KWEE

KWEE
City West Linn, Oregon
Broadcast area Portland metropolitan area
Branding WE 96-3
Slogan WE Are Hip-Hop
Frequency 96.3 MHz
First air date January 18, 1986 (as KWSI at 96.5)
Format Rhythmic CHR
ERP 1,350 watts
HAAT 386 meters (1266 ft)
Class C3
Facility ID 13581
Transmitter coordinates 45°29′20″N 122°41′40″W / 45.48889°N 122.69444°W / 45.48889; -122.69444Coordinates: 45°29′20″N 122°41′40″W / 45.48889°N 122.69444°W / 45.48889; -122.69444[1]
Callsign meaning K WE E
Former callsigns Warm Springs:
KHQE (3/1983-9/1983, CP)
KWSI (1983-1991)
KTWI (1991-1998)
KWEG (1998-2000)
KWPK (2000-2001)
KRCO-FM (2001-2002)
KWLZ-FM (2002-2016)
Former frequencies Warm Springs:
96.5 MHz (1986-2015)
Owner 3 Horizons, LLC (operated by Alpha Media via LMA)
Webcast Listen Live
Website we963pdx.com

KWEE (96.3 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to West Linn, Oregon, and broadcasting to the Portland metropolitan area. KWEE airs a rhythmic contemporary radio format branded as "WE 96-3". The station is owned by 3 Horizons, LLC, and is operated by Alpha Media using a local marketing agreement or LMA. Alpha Media owns five of its own radio stations in the Portland market. KWEE operated for nearly three decades in Warm Springs, Oregon, about 85 miles from Portland, before moving to the Portland market.

KWEE's studios and offices are in the Alpha Broadcast Center on South Fifth Avenue in Portland.[2] The transmitter is located off Southwest Fairmount Boulevard, amid other Portland-area FM and TV towers.[3] KWEE broadcasts at only 1,350 watts while many Portland-area FM stations operate at 100,000 watts. Because the tower is 386 meters (1266 feet) height above average terrain, a bit less than the Empire State Building, the station's signal extends over Portland and its nearby suburbs in Oregon and Washington.

History

Warm Springs location

On January 18, 1986, the station signed on the air in Warm Springs at 96.5 FM. Its original call sign was KWSI and it aired an adult contemporary music format. Warm Springs is a community in the north-central part of Oregon, with about 2400 residents. In 1991, KWSI changed its call letters to KTWI and simulcast the classic rock format of KTWS 98.3 FM in Bend, Oregon, as "98.3 & 96.5, The Twins". In 1998, the station changed its call letters to KWEG and returned to an adult contemporary format as "The Eagle".

In 2000, the station changed its call letters to KWPK and rebranded as "The Peak". In 2001, the station became KRCO-FM airing a country music format. On July 24, 2002, the station changed call letters to KWLZ-FM and switched to an album rock format, branded as "Lazer 96.5". On December 13, 2004, KWLZ-FM shifted its format to classic rock, still under the "Lazer 96.5" branding. On August 22, 2008, KWLZ-FM switched to a simulcast of talk-formatted KBNW 1340 AM Bend, Oregon, branded as "News Radio Central Oregon".

Move to Portland

On September 8, 2015, KWLZ-FM's 96.5 FM transmitter in Warm Springs went silent, ending its simulcast with KBNW. The station owner, 3 Horizons, had asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to move to 96.3 FM in the Portland radio market, using West Linn as its new city of license. The move would increase the value of the station and allow it to sell advertising in the Portland area, a market of more than 2.3 million residents.

On September 18, 2015, KWLZ-FM's 96.3 Portland-area signal signed on the air with a rock-leaning classic hits format, branded as "96.3 KWLZ".[4] KWLZ-FM's license was granted for its West Linn facilities on September 24.

On August 1, 2016, at 5 p.m., Alpha Media began operating KWLZ-FM under a Local Marketing Agreement with 3 Horizons, and flipped the station's format to Rhythmic CHR, branded as "WE 96-3".[5] The station changed its call sign to KWEE on August 12, 2016.

References

  1. ↑ "Radio locator: Portland, Oregon". Theodric Technologies LLC. 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2012.
  2. ↑ AlphaMediaUSA.com/contact
  3. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/KWEE
  4. ↑ 96.3 KWLZ Launches in Portland
  5. ↑ Alpha Launches WE 96-3 Portland


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