WHPT

WHPT (102.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Sarasota, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay area. Owned by Cox Media Group, it broadcasts a hot talk format. WHPT's studios and offices are located in St. Petersburg, and its transmitter site is located near SR 70, near the northeastern corner of Sarasota County.

WHPT
Broadcast areaTampa Bay area
Frequency102.5 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding102.5 The Bone
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatHot talk
SubchannelsHD2: Sports radio
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
November 15, 1960 (1960-11-15)
Former call signs
  • WYAK (1960–67)
  • WSAF-FM (1967–73)
  • WQSR (1973–79)
  • WSRZ (1979–84)
  • WAVE (1984–88)
  • WHVE (1988–91)
Call sign meaning
"The Point" (former branding)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID51986
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT503 meters (1,650 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
27°24′31″N 82°14′59″W
Repeater(s)107.3 WXGL-HD2 (St. Petersburg)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Listen live (via Audacy)
Websitewww.theboneonline.com

WHPT broadcasts in HD. Its HD2 subchannel airs a sports radio format.

History

WSAF / WQSR

The station signed on the air in 1960 as WYAK. In 1967, the callsign was changed to WSAF-FM.

In 1973, the Sarasota Radio Company purchased WSAF and changed its format to the beautiful music format and its callsign to WQSR. Its new call letters reflected company president, Edward Rogers', philosophy: QSR: Quality Stereo Radio. After a somewhat schizophrenic existence for several years, playing Beautiful Music from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Album Oriented Rock from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., the station finally pulled the plug on the daytime format when ratings and advertising sales clearly indicated the community's preference for rock and roll . During part of this period, the station added quadraphonic sound, and promoted itself as "Quad One-Oh-Two-And-A-Half". The free-form music format would eventually suffer challenges from other formats that eroded its Arbitron ratings in the critical 25-34 and 25-54 demographics.

The Bone

In April 2012, WHPT adjusted its format to hot talk, while keeping the "Bone" moniker.[2]

In September 2022, it was announced that WHPT would be the new flagship station of the Tampa Bay Lightning of the National Hockey League. The station is also expected to reformat its HD2 subchannel that'll be centered on 24/7 Lightning-focused programming, including original live programming, game replays, podcasts, and more.[3] WHPT is also the flagship station of the South Florida Bulls football, men's basketball, and women's basketball teams as of 2022.[4]

References
  1. "Facility Technical Data for WHPT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. Venta, Lance (April 19, 2012). "102.5 The Bone Tampa To Go Hot Talk". Radio Insight. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
  3. "102.5 The Bone made the official flagship station of the Bolts". NHL.com. Retrieved 2022-09-16.
  4. "USF Athletics Begins Three-Year Radio Partnership with Cox Media Group". USF Athletics. Retrieved 2022-11-18.
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