City Scarborough, Maine Branding Rock 106.3 First air date 1974 (as WJBQ-FM) | Broadcast area Portland, Maine Frequency 106.3 MHz | |
Slogan Home Of Free Beer & Hot Wings | ||
WHXR (106.3 FM; "Rock 106.3") is an American mainstream rock radio station licensed to serve Scarborough, Maine, with studios in Portland. Established in 1974, the station is owned by Binnie Media.
History
WHXR signed on the air in 1974 as top 40 station WJBQ-FM (no relation to the current WJBQ in Portland); in 1981, the station swapped formats and call signs with 97.9 FM, becoming classical music station WDCS. It became WPKM in 1988, and in 1998 joined the WBACH network as WBQW. On October 2, 2008, the station switched call signs and programming with 104.7 (which operated with the WBACH classical music programming as WBQW until 2012, when it became top 40 station WHTP).
On April 13, 2004, WHXQ originally began broadcasting on 104.7 as a classic rock station branded as "The Bone," shifting to active rock in 2006 and moving to 106.3 on October 2, 2008. Prior to April 9, 2010, WHXQ was simulcast on WHXR (106.7 FM); on August 3, 2010, WHXQ took the WHXR call letters abandoned by 106.7, which had become WXTP.
WHXR, along with 16 other stations in northern New England formerly owned by Nassau Broadcasting Partners, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by WBIN Media Company, a company controlled by Bill Binnie, on May 22, 2012. Binnie already owns WBIN-TV in Derry, New Hampshire. The deal was completed on November 30, 2012; on that day, WHXR rebranded from "106.3 The Bone" to "Rock 106.3."