Y-Rock On XPN
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| City | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Delaware Valley |
| Branding | 88.5 XPN |
| Frequency | 88.5 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| Translator(s) | See § Translators |
| Repeater(s) | See § Stations |
| First air date |
1945 (carrier current on 730 AM) 1957 on 88.9 FM |
| Format | FM/HD1: Adult Album Alternative HD2: Adult Album Alternative "XPN2/XPoNential Radio" |
| ERP | 2,650 watts (analog) 105 watts (digital) |
| HAAT | 365 meters (1,198 ft) |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 68229 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°02′19.3″N 75°14′14.2″W / 40.038694°N 75.237278°W (NAD27) |
| Callsign meaning | W eXperimental Pennsylvania Network |
| Former callsigns | WXPN-AM (1945-1980) WQHS (1980-2003) |
| Former frequencies | 730 AM (WQHS) (1945-2003) |
| Owner | University of Pennsylvania |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www |
WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public FM radio station licensed to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format shows. WXPN produces World Cafe, a music program distributed by NPR to many non-commercial stations in the United States. The station's call sign, which is often abbreviated to XPN, stands for "Experimental Pennsylvania Network". The broadcast tower used by WXPN is located at (40°02′19.7″N 75°14′12.8″W / 40.038806°N 75.236889°W), in the antenna farm complex in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia.
While the University of Pennsylvania has been involved with radio since 1909 when a wireless station was located in Houston Hall, WXPN itself first came into existence in 1945 as a carrier current station at 730 AM. In 1957, it was granted a full license as a 10-watt college radio station at 88.9 FM in addition to their frequency of 730 AM. From then into the mid-1970s, WXPN was a student activity of the university and as it grew, the station initiated unique programming designs including one of the earliest freeform radio formats, Phase II, in the 1960s. Local DJ Michael Tearson got his start at WXPN in the late 1960s with a radio show The Attic. Tearson went on to replace Dave Herman at WMMR in 1970. In 1975, a controversial broadcast on the talk show The Vegetable Report led to an obscenity complaint with the FCC, which found the charges serious enough to decline renewal of the broadcast license. This incident (December 1975) marked the first time FCC pulled a license on grounds of obscenity. But a citizen's group organized to petition the FCC to consider XPN's unique service, and with a pledge from Penn to create positions for professional staff to run the station, the FCC allowed the license to renew.
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