WPLP-LP is a radio station licensed to Athens, Georgia, United States that features Alternative Rock music and community-oriented talk radio programming. Some of the station's most popular locally produced shows include Mornings with long-time Athens radio personality Beth Larsen, The Daily Escape with Rob Belton, the motivational HOPE show with Keith Keppner, The Athens Area Entrepreneur Spotlight with Paul Francis, and local music show Sunday Night with Dusty Blades. Casey Kasem's '70s and '80s American Top 40 shows are also popular weekend features. The station's slogan is The Sound of Athens. In 2019 the station launched its redesigned mobile-friendly website, bulldogathens.com, which features a continuously updated archive of audio clips, photos, and podcasts. The on-air event calendar is also online, and the live stream player features a rolling list of the most recently played songs and spots. The station features a Radio Data Systemtext display of all currently-airing songs, shows, and sponsor names and telephone numbers, which is viewable on text-capable radios. The station enjoys diverse listenership, and its core audience includes upwardly mobile, community-involved adults age 25-55 throughout the greater Athens area. The majority of station sponsors are local independent businesses, and many sponsors opt to dedicate their radio campaign to featuring a local nonprofit of their choice. Since 2016 the station independently donates more than one-third of its annual promotional campaigns to local charities and nonprofits, with most of these organizations benefiting children, animals, and the local education and business communities. The station broadcasts from Downtown Athens at The Fred Building on College Avenue, less than a quarter-mile from the historic University of Georgia Arch, and the station's FM signal covers the Athens Area including most of Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Jackson counties. Throughout the station's history it has been funded exclusively through local Athens-area sponsors. The station is owned, operated, and programmed in Athens.
History
WPLP-LP launched in February 2014 as "Bulldog 93.3, Athens Community Rock Station," featuring an Active Rock format. This format featured an all-local personality lineup including Rob Belton on middays for "The Lunchrox," Chris Muniz during Afternoon Drive "The Traffic Jam," and rotating evening DJs on "Athens Tonight." Weekend shows included Chuck Griffin on "Weekends With Chuck," and "The 3-Hour Power Hour with Dusty Blades." While the active rock format was popular, in December 2016 the station began evolving toward a more family-oriented playlist that would reach more listeners. Many of the DJs of the former format were retained with the new format, as were many of the station's most popular shows, segments, and sponsors.
