WFNX grows north

REACHING OUT

WFNX's geographic reach is expanding. Stephen Mindich, chairman of the Phoenix Media/Communications Group and owner of WFNX (101.7 FM), announced this week that the company plans to purchase two stations in Sanford, Maine, as the first step toward forming "The FNX Radio Network."

One of the stations, classic-rocker WCDQ (92.1 FM), will change its call letters to WPHX and simulcast WFNX's alternative-music programming. The effect will be to enlarge WFNX's north-south range so that it extends from Marshfield, Massachusetts, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Portland, Maine. (The other station, WSME-AM, will retain its syndicated talk format.)

The changes will take effect as soon as FCC approval has been finalized.

"Every so often an opportunity presents itself that simply says 'yes.' That is precisely the case with our agreement to acquire WCDQ and WSME," says Mindich, who also owns and publishes the Boston Phoenix. "We will now be able to bring WFNX's unique brand of alternative-music programming and style to eastern New Hampshire and Maine. Everyone at 'FNX, as well as the entire Phoenix Media Group, is excited about extending our reach into this music-, arts-, and entertainment-rich corridor running north of metropolitan Boston. We look forward to serving our new listeners in this area with far more than the ordinary rock."

Adds Andy Kingston, station manager of the FNX Radio Network: "This is an exciting growth opportunity for us. We will now be able to serve many of the existing WFNX advertisers that also target the Portland-Portsmouth markets. In addition, we look forward to developing strategic partnerships with the local businesses and arts communities in both cities."

The FNX Radio Network will be heard in Greater Boston on WFNX (101.7 FM), as well as on 101.3 FM in the Back Bay and South End (an extra transmitter is used to enhance the signal, which is sometimes blocked by tall buildings -- a problem other stations have as well); on WPHX (92.1 FM) along the Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine coasts from Newburyport to Portland; and worldwide at http://www.wfnx.net.

"We're very excited to be able to expand 'FNX and see its reach beyond the Greater Boston area," says FNX Radio Network program director Cruze. "I believe that initiatives like the FNX Radio Network are the future of alternative radio."