\u201cCincinnati Public Radio\u201d WVXU<\/a> radio\/television reporter John Kiesewetter.<\/p>\nDespite the fame of the CBS sitcom \u201cWKRP in Cincinnati\u201d (1978-82), no Cincinnati broadcaster has ever held the WKRP call letters. The ensemble comedy, centered on a struggling station that flipped from easy listening to rock \u2018n\u2019 roll, became a cult favorite thanks to characters including Dr. Johnny Fever, Venus Flytrap, Les Nessman and station manager Arthur \u201cBig Guy\u201d Carlson. Soon after the show premiered, Cincinnati\u2019s WKRC-AM famously edited the sitcom\u2019s theme song to reference its own call letters. More recently, WBQC-TV branded its low-power station as \u201cWKRP TV\u201d in 2008, though it did not use the official call sign.<\/p>\n
Efforts to bring the calls to the region have surfaced before. In 1987, a Kentucky broadcaster considered acquiring WKRP for his Falmouth station, but signal limitations and concerns about how the fictional station\u2019s bumbling image might translate in the real marketplace ultimately derailed the idea.<\/p>\n
Oak City Media acquired the WKRP call letters in 2014 and signed on the Raleigh LPFM in 2015. Now the nonprofit plans to transfer the calls as part of a structured auction process, with proceeds benefiting the organization and potentially helping other low-power FM stations \u201cin need of funds to stay afloat,\u201d McIntire says.<\/p>\n
Interested parties have until March 15 to apply. McIntire says financial terms have not been publicly disclosed, as attorneys are reviewing the process to ensure compliance with FCC and IRS regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cAdmittedly we\u2019re trying to monetize the call sign as best we can, and have structured a program to that end,\u201d he says. \u201cBut our lawyers are going over all the details just to ensure no one involved violates FCC or IRS regulations, so nothing has been mentioned with respect to money thus far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Qualified applicants will be narrowed to three finalists in each category \u2014 TV, AM and full-power FM \u2014 followed by what McIntire describes as a private auction among finalists. Because the FCC permits shared call signs across certain service categories, it\u2019s possible more than one station could ultimately carry WKRP. McIntire anticipates the process concluding by April 30, 2026.<\/p>\n
Licensed AM, FM or commercial TV stations assigned call signs beginning with a \u201cW\u201d may request documentation and an application directly from McIntire. So far, he says, no Greater Cincinnati broadcaster has expressed formal interest.<\/p>\n
WKRP-LPFM\u2019s ties to the television series are largely promotional. The station runs liners referencing characters such as Les Nessman and, each Thanksgiving, airs the audio track of the show\u2019s legendary \u201cTurkeys Away\u201d episode continuously for more than 48 hours, with permission from 21st Century Fox.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow well it translates to a solely audio story I can\u2019t tell,\u201d McIntire says. \u201cBut it\u2019s been a station tradition since 2015.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s an age demographic from 35 to 80 with which that call sign resonates,\u201d he adds. \u201cNostalgia sells. And someone with the resources to really invest and lean in to it as a branding element probably wouldn’t regret it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of me feels that the WKRP call sign belongs in the Cincinnati market in some form or fashion,\u201d McIntire says. \u201cBut whether that will occur or not I can’t speculate.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of radio\u2019s most recognizable call signs is about to go on the block. WKRP (101.9), a 100-watt…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":279954,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[156,4975,157,111,43,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-279953","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-free","10":"tag-music","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-news","13":"tag-newzealand","14":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/279954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}