WYFQ
| Broadcast area | Charlotte,North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Frequency | AM: 930kHz FM: 93.5MHz |
| Branding | BBN Radio |
| Programming | |
| Format | ConservativeChristian talk and teaching |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Bible Broadcasting Network |
| History | |
First air date | 1951 |
Former call signs | AM: WIST (1951–1960) WSOC (1960–1992) FM: WRPL (1989–1996) |
Call signmeaning | "Where You Find Quality" |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | AM: 5152 FM: 73965 |
| Class | AM: B FM: C3 |
| Power | AM: 5,000wattsday 1,000 watts night |
| ERP | FM: 8,700 watts |
| HAAT | FM: 169 meters (554 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | AM:35°16′0″N80°54′5″W/ 35.26667°N 80.90139°W FM:35°02′57″N80°18′38″W/ 35.04917°N 80.31056°W |
| Translator(s) | WYFQ-FM: 89.5 MHzK208CK (Scottsbluff, Nebraska) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | BBN station page bbnradio.org |
WYFQ(930kHz) andWYFQ-FM(93.5MHz) are tworadio stationsin theCharlotte metropolitan areaofNorth Carolinathat serve as theflagship stationsof theBible Broadcasting Network.The AM station operates with a power of 5,000 watts daytime and 1,000 watts nighttime, and islicensedtoCharlotte.Adirectional antennasystem is used during the station's nighttime hours. The FM station operates with a power of 8,700 watts, and is licensed to theWadesboro,North Carolina. The FM station serves mainly as a repeater for the eastern portion of the Charlotteradio market.
History[edit]
The 930 frequency first went on the air with thecall signWISTin 1951. WIST was founded by Cosmos Broadcasting Company, and was asister stationtoColumbia,South Carolina's heritage station560 WIS,as well as having an FMsimulcast(nowWNKS). Its first studios were on North Tryon Street, two blocks from the square in uptown Charlotte.
As WIST, the station was initially anetwork affiliateof theMutual Broadcasting System,but by the late 1950s, it had dropped the network to become Charlotte's first independent radio station and later Charlotte's firstTop-40station. Popular DJ's at that time included Jimmy Kilgo, Bob Chessen and Jim Martin.
In 1960, in a rare move for broadcasters of the day, WIST traded frequencies with WSOC at 1240 on the dial (nowWHVN).[1]AM 1240became WIST, whileAM 930became WSOC.
93-WSOC ( "Good Music" )[edit]
AsWSOC,the 930 frequency inherited the legacy of Charlotte's second-oldest station. WSOC had signed on in 1929 as WRBU, becoming WSOC a year later. The new WSOC gained sister stations inWSOC-FM(103.7) andWSOC-TV(channel 9). The station'sMORmusic format andNBC Radio Networkaffiliation came to 930, as well as WSOC's heritage morning announcer Jack Knight.
Knight eventually was replaced as morning announcer by Denny Mills, and returned to the air on his old 1240 frequency on the then-WIST. Other popular announcers on WSOC in those days included Glenn Hamrick, Bill Currie and Jack Callaghan.
Barry Noll of WSOC reacted to a 1971 format change byWBTfrom "good music" toadult contemporaryby saying, "We are, of course, delighted... Whatever they're doing at WBT has got to strengthen our position in the strictly adult market." Rich Pauley andArthur Smithmoved from WBT to WSOC.[2][3]
In 1974, Lee Morris of sister stationWSBin Atlanta became general manager, and the station began making more of an effort to attract listeners with contests and promotions.[4]
Carolina Basketball Network[edit]
In the early 1960s, WSOC made the first serious attempt to produce and network the basketball games of theUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel HillTar Heels beyond the immediate area ofChapel Hill,Raleigh,andDurham.Bill Currie did the play-by-play announcing, and Jack Callaghan provided color commentary. The games aired in Chapel Hill onWCHL.Cox sold the network to the Village Broadcasting Company, owner of WCHL, in 1965.
NewsRadio 93[edit]
On August 16, 1976, WSOC dropped its music programming to become "NewsRadio 93," airing anall-news radioformat. It was the first in the Carolinas to do so.[5]Much of its programming came fromNBC Radio'sNews and Information Service (NIS)during its first year.
When NBC dropped that service in 1977, WSOC remained all-news, adding local news personnel in the process. Popular newscasters on WSOC in those days includedJim Cundiff(air name Jim David) and the first female news director in North Carolina Leslie Wolfe (who married Cundiff while they worked as the morning drive news co-anchor team). Overnights, the station carriedThe Larry King Showfrom the Mutual Broadcasting System, and eventually Mutual's radio newscasts found their way into the daytime news programming of the station.
The Voice of Charlotte[edit]
WSOC's programming made a shift in 1978, as all-news programming was replaced in middays by a local talk show hosted by Dick Pomerantz. His hosting of the midday talk show was short lived, but other talk shows, both local and network, made their way to WSOC over the next four years. In addition to Pomerantz, popular talk hosts on the station includedWCCB-TV afternoon children's host Tony Alexi. WSOC carried an extensive schedule ofAtlanta Bravesbaseball games andNorth Carolina State Universityfootball and basketball.
AM 93-WSOC[edit]
By 1981, the decision was made to drop news andtalkprogramming on WSOC, and the station went to anAdult standardsmusic format ( "The music that never goes out of style" ). In an effort to retain its heritage, but differentiate the station from itsCountry-formatted sister station WSOC-FM, the station was branded in slogans and jingles as "AM 93-WSOC". The Larry King Show was retained overnights, and was joined for a time by a network sports-talk operation called Enterprise Radio. Popular announcers during this time included Jim Hutton, Ed Ross, Jim Wall and Mike Sheridan.
Three years later, formerWBTprogram director Andy Bickel was hired as consultant and took the station into anAdult contemporaryformat. The format was not competitive with the other stations in Charlotte established in this format, and was abandoned early in 1985.
Country music and WSOC-FM simulcasts[edit]
WSOC's owners then tried to find a place for AM 93 within the established bounds ofcountry musicthat WSOC-FM had carved out in their then-16 years in the format. At times, AM-93 was programmed separately in midday and evening hours, and simulcast the FM during morning and afternoon drive times.
WSOC's AM station began an experimentalCountry Oldiesformat dubbed "Country Gold 93", once again with a separate staff from the FM except during overnight hours. Morning announcer during this time was Jim Wall. Though it showed promise for gaining a toehold with the country audience in Charlotte, the owners abandoned the format early in 1986, except for Janet King's midday show, when the AM's ratings began to weaken,[6]and WSOC AM-93 permanently became the shadowed sister of WSOC-FM.
Baseball[edit]
WSOC aired theMajor League BaseballAtlanta Bravesprior to 1986, when the station added theClass AACharlotte O'sbaseball team. The station would continue to air aCBS radiomajor league baseball game of the week, theAll-Star Game,and post-season games.[7]The O's changed their name to the Knights in the 1988 season[8]and in 1989, in addition to the Knights, WSOC planned to air 99Chicago Cubsgames, plus 25 games each from the Braves, theBaltimore Oriolesand theMinnesota Twins.[9]
Time for a change?[edit]
By the end of the 1980s, the only separate programming on WSOC AM-93 was college football and basketball, minor league baseball, and Sunday morning religious programming. One interesting innovation attempted during this period was to play music on WSOC whileNASCARraces were being aired on WSOC-FM.
In 1990, the ownersCox Communicationsbegan to court a buyer for the 930 frequency, and in late 1991, it was announced that 930 AM was to be sold to theBible Broadcasting Network.Cox also sold WSOC-FM to EZ Communications (which, after a series of mergers in the mid-to-late 1990s, is now owned byBeasley Broadcasting), but still owns WSOC-TV to this day.
The format change came on March 16, 1992.[10]
Call Letters: WYFQ[edit]
BBN Comes to Charlotte[edit]
The original construction permit for 93.5 FM was obtained by Risden Lyon and his son, Allen Lyon in 1989. Risden Lyon died on December 31, 1991, and Allen carried on with the licensing process for another four years, obtaining the finalconstruction permitfor WRPL in 1995. He constructed the station in the summer of 1995, and sold it to the Bible Broadcasting Network in February 1996.
WYFQ-FM officially signed on the air on February 12, 1996. The station airs the complete national program and music schedule of BBN, plus locally produced public affairs programming and public service announcements.
Popular announcers on the BBN Network include Mike Dize, Hank Farrior and Vic Gregory.
As a BBN station, no commercial advertisements are broadcast. Funding is raised from listener donations.
When BBN began aSpanish-languageradio network, known as "Red de Radiodifusión Bíblica."Some of its programming was aired on WYFQ. Programming on the station later returned to full-time English broadcasts.
Three months after purchasing the station, the entire operation of BBN moved fromChesapeake,Virginia to Charlotte, making WYFQ the flagship station for the network.
The station now broadcasts from the BBN Studios at 11530 Carmel Commons Boulevard in Charlotte.
Its operation was combined with BBN's already established Charlotte AM station as WYFQ AM and FM. Today, the combined stations share a station manager and the entire technical staff of BBN's English broadcast contributes to their operation.
References[edit]
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1960 page A-199
- ^Paddock, Polly (March 26, 1971). "WBT Radio, At 49, Sounding Younger".The Charlotte Observer.p. 1B, 2B.
- ^Paddock, Polly (February 12, 1971). "Arthur Smith's Show Is Switching Channels".The Charlotte Observer.p. 1B.
- ^Charlie Hanna, "What Radio Got For Its Wooing,"The Charlotte Observer,July 28, 1975, p. 17A.
- ^"WSOC-AM to Present Only News,"Winston-Salem Journal,July 9, 1976.
- ^Jeff Borden, "New Vice President Takes Helm at WSOC",The Charlotte Observer,November 13, 1986, p. 31A.
- ^Jeff Borden, "WSOC Drops the Braves to Broadcast Charlotte O's",The Charlotte Observer,January 31, 1986, p. 11A.
- ^Stan Olson, "Charlotte Players Primed to Begin Life As Knights",The Charlotte Observer,April 8, 1988, p. 1D.
- ^"WSOC Radio to Fill Airwaves with Baseball",The Charlotte Observer,March 16, 1989, p. 9D.
- ^Tim Funk, "Beginning April 18, Tune into WCNC for a Little Bit of Country",The Charlotte Observer,March 28, 1992, p. 8C.
External links[edit]
- WYFQin theFCCAM station database
- WYFQinNielsen Audio's AM station database
- WYFQin theFCCFM station database
- WYFQinNielsen Audio's FM station database