In the three decades since its first signals were sent out, 103.7 WWRX FM has had three different owners, and three different formats. Now entering its fourth decade that trend continues. A purchase and sale agreement has been signed between the station’s current owner Clear Channel Communications and The Phoenix Media/Communications Group. The amount of the sale has not yet been released. Completion of the sale is expected to take at least 90 days.
The soon to be re-christened 103.7 FNX, which will be based in Providence, will work in tandem with its sister newspaper, the Providence Phoenix, and will broadcast an alternative music format.
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”FNX looks to create a very informed compelling alternative radio station for the city of Providence and the state of Rhode Island,” said Andy Kingston, FNX radio network general manager. “Together with our sister company, the Providence Phoenix, 103.7 FNX hopes to become a major contributor to the vibrant arts and entertainment scene throughout the whole region. We’ve been looking at Providence for many years so it’s a thrill that this has finally come together.”
Clear Channel acquired the Texas-based media company AMFM Inc., creating the largest out-of-home media company including more than 830 radio stations and more than 425,000 outdoor displays as well as 19 television stations late last year, forcing the sale of some its radio stations.
”Clear Channel is limited on how many (radio) stations they can have because of the mix of radio and television stations they own,” said Jim Corwin, station manager for both 103.7 WWRX and B101 FM.
Corwin said the decision was made to sell 103.7 WWRX, which has about 145,000 listeners a week, because its signal was not the strongest and its tower, located in Westerly is the farthest from the city of Providence.
But both those things made the station appealing for the new owners, who hope to reach a wider New England audience. FNX Radio Network currently owns three FM stations and one AM station in Portland, Maine; Manchester, New Hampshire, and in Boston.
”The station’s Class B signal covers the geography that we wanted to round out the other stations,” said Stephen Mindich, chairman of the Phoenix Media Communication Group. “It was just the right time for us and the right signal.”
Still unclear is the placement of the current staff at 103.7 WWRX. In November on-air personality Carolyn Fox returned to the morning show at the station after a settlement between Clear Channel and Fox’s former station owner Citadel Broadcasting Company. The terms of the settlement weren’t released.
Corwin couldn’t comment on the future of the staff, but Mindich said his company is trying to work out an agreement to keep some of the station’s employees.
“They all work for somebody now,” he said. “We can’t move in on it at this moment, but we are discussing it.”
Mindich said like other stations owned by the company, 103.7 FNX will pay special attention to local music from the Providence area and will regularly feature writers from the Providence Phoenix. He said the paper and the station will also sponsor joint music and cultural promotions throughout Rhode Island. Mindich said the station’s new programming will consist of both local and network reports.
