Anacortes’ radio station, KWLE The Whale, will move to a new location later this month.
New owners Robert and Jennifer Uteda are moving the station to 904 32nd St., the former home of Happy Valley Farms. The station has been at 2416 Commercial Ave. for nearly 40 years.
“It’s a better facility for us, more space,” Robert Uteda said. “We’re actually going to have more offices available to us.”
He said they will also save money on rent.
Bill Berry, who owned the radio station for 43 years, bought the Commercial Avenue property in 1975. He plans to remodel the building and said he has several prospective renters.
The Utedas moved here from Los Angeles and took over the station a year ago this month. They have a combined 40 years of experience as entertainment executives in Hollywood.
The Utedas changed the name of the station late last year and brought in a new format featuring live local DJs playing all kinds of music along with more local news, sports and events.
Over the next few weeks, Robert Uteda said they will spend about $50,000 in construction to build a new control room.
The station also has to realign satellite dishes and studio transmitters, and it will add equipment to improve the studio sound.
The move means the station is expected to be off the air Saturday, June 28 and Sunday, June 29.
“There’s no way around it. We have to unplug and move everything over there,” Uteda said.
He said they hope to be back on the air by Sunday evening.
They aren’t worried that moving will affect business.
“It’s all dependent on our station and how well we’re addressing the local needs,” Uteda said.
The station doesn’t depend on people walking in off the street for advertising and he said they plan to put up larger signs at the new location.
The new location won’t affect the station’s Web site, which is attracting more and more traffic.
“We’re really dependent on that and that’s not going to change,” he said.
Uteda said they feel residents are behind The Whale.
“The community has been very supportive of the station,” he said. “We’ve got new listeners and our Web site is attracting listeners.”
Visit http://www.1340thewhale.com.
