Frank Smith, owner and operator of MCTV 22 and WFXY Foxy Radio, has transitioned into a newer facility located on Cumberland Avenue in fowntown Middlesboro – giving him and his employees better exposure to the community as well as letting the business expand.

Smith wanted to put all of the media under one roof. He operates MCTV 22 and WFXY Foxy from the station as well as Pineville’s WANO 98.1 FM. With these various stations, Smith and his team control a local legacy of on-air broadcasting that dates back over 50 years.

The radio stations are a mix of live on-air broadcasting and preset content that plays automatically. After the move, Smith has worked to the get the facility as modern as possible with up to date equipment and technology.

“What this move allowed us to do was to allow two in-house studios for different video programs,” said Smith.

On the TV side of the business, Smith has two studios – one stationary and one mobile for on the go news and broadcasting.

Smith also farms out the studio for people to use to film and produce their content, including from Knoxville, Corbin and other areas.

MCTV 22 has been on the air since 2006 while WFXY has been on the air since 1969. WANO FM has been on air since the 1950s.

With the move, came the acquisition of an FM channel, which came online in April of this year. The FM capability simply allows the station to reach more of an audience.

“The FCC granted pretty much all AM radio stations an FM translator, trying to revive the AM band…with all the technical stuff that’s out there now, it’s hard for AM to compete with – cell phones, static, leaking transforms, it was really bad,” said Smith.

The studio covers everything from local government meetings, sports and produces its own news broadcasts. Between the radio stations they operate, you’ll hear country and classic rock.