Beimler, Fosters Daily Democrat, April 11, 2016
  11. ^ Binnie Media Makes Trio of Flips in New Hampshire Radioinsight - May 24, 2019
  12. ^ "Binnie Makes Musical Shifts In New Hampshire". RadioInsight. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  13. ^ Duckler, Ray (January 22, 2023). "Even without his longtime role as on-air disc jockey, Nazzy still knows how to throw a party". Concord Monitor. Retrieved February 2, 2023.
  14. ^ New Hampshire's Frank-FM Returns to Classic Hits Radioinsight - February 1, 2023
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