WWRM
Encyclopedia
WWRM is an adult contemporary music formatted radio station
serving the Tampa-St. Petersburg
, Florida radio market. WWRM began on 107.3 (on what is now WXGL
), but later moved to 94.9 with its soft AC format. The station evolved to more of a mainstream AC sound as Magic 94.9 by 2001
, a year after joining its new sister station, WDUV
(a soft AC station) in its Cox Radio
ownership. The station plays Christmas music from mid-November to December 26.
1380 and WLCY-TV
channel 10 in St. Petersburg, signed on 94.9 in 1970 as WLCY-FM from the "Rahall Color Communications Center" on Gandy Boulevard
. During the early 1970s, WLCY-FM was an automated
station, airing Drake-Chenault
’s "Hit Parade" and TM’s "Stereo Rock" formats.
Hoping to follow the sudden rise in popularity of local Top 40 station WRBQ-FM ("Q105") in the mid-1970s, WLCY-FM switched to live disc jockeys in 1976 with the moniker "Y95," using the whole-number frequency closest to 94.9. It soon adopted a new call sign, WYNF, a convenient shorthand for "Y-Ninety-Five".
In 1980, Taft Broadcasting
bought the station and rebranded it "95FM- Florida's Best Rock". The music shifted from Top 40 to album-oriented rock
, to compete with the dominant local AOR station, WQXM
. WYNF's studios moved from St. Petersburg to Tampa, at 504 Reo Street (near Tampa International Airport
), home of Taft's WDAE AM 1250. The change lasted less than two years, and the station was rebranded "95ynf". WYNF would again become a sister station to channel 10 (now WTSP) in the early-1980s, after Taft acquired Gulf Broadcasting. (Around that time, WDAE was sold to Gannett
, while Taft acquired WSUN
AM 620 from Plough, Inc.
)
After trying out several morning teams including Nick van Cleve and Jack Strapp, and later replacing van Cleve with Ron Diaz
, program director Carey Curelop paired Diaz with local comic Ron Bennington
, creating the highly-successful Ron and Ron
morning show at WYNF in the late eighties.
In 1993, Cox Broadcasting
, owners of WWRM (then at 107.3, as "Warm 107"), bought WYNF from Taft's successor, Citicasters
, relocating its studios back to St. Petersburg, at The Koger Center. By this point rival WXTB
, the same station that was once WQXM, had surpassed WYNF in the Arbitron ratings, eventually forcing a format change. Longtime jock Don Capone handled the station's final broadcast while hundreds of fans held up candles in the station's parking lot.
After a short period of simulcasting WSUN
's talk radio programming, Cox relocated "Warm 107" and its WWRM calls to 94.9, becoming "Warm 94.9." In the late 1990s, the station had a minor overhaul, becoming "(The New) Magic 94.9," though keeping the format and WWRM call sign. (WWRM's old frequency at 107.3 has since become WXGL
.) In May 2011, after ten years of being called "The New Magic 94.9" the station dropped "The New", now being just "Magic 94.9, soft and contemporary and voted no.1 again for the most music while you work."
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
serving the Tampa-St. Petersburg
Tampa Bay Area
The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
, Florida radio market. WWRM began on 107.3 (on what is now WXGL
WXGL
WXGL, known as "The New 107.3 The Eagle - Tampa Bay's Classic Hits Station", is a Cox-owned radio station located on the FM dial at 107.3 in Tampa, Florida. The station plays classic hits, primarily from the 1970s and 1980s, but also the 1990s...
), but later moved to 94.9 with its soft AC format. The station evolved to more of a mainstream AC sound as Magic 94.9 by 2001
2001 in radio
The year 2001 in radio involved some significant events.-Events:*12 January: Jammin 103.5 becomes Kiss 103.5 in Chicago.*29 January: The 80s Channel WXXY and WWYX becomes Viva! 103.1...
, a year after joining its new sister station, WDUV
WDUV
WDUV, "The Dove," is a radio station serving the Tampa Bay media market in Florida.Broadcasting on 105.5 FM, the station specializes in playing the "easy listening" format, which announcers for the station describe as "continuous relaxing easy favorites." The format is actually a very gold-leaning...
(a soft AC station) in its Cox Radio
Cox Radio
Cox Radio, Inc. is a division of Cox Enterprises that holds a number of radio stations. Cox Radio is headquartered at 6205 Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs, Georgia....
ownership. The station plays Christmas music from mid-November to December 26.
History
Rahall Communications, owner of WLCY-AMWWMI
WWMI is a radio station broadcasting a children's radio format. Licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida, USA, the station serves the Tampa Bay area. The station is owned by The Walt Disney Company.-History:...
1380 and WLCY-TV
WTSP
WTSP is a CBS-affiliated television station in St. Petersburg, Florida . It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 10....
channel 10 in St. Petersburg, signed on 94.9 in 1970 as WLCY-FM from the "Rahall Color Communications Center" on Gandy Boulevard
U.S. Route 92
U.S. Route 92 is a 177 mile intrastate U.S. Route in the U.S. state of Florida. The western terminus is at Alt US 19, SR 595, and SR 687 in downtown St. Petersburg. The eastern terminus is at SR A1A in Daytona Beach. Most of US 92 is designated unsigned State Road 600.-Route description:US 92...
. During the early 1970s, WLCY-FM was an automated
Broadcast automation
Broadcast automation incorporates the use of broadcast programming technology to automate broadcasting operations. Used either at a broadcast network, radio station or a television station, it can run a facility in the absence of a human operator...
station, airing Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault
Drake-Chenault Enterprises was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake , and his business partner, Lester Eugene Chenault...
’s "Hit Parade" and TM’s "Stereo Rock" formats.
Hoping to follow the sudden rise in popularity of local Top 40 station WRBQ-FM ("Q105") in the mid-1970s, WLCY-FM switched to live disc jockeys in 1976 with the moniker "Y95," using the whole-number frequency closest to 94.9. It soon adopted a new call sign, WYNF, a convenient shorthand for "Y-Ninety-Five".
In 1980, Taft Broadcasting
Taft Broadcasting
The Taft Broadcasting Company, also known as Taft Television and Radio Company, Incorporated, was an American media conglomerate based in Cincinnati, Ohio....
bought the station and rebranded it "95FM- Florida's Best Rock". The music shifted from Top 40 to album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
, to compete with the dominant local AOR station, WQXM
WXTB
WXTB — branded 98 Rock — is a commercial radio station in the Tampa, Florida area. However the station can be heard as far north as Ocala and Williston due to its strong signal...
. WYNF's studios moved from St. Petersburg to Tampa, at 504 Reo Street (near Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport
Tampa International Airport is a major public airport located six nautical miles west of the central business district of Tampa, in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. This airport is publicly owned by Hillsborough County Aviation Authority...
), home of Taft's WDAE AM 1250. The change lasted less than two years, and the station was rebranded "95ynf". WYNF would again become a sister station to channel 10 (now WTSP) in the early-1980s, after Taft acquired Gulf Broadcasting. (Around that time, WDAE was sold to Gannett
Gannett Company
Gannett Company, Inc. is a publicly-traded media holding company headquartered in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States, near McLean. It is the largest U.S. newspaper publisher as measured by total daily circulation. Its assets include the national newspaper USA Today and the weekly USA Weekend...
, while Taft acquired WSUN
WSUN (defunct)
WSUN was a radio station which broadcast to Tampa Bay Area, Florida from 1927 until 2001.-History:The radio station began operating at 620 kHz in October 1927. In 1928 it was moved to 580 kHz, then to 900 kHz that year...
AM 620 from Plough, Inc.
Schering-Plough
Schering-Plough Corporation was a United States-based pharmaceutical company. It was founded in 1851 by Ernst Christian Friedrich Schering as Schering AG in Germany. In 1971, the Schering Corporation merged with Plough to form Schering-Plough. On November 4, 2009 Merck & Co...
)
After trying out several morning teams including Nick van Cleve and Jack Strapp, and later replacing van Cleve with Ron Diaz
Ron Diaz
Ron Diaz is an American talk show host on sports radio station WDAE-AM in Tampa, Florida. In the late 1980s and 1990s he partnered with Ron Bennington in the highly successful Florida talk radio program, The Ron and Ron Show. In May 1993, his wife Debbie was diagnosed with AIDS, leading him to...
, program director Carey Curelop paired Diaz with local comic Ron Bennington
Ron Bennington
Ron Bennington born January 9th,1959, is an American radio personality and comedian. He is the primary voice of The Ron and Fez Show, and a stand-up comic...
, creating the highly-successful Ron and Ron
Ron and Fez
The Ron and Fez Show is an American radio talk show hosted by Ron Bennington and Fez "Marie" Whatley.After long popular runs in Tampa, Florida, New York City, and Washington, D.C., Ron and Fez are now heard on Sirius XM Radio's the Opie and Anthony Channel, located on XM channel 105, and Sirius...
morning show at WYNF in the late eighties.
In 1993, Cox Broadcasting
Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, United States, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. He was the Democratic candidate for the President of the United States in the election of 1920...
, owners of WWRM (then at 107.3, as "Warm 107"), bought WYNF from Taft's successor, Citicasters
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
, relocating its studios back to St. Petersburg, at The Koger Center. By this point rival WXTB
WXTB
WXTB — branded 98 Rock — is a commercial radio station in the Tampa, Florida area. However the station can be heard as far north as Ocala and Williston due to its strong signal...
, the same station that was once WQXM, had surpassed WYNF in the Arbitron ratings, eventually forcing a format change. Longtime jock Don Capone handled the station's final broadcast while hundreds of fans held up candles in the station's parking lot.
After a short period of simulcasting WSUN
WSUN (defunct)
WSUN was a radio station which broadcast to Tampa Bay Area, Florida from 1927 until 2001.-History:The radio station began operating at 620 kHz in October 1927. In 1928 it was moved to 580 kHz, then to 900 kHz that year...
's talk radio programming, Cox relocated "Warm 107" and its WWRM calls to 94.9, becoming "Warm 94.9." In the late 1990s, the station had a minor overhaul, becoming "(The New) Magic 94.9," though keeping the format and WWRM call sign. (WWRM's old frequency at 107.3 has since become WXGL
WXGL
WXGL, known as "The New 107.3 The Eagle - Tampa Bay's Classic Hits Station", is a Cox-owned radio station located on the FM dial at 107.3 in Tampa, Florida. The station plays classic hits, primarily from the 1970s and 1980s, but also the 1990s...
.) In May 2011, after ten years of being called "The New Magic 94.9" the station dropped "The New", now being just "Magic 94.9, soft and contemporary and voted no.1 again for the most music while you work."