Radio station goes off the air
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
MONTICELLO — The demise of WBCQ 94.7 FM radio may be premature.
Allan Weiner, owner of WBCQ, said although his station is currently not broadcasting, he hopes to be back on the airwaves in the near future.
Last week, Northern Maine Media Inc. declined to renew its lease agreement to broadcast its classic country music format on WBCQ 94.7. Northern Maine Media Inc. also operates WHOU 100.1 FM. Weiner said he was surprised to learn of Northern Maine Media Inc.’s abrupt decision not to renew their contract and claims he was not given any advance notice of the impending move.
“They cancelled their lease with us with absolutely no notice,” Weiner said.
In a statement last week, Northern Maine Media owner Fred Grant stated ongoing problems with the broadcast signal prompted him not to renew his contract with WBCQ. The two companies had a month-to-month lease, with Northern Maine Media paying a fee to Weiner to use his signal for broadcasting.
Weiner disputes the claim of problems with the broadcast signal.
“There is nothing wrong with our transmitter,” Weiner said. “Everything is running fine, except for problems during electrical power outages.”
Weiner said he tried to convince Northern Maine Media to reconsider because the station had a large following for its classic country format. Weiner added he has received numerous phone calls from people asking why the station was no longer broadcasting.
“It’s a popular station,” Weiner said. “We shut the signal off and it’s currently dark. We are trying to find someone (another radio station or broadcaster) to bring it back and hopefully it will be back within a couple of weeks.”
