WMLL

Last updated
WMLL
WMLL 96.5 Live Free Country logo.png
Broadcast area Merrimack Valley
Frequency 96.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding96.5 Live Free Country
Programming
Format Country music
Subchannels HD2: WFEA simulcast
Ownership
Owner
  • Saga Communications
  • (Saga Communications of New England, LLC)
WFEA, WZID
History
First air date
June 27, 1996;27 years ago (1996-06-27) [1]
Former call signs
  • WAEF (1993–1996)
  • WOXF (1996–1997)
  • WQLL (1997–2005)
Call sign meaning
"Mill" (former branding)
Technical information [2]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 17278
Class A
ERP 730 watts
HAAT 285 meters (935 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
42°59′2.30″N71°35′20.45″W / 42.9839722°N 71.5890139°W / 42.9839722; -71.5890139 (WMLL)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website livefreecountry.com

WMLL (96.5 FM; "96.5 Live Free Country") is an American radio station licensed to Bedford, New Hampshire, and serving the New Hampshire portion of the Merrimack Valley with a country music format. The station's studios are located on Commercial Street in Manchester. WMLL is owned by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Manchester Radio Group.

Contents

History

The 96.5 FM frequency first signed on in May 1996 with test broadcasts under the call letters WAEF. [3] Regular broadcasting began on June 27, with a rock format branded "96.5 The Fox"; [1] the call letters were soon changed to WOXF. [4] [5] The station was originally owned by Donna MacNeil. [1]

Logo as "96.5 The Mill" WMLL965.png
Logo as "96.5 The Mill"

On July 1, 1997, Saga Communications announced that it had signed a time brokerage agreement to take over WOXF's operations; on July 29, Saga relaunched the station as "Cool 96.5", an oldies station. [6] The call letters were changed to WQLL on August 15, 1997; [5] that month, Saga bought the station outright in a $3.3 million deal that was concluded on November 21, 1997. [6] The station switched to classic rock, branded as "96.5 The Mill", in March 2005; [7] on March 17, the call letters became WMLL. [5] In August 2011, WMLL shifted to a classic hits format. In October 2016, WMLL returned to classic rock, branded as "Iconic Rock".

On December 15, 2023, WMLL flipped to a country music format as "96.5 Live Free Country". The new format was advertised as "Continuous Country Without The Static", as country music was previously available in the Manchester area via adjacent market stations (Portsmouth-market WOKQ, Concord-market WNHW, and two Boston stations); Saga already programmed classic country on the third HD Radio subchannel of WZID and on translators in Concord and Manchester. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WXRV</span> Radio station in Andover, Massachusetts, United States

WXRV is an adult album alternative radio station licensed to Andover, Massachusetts, and based in Haverhill, with a signal covering most of northeast Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, and audible as far away as Plymouth, Massachusetts, and Portland, Maine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPKQ</span> Radio station in North Conway, New Hampshire

WPKQ is a commercial radio station licensed to North Conway, New Hampshire. It is owned by Townsquare Media and simulcasts the alternative rock format of 94.3 WCYY from the Portland, Maine, area. It is an affiliate of the New England Patriots Radio Network. WPKQ shares its main studio with WCYY at One City Center in Portland, Maine, with its sales office and auxiliary studio located in North Conway.

WXZO is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Willsboro, New York. Owned by Vox AM/FM, it primarily serves the Champlain Valley, including Burlington, Vermont, and Plattsburgh, New York. Its studios are located in Colchester, Vermont. The station broadcasts a soft oldies radio format using the syndicated music service known as "MeTV FM." In morning drive time, the station carries Intelligence for Your Life with John Tesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WNNH</span> Radio station in Henniker, New Hampshire

WNNH is a commercial radio station owned by Binnie Media. WNNH is licensed to Henniker, New Hampshire, and serves the Concord-Manchester area. Its transmitter is on Watchtower Road in Contoocook and its studios and offices are on Church Street in Concord.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWLK-FM</span> Radio station in Meredith, New Hampshire

WWLK-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Meredith, New Hampshire, and serving the Lakes Region. The station broadcasts a soft adult contemporary radio format and is owned by Dirk Nadon, through licensee Lakes Media, LLC. The studios and offices are on Church Street in Concord, New Hampshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLKZ</span> Radio station in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire

WLKZ is an American licensed radio station in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, serving the Lakes Region. The station is owned by Dirk Nadon, through licensee Lakes Media, LLC, and carries a classic rock format, under the "104.9 The Hawk" branding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WORC-FM</span> Radio station in Webster, Massachusetts

WORC-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Webster, Massachusetts, and serving the Worcester metropolitan area. It is owned by Cumulus Media and airs a country radio format, mostly featuring songs from the 1990s and early 2000s. The studios are on Commercial Street in Downtown Worcester in the Winsor Building. It carries the games of the Worcester Red Sox and Worcester Railers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPOR</span> Radio station in Portland, Maine

WPOR is a radio station in Portland, Maine that broadcasts a country music radio format. It is owned by Saga Communications.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFNQ</span> Radio station in Nashua, New Hampshire

WFNQ is a radio station in Nashua, New Hampshire, serving the Manchester area with a classic hits radio format. It is owned by Binnie Media. The station's studios are on Church Street in Concord, and its transmitter is located in Merrimack, just west of the Merrimack Premium Outlets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WODZ-FM</span> Radio station in Rome, New York

WODZ-FM, branded as "The Eagle", is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Rome, New York, United States, the station serves the Utica-Rome market. The station is owned by Townsquare Media as part of a cluster with news-talk station WIBX, classic rock-formatted WOUR, hot AC-formatted WLZW, and country-formatted WFRG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTPL</span> Radio station in Hillsborough, New Hampshire

WTPL is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Hillsborough, New Hampshire, United States, it serves the Manchester and Concord areas. The station is owned by Bill Binnie's Binnie Media, through licensee WBIN Media Co., Inc. It airs a news/talk radio format. It the flagship station of "The Pulse of NH", a trimulcast with WTSN in the Seacoast Region and WEMJ in the Lakes Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWOD</span> Radio station in Woodstock, Vermont

WWOD is an adult album alternative broadcasting radio station. Licensed to Woodstock, Vermont, United States, the station serves the Lebanon-Rutland-White River Junction area. Established in 1989 as WMXR, the station is owned by Great Eastern Radio, LLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBYY</span> Radio station in Somersworth, New Hampshire

WBYY 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCPV</span> Radio station in Essex, New York

WCPV is a commercial radio station broadcasting a country music radio format. Licensed to Essex, New York, United States, the station serves the Champlain Valley of New York and Vermont. Although licensed to Essex, New York, many listeners mistakenly believe that WCPV is licensed to Essex, Vermont, given that its offices and studios are located at Fort Ethan Allen in neighboring Colchester, Vermont. The station is owned by Vox AM/FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRSI</span> Radio station in Turners Falls–Northampton, Massachusetts

WRSI is a radio station licensed to serve Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC. It airs an adult album alternative music format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WPVQ-FM</span> Radio station in Greenfield, Massachusetts

WPVQ-FM is a radio station licensed to serve Greenfield, Massachusetts. The station is owned by Saga Communications and licensed to Saga Communications of New England, LLC; it operates as part of Saga's Western Mass Radio Group. WPVQ-FM airs a country music format.

WAKC is an American licensed radio station in Concord, New Hampshire. The station is owned by the Educational Media Foundation (EMF) and is part of its K-Love network of contemporary Christian music outlets. EMF also owns WLKC in Campton, serving the White Mountains and Lakes Region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBZW</span> Radio station in Union City–Atlanta, Georgia

WBZW is an Atlanta radio station broadcasting a Regional Mexican radio format. It is owned by iHeartMedia and is licensed to serve Union City, Georgia. It operates from studios located at the Peachtree Palisades building in the Brookwood Hills district of Atlanta, and the transmitter is located in Tyrone.

WPKC is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Exeter, New Hampshire, and covering the New Hampshire Seacoast region and Southern Maine. The station's format is contemporary Christian music, supplied from the K-Love network. The station's license is held by the Educational Media Foundation. The station simulcasts its sister station, 92.1 WPKC-FM in Sanford, Maine. In addition, WPKC operates two FM translators: W246BP in Exeter, and W298CU (101.5) in Chester.

WINU is a commercial radio station licensed to Altamont and serving New York's Capital District. The station is owned by Pamal Broadcasting and airs a classic country radio format.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Fybush, Scott (June 28, 1996). "WAEF On The Air". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  2. "Facility Technical Data for WMLL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  3. Wollman, Garrett (May 28, 1996). "New England RadioWatch" . Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  4. Fybush, Scott (July 13, 1996). "New Calls for 96.5". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 "Call Sign History". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission . Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  6. 1 2 Brouder, Ed (January 12, 2015). "WFEA History - 1990s". Man from Mars Productions. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  7. Fybush, Scott (March 14, 2005). "ESPN En Route To Boston's 890?". New England RadioWatch. Retrieved March 15, 2015.
  8. Venta, Lance (December 16, 2023). "WMLL Flips To Country" . Retrieved December 16, 2023.