WFRE
Encyclopedia
WFRE is a radio station
located in Frederick
, Maryland
, in the United States
. It plays country music
and is owned by Clear Channel Communications
along with its sister station 930 WFMD
. Despite the station being located approximately 45 miles (72 kilometers) away from the two closest major cities (Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
), its strong signal (7,600 watt
s) reaches both major markets.
The WFRE call sign can mean either "Free Country" which is WFRE's branding or "Free State", which is one of the state's nicknames because Maryland never passed a prohibition enforcement act in the 1920s.
Along with analog, WFRE broadcasts in HD Radio
simulcasting in digital quality on HD-1, and a rocking country music feed on HD-2. Those close enough to sister station WFMD
's radio towers in western Frederick can also hear WFRE on a 1 watt FM translator at 105.5.
WFRE along with its sister station WFMD were put into a trust by owner Clear Channel Communications
with the intention to sell the stations. Today these two stations are in a trust under the name "Aloha Station Trust, LLC
".
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
located in Frederick
Frederick, Maryland
Frederick is a city in north-central Maryland. It is the county seat of Frederick County, the largest county by area in the state of Maryland. Frederick is an outlying community of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is part of a greater...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It plays country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
and is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
along with its sister station 930 WFMD
WFMD
WFMD is a News/Talk/Sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Frederick, Maryland, serving Central Maryland. WFMD is owned and operated by Clear Channel.-History:...
. Despite the station being located approximately 45 miles (72 kilometers) away from the two closest major cities (Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
), its strong signal (7,600 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s) reaches both major markets.
The WFRE call sign can mean either "Free Country" which is WFRE's branding or "Free State", which is one of the state's nicknames because Maryland never passed a prohibition enforcement act in the 1920s.
Along with analog, WFRE broadcasts in HD Radio
HD Radio
HD Radio, which originally stood for "Hybrid Digital", is the trademark for iBiquity's in-band on-channel digital radio technology used by AM and FM radio stations to transmit audio and data via a digital signal in conjunction with their analog signals...
simulcasting in digital quality on HD-1, and a rocking country music feed on HD-2. Those close enough to sister station WFMD
WFMD
WFMD is a News/Talk/Sports formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Frederick, Maryland, serving Central Maryland. WFMD is owned and operated by Clear Channel.-History:...
's radio towers in western Frederick can also hear WFRE on a 1 watt FM translator at 105.5.
WFRE along with its sister station WFMD were put into a trust by owner Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
with the intention to sell the stations. Today these two stations are in a trust under the name "Aloha Station Trust, LLC
Aloha Station Trust, LLC
Aloha Station Trust, LLC is a privately owned trust company that owns radio and television stations previously owned by Clear Channel Communications....
".