WRFK (FM)

WRFK
Broadcast area Washington County, Vermont
Frequency 107.1 MHz
Branding 107.1 Frank FM
Programming
Format Classic rock
Ownership
Owner Great Eastern Radio, LLC
WSNO, WWFY, WWFK
History
First air date
August 5, 1974 (as WORK)
Former call signs
WORK (1974–2012)
Call sign meaning
"Frank"
Technical information
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 34810
Class A
ERP 3,900 watts
HAAT 125 meters (410 feet)
Transmitter coordinates
44°09′30″N 72°28′46″W
Repeater(s) 107.1 WWFK (Plattsburgh West, New York)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website frankvermont.com

WRFK (107.1 MHz, "Frank FM") is an FM radio station licensed to Barre and serving central Vermont. Established in 1974, the station is owned by Jeffrey Shapiro's Great Eastern Radio. WRFK airs a classic rock format, and is simulcast in the Champlain Valley on WWFK (also on 107.1 FM) in Plattsburgh West, New York. The transmitter is located off Websterville Road and the studios and offices are on Jacques Street.

History

The station signed on August 5, 1974 as WORK. It was originally owned by Robert Kimel, who also owned WSNO in Barre and WWSR AM-FM in St. Albans, and programmed an automated Top 40/Hot AC format known as "Hit Parade." Kimel sold WORK and WSNO to Bull Moose Broadcasting in 1997; two years later, the stations were purchased by Vox Radio Group. Nassau Broadcasting Partners acquired most of Vox's northern New England radio stations in 2004, and changed WORK's format to classic hits on September 15, 2006.

Logo for WRFK, used from 2013 until August 15, 2017.

WORK, along with 29 other Nassau stations in northern New England, was purchased at bankruptcy auction by Carlisle Capital Corporation, a company controlled by Bill Binnie (owner of WBIN-TV in Derry, New Hampshire), on May 22, 2012. The station, and 12 of the other stations, were then acquired by Vertical Capital Partners, controlled by Jeff Shapiro. On November 14, 2012, the call letters changed to WRFK. The deal was completed on November 30, 2012. The Vertical Capital Partners stations were transferred to Shapiro's existing Great Eastern Radio group on January 1, 2013.

On June 26, 2020, WRFK began simulcasting on WPLA (renamed WWFK) in Dannemora, New York, which also operates on 107.1 FM; this brought the "Frank FM" programming into the Champlain Valley area.