WALI

This article is about a Tennessee radio station. For the South Carolina station formerly known as WALI, seeWOEZ (FM).For other uses, seeWali (disambiguation).

WALI

Dayton, Tennessee
Broadcast area	Rhea County, Tennessee Cleveland, Tennessee
Frequency	1280kHz
Branding	Alive 96.9
Programming
Language(s)	English
Format	Soft adult contemporary
Ownership
Owner	Beverly Broadcasting Company, LLC
Sister stations	WDNT,WRKQ
History
First air date	December 6,1957(as WDNT)
Former call signs	WDNT (1957–2006) WALV (2/2006) WDNT (2006–2019) WRHA (6/2019–9/2019)
Call signmeaning	ALIve
Technical information
Facility ID	70783
Class	D
Power	1,000watts(day) 310 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates	35°28′12″N85°02′15″W
Translator(s)	96.9W245DZ (Cleveland)
Links
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	www.alive969.com

WALI(1280AM) is an Americanradio stationlicensedto serve the community ofDayton,thecounty seatofRhea County, Tennessee.Established in 1957, the station'sbroadcast licenseis held by Beverly Broadcasting Company, LLC. The station broadcasts asoft adult contemporaryformat and is known as "Alive 96.9, Cleveland's Lite Rock", named for its FM translator, W245DZ 96.9 FM, which has its transmitter inCleveland, Tennessee.

FM translator

In addition to theAMfrequency of 1280kHz,WALI programming is relayed to anFM translator.The FM frequency also provides the listener withhigh fidelitysound and the ability to listen on theFMband. The FM signal is used as the frequency on the stationlogoandbranding.However, the translator does not cover Dayton.

Broadcast translatorfor WALI

Call sign	Frequency	City of license	FID	ERP(W)	HAAT	Class	FCC info
W245DZ	96.9 FM	Cleveland, Tennessee	138251	250	99m(325ft)	D	LMS

History

Early days

This station began regular broadcast operations on December 6, 1957 asWDNT,with 1,000wattsof power on a frequency of 1280kilohertzas a "daytimer",restricted to broadcasting between sunrise and sunset to limitskywaveinterference with other stations on the same frequency.WDNT was the first radio station licensed by theFederal Communications Commission(FCC) to serve Dayton.

Launched under the ownership of Norman A. Thomas with thebroadcast licenseheld by the Dayton Broadcasting Company, the station's original personnel includedgeneral managerJack S. Pullin,chief engineerEddie Lane,news directorBill Watts, farm director E.L. Tipps, and women's issues director Lois Massengill.WDNT was an affiliate of the Keystone Network.

The station maintained this affiliation through the 1970s and broadcast afull servicecountry musicformat toDayton, Tennessee,and surroundingRhea County.On July 1, 1976, WDNT addedFMsister station"WNFM" (104.9 FM) which aired amiddle of the roadmusic format.The FM station is now separately owned and licensed as "WUIE"(105.1 FM).

1980s

WDNT owner Norman A. Thomas died in April 1980 at the age of 79.Norman A. Thomas Jr., acting as executor of his father's estate, notified the FCC of the involuntary transfer of control of the license holder from father to son. The FCC approved the transfer on June 6, 1980.

In September 1982, WDNT Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreement to sell the station to Eaton P. Govan III. The FCC approved the deal on November 3, 1982, but formal consummation of the transaction was delayed until May 8, 1986.Govan's turn as station owner was short-lived as in November 1986 he agreed to sell WDNT to the partnership of George R. Johnson and George Lewis Wyatt,doing business asDayton Broadcasting Company. The FCC approved the sale on December 30, 1986 and the transaction was formally consummated on January 8, 1987.

1990s

In December 1990, George Lewis Wyatt transferred his interest in Dayton Broadcasting Company to partner George R. Johnson, leaving Johnson as the sole license holder for WDNT. The FCC approved the transfer on January 8, 1991, and the deal was formally consummated on February 25, 1991.

George R. Johnson,doing business asDayton Broadcasting Company, contracted to sell WDNT and its assets to Walter E. Hooper III in October 1993. After lengthy deliberation, the FCC approved the sale on September 20, 1994, and the transaction was formally consummated on February 7, 1995.

2000s

In March 2002, station owner Walter E. Hooper III reached an agreement to sell WDNT toChattanooga-based Brewer Broadcasting through its J.L. Brewer Broadcasting of Cleveland, LLC, subsidiary. The FCC approved the sale on May 20, 2002, and the formal consummation of the deal took place on July 1, 2002.

Because the land where the station's broadcast tower was located was sold to another party in a separate transaction, the station applied to the FCC for aconstruction permitto relocate their transmitter to a new location nearby in November 2002. The FCC granted the permit on February 19, 2003, with a scheduled expiration date of February 19, 2006.Construction and testing were completed in December 2003 so the station applied for a newbroadcast licenseto cover these changes. The FCC issued the new license on October 17, 2004.

After nearly 50 years of continuous operation as "WDNT", the new owners had the station'scall signchanged to "WALV" on February 2, 2006, as part of a complicated call sign shuffle among Brewer Broadcasting radio stations. The change was very short-lived as the station was reassigned the "WDNT" call sign by the FCC on February 26,2006.

In December 2007, Brewer Broadcasting agreed to sell WDNT to Whitfield Communications through a subsidiary known as East Tennessee Radio Group III, L.P.The sale was part of a four station deal valued at $1,865,000 for the stations'broadcast licensesplus an additional $835,000 for the real estate including studio buildings, station offices, and the WDNT transmitter tower location for a total price of $2.7 million.The threesister stationsin the deal wereWBAC(1340 AM,Cleveland, Tennessee);WXQK(970 AM,Spring City, Tennessee); andWAYA(93.9 FM, Spring City, Tennessee).The FCC approved the group sale on January 31, 2008, and the deal was formally consummated on May 30, 2008.

At the time of the sale, all three of the AM stations weresimulcastinganews/talk radioformat from studios in Cleveland, Tennessee. Programming included a localmorning showplus syndicated conservative talk hosts includingRush LimbaughandSean Hannity.The only time during the week that the stations did not share a program stream was on Sunday mornings when each broadcast a different localchurch service.While the sale was pending, Whitfield Communications began operating the station group under alocal marketing agreementon December 1, 2007.On January 12, 2008, WDNT and its sister stations became part-timeaffiliatesof theFox Sports Radionetwork, airing sports programming from midnight to 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. to midnight each weekday plus additional programming on Saturday and Sunday.

Sale to Beverly Broadcasting

In November 2009, Whitfield Communications spun off the twoRhea County-basedAMstations (WDNT and WXQK) to Beverly Broadcasting Company, LLC, for just $27,000.(This is only 1% of the $2.7 million price the four-station group and real estate combo had fetched less than two years earlier.) Beverly Broadcasting Company is owned by the husband-and-wife team of Mike and Sue Beverly, then based inKnoxville, Tennessee.The FCC approved the sale on December 31, 2009, and the deal was formally consummated on January 14, 2010.

However, while the Beverlys acquired the radio stations, they did not acquire the land on which the WDNT transmitter and broadcast antenna were located as those were sold to a third party.For this reason, WDNT wentdarkon November 13, 2009, while the search for a new transmitter site was underway. On December 30, 2009, the FCC granted the stationspecial temporary authorityto remain silent until June 28, 2010.

WDNT returned to the air with anoldies musicformat on June 6, 2010, with a temporary facility at the original WDNT broadcast tower site.In June 2011, the station applied to the FCC for a newconstruction permitfor a permanent tower site nearby. The FCC granted the permit on November 16, 2011, with a scheduled expiration date on November 16, 2014.For most of the 2010s, WRHA broadcast anoldies musicformatsimilar to, but not always insimulcastwith,sister stationWDNT(970 AM,Spring City, Tennessee).While the stations were mostly locally programmed and operated, in August 2011 both stations began airing the syndicated radio programThe Donny Osmond Showfor five hours each weekday.

In addition to music programming, WRHA and WDNT would broadcastRhea County High Schoolfootball games each fall.

Alive 97

On June 17, 2019, WDNT swapped call signs with sister stationWRHA.1280 AM retained the WRHA call letters until changing to WALI on September 25, 2019. Beverly relaunched the station as "Alive 97" in October 2019. The station promotes itself as "Cleveland's Lite Rock" and is seeking to court listeners in that city, where the translator is located.

The station is branded as "Continuous Lite Rock from the1980s,'90sand more all day, plus Love Songs At Night ".The name of the station is an homage toWUIE,which was formerly located in Cleveland and known as "Alive 105" at the time.

External links

• WALI official website

• WALIin theFCCAM station database
• WALIinNielsen Audio's AM station database
• W245DZin theFCCFM station database
• W245DZat FCCdata.org