Noncom consolidation continues with radio sale in Nashville

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Nashville Public Radio is joining the growing list of locally-consolidated noncommercial licensees that see a need for two broadcast signals, and Vanderbilt University is joining the growing list of institutes of higher education making the consolidation possible. The station was WRVU-FM until just recently, when it changed its calls to WFCL-FM.


The 91.1 MHz Class C2 facility will pair up with 90.3 Class C WPLN-FM, both licensed to Nashville. Students who had a hand in the old WRVU eclectic format will continue online and on a WPLN HD side channel.

Vanderbilt will bet $3.35M for the station, and Nashville Public Radio will continue to provide student internships in its news department.

WFLC will carry a Classical format that also showcases local arts talent, and leave WPLN to concentrate on a NPR/News format.

“The media industry is changing dramatically, a fact nowhere more obvious than on a college campus where younger consumers and content producers are gravitating to innovative technologies,” said Mark Wollaeger, Vanderbilt University English professor and chair of the VSC Board of Directors. “This agreement will help ensure for our students the opportunity to shape the future of media for years to come.”

Nashville Public Radio President Rob Gordon said, “This move strengthens our ability to deliver both news and music because it gives us room to enhance and build each service. Over the years our listeners and supporters have asked us to establish separate news and music services, which we’ve not been able to do because of the limited number of frequencies available on the FM band. Multiple public radio stations have proven successful in many other cities; now we’re proud to say Nashville can support both an NPR news and a full-time classical music station.”