First air date 1959 (as WJWR) HAAT 183.2 meters Facility ID 12050 City of license Palmyra Area Harrisburg Slogan The Rock of Central PA | ERP 1,500 watts Class A Frequency 92.1 MHz Format Rock music Branding 92.1 WTPA | |
Broadcast area Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Owner Patrick H_ Sickafus AKA Pat Garrett | ||
WTPA (92.1 FM, "92.1 WTPA") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Palmyra, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Patrick H. Sickafus a.k.a. Pat Garrett and broadcasts an active rock format.
History
Prior to its flip to Rhythmic in 2002, the station was an Oldies outlet. The move was part of a shakeup in the market when sister station WNNK shifted to Adult Top 40 and to counter Rhythmic-leaning Top 40 Mainstream rival upstart WHKF-FM, a move that has paid off for them in terms of ratings. By 2006 WWKL began shifting towards a mainstream CHR direction to compete with WLAN-FM, even though as of 2009 they still reported to R&R/Nielsen BDS Rhythmic Airplay panel. This kind of direction has also sparked debate from radio message boards about stations that decided to add certain Pop and Dance tracks but stay within the Rhythmic realm. Mediabase still reports the station as contemporary hit radio, and despite them not being contemporary hit radio, they have always been a rhythmic contemporary due to WHKF airing a contemporary hit radio format.
In 2011, the United States Department of Justice approved the purchase of Citadel Broadcasting by Cumulus, provided that Cumulus divest itself of three stations, two of which were WWKL (Hot 92) and WCAT-FM (Red 102.3) as well as the "intellectual property" of WTPA. Cumulus chose to swap the WTPA and WWKL licenses, effectively moving WTPA and its Rock format to 92.1 and WWKL and its contemporary hit radio format to 93.5. The swap took place on September 16, 2011. Following the swap, the station changed its slogan to "92.1 WTPA" and the format changed to rock music.
Cumulus Media placed WTPA into a trust named Potential Broadcasting LLC. On October 12, 2012 it was announced that WTPA had been sold to Patrick H. Sickafus, owner of WWSM in Annville, PA. The transaction was consummated on January 31, 2013 at a purchase price of $530,000.