Update 11/16: Alternative “95X” debuted this morning on 95.3 W237BZ Clayton/Raleigh while promising the second translator serving greater Durham will launch in early 2013.
Rebroadcasting WDCG-HD2, the station is being overseen by Chris Edge, the former KGSR Austin PD who recently returned to Clear Channel Raleigh as OM. Edge will also host afternoons on 95X. Middays will be held by Eggz, who also hosts nights on sister CHR “G105” under the name Tyler.
Original Report 6/27: Clear Channel is about to launch Alternative Rock “95X” on a pair of translators surrounding Raleigh, NC.
W237BA Wake Forest is in the process of being moved to 95.1 where it will operate with 175 watts from 34 meters high. The larger signal is 95.3 W237BZ Clayton, which will operate with 250 watts from the tower of sisters 93.9 WKSL and 105.1 WDCG. WDCG-HD2 will be the originating station for the translators. Both translators are owned by Radio Training Network, which is also moving its 107.7 W299AP Apex to that tower where it will be fed by a subchannel of Clear Channel’s 100.7 WRVA, along with five other translators in the region.
For the new “95X“, Clear Channel has registered 951XFM.com, 953XFM.com, AltRock95X.com, ExtremeCountry95X.com, NewRock951.com, NewRock953.com, and NewRock95X.com. The last of which is the domain which all the others redirect to.
The station will only cover parts of Raleigh and directly connecting areas of the Triangle region. Durham and Chapel Hill are unlikely to receive 95X via the translators at this time.
Please tell me that WRVA HD2s “HIS” radio is just a stunt and that they will not carry that over to the translator. That 95.3 suer gets out well!
The deals that have been made between commercial and non-commercial operators for translators usually revolve around the commercial operator leasing an HD subchannel to the translator owners to feed their programming to the translators. In exchange for Clear Channel getting access to 95.3 (and soon the 95.1), Radio Training network is using WRVA-HD2 to feed HIS Radio to their other translators within WRVA’s contours.