WHXR (106.3 FM; "The Bone") is an

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...

licensed to serve

Scarborough, Maine Scarborough is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County on the southern coast of the U.S. state of Maine. The town is a coastal resort area. Located about south of Portland, Maine, Portland, Scarborough is part of t ...

, with studios in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

. Established in 1974, the station is owned by Binnie Media.

History

WHXR signed on the air in 1974 as

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

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 Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

station WDCS. It became WPKM in 1988, and in 1998 joined the

WBACH WBACH was a radio network in the American state of Maine, active from 1991 to 2017. Airing on four stations at its peak, the network broadcast a classical music format from studios in Kennebunk. Following the bankruptcy of Nassau Broadcasting ...

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

station WHTP). On April 13, 2004, WHXQ originally began broadcasting on 104.7 as a

classic rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...

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 WXTP (106.7 FM) is a Catholic talk radio station licensed to North Windham, Maine, serving the Portland area from studios in Freeport. The station is an affiliate of Relevant Radio and is owned by Relevant Radio, Inc. History The station signed ...

. WHXR, along with 16 other stations in northern New England formerly owned by

Nassau Broadcasting Partners Nassau Broadcasting Partners LP was a company based in Princeton, New Jersey that owned radio stations in New England and the Mid-Atlantic United States. Nassau's stations, which included both AM and FM frequencies, were located in Maryland, New J ...

, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by WBIN Media Company, a company controlled by Bill Binnie, on May 22, 2012. Binnie already owned WBIN-TV in

Derry, New Hampshire Derry is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 34,317 at the 2020 census. Although it is a town and not a city, Derry is the most populous community in Rockingham County and the fourth most populous in the ...

. The deal was completed on November 30, 2012; on that day, WHXR rebranded from "106.3 The Bone" to "Rock 106.3." On August 30, 2019, WHXR returned to the "106.3 The Bone" branding.WHXR Goes Back to the Bone
Radioinsight - August 30, 2019

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References

External links

* * {{Portland ME Radio HXR Active rock radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1974 HXR Scarborough, Maine