WAXX

Last updated

WAXX
Broadcast area Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls/La Crosse
Frequency 104.5 MHz
BrandingToday's WAXX 104.5 (pronounced as the word "wax")
Programming
Language(s) English
Format Country
Ownership
Owner
WAYY, WEAQ, WECL, WIAL, WISM-FM
History
First air date
1965
Former call signs
WEAU-FM (1965-77)
Call sign meaning
stacks of "waxx" (vinyl records)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 9866
Class C
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 549 meters (1,801 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
44° 39' 51.00" N
90° 57' 41.00" W
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen Live
Website waxxradio.com

WAXX (104.5 FM) is a radio station in the Eau Claire area of Wisconsin, with its studio/offices located in Altoona, Wisconsin. Its transmitter is located in Fairchild, Wisconsin, sharing the tower with WEAU.

Contents

History

The station was originally WEAU-FM, an FM station co-owned with WEAU-TV in Eau Claire, broadcasting on 100.7 FM until 1967 when it switched to 104.5 FM. When WAXX 1150 was purchased and brought under the same ownership as WEAU-TV/WEAU-FM, WEAU-FM began simulcasting WAXX's country format. In the September 1977, WEAU-FM's call letters were changed to WAXX-FM, and eventually the country format was aired exclusively on the FM dial (WAXX was renamed WAYY in the 1978 and changed formats to oldies, eventually settling on news/talk in 1991, and later sports/talk in 2014). [2]

WAXX & WAYY were sold to Central Communications in 1984, and moved into their new building (and current home) behind WEAU-TV in 1985. WAXX, WAYY and new sister stations WIAL-FM, WEAQ, WECL-FM & WDRK-FM were sold to Maverick Media, LLC in 2003.

WAXX was the first radio station in the Eau Claire market to broadcast live 24 hours a day on the Internet, beginning March 31, 2006.

WAXX has been awarded several NAB Marconi Radio Awards over the years, including "Small Market Station of the Year" in both 2000 and 2007.

WAXX's "Alex & Cora" Morning won the Wisconsin Broadcaster's Award for best Medium Market Morning Show in Wisconsin in 2013. The Morning Show was also nominated for a Marconi Award for the Best Small Market Morning Show in America in 2013.

WAXX signature voice is John Willyard, voice of the CMA Awards since 1996, whose signature voice work is heard on many notable Country stations across North America.

On the evening of Tuesday, March 22, 2011, the 2,000-foot tower near Fairchild, Wisconsin, carrying WAXX's signal collapsed. The station had to broadcast at low power using a tower next to their studios that only reached the Eau Claire / Chippewa Falls metro area until its main tower was rebuilt; the station also was broadcasting for the Spencer/Marshfield area also on 104.5. WAXX programming was temporarily carried on WECL 92.9 for several days after the collapse, displacing that station's programming. Early in the afternoon of Friday, January 27, 2012, WAXX-FM started transmitting from a new tower at the Fairchild site, at the same height as the previous collapsed tower.

WAXX and its Eau Claire sister stations, along with Maverick Media's Rockford, Illinois stations, were sold to Mid-West Family Broadcasting for $15.5 million. The purchase of the Eau Claire stations was consummated on October 1, 2013, while the Rockford station purchases were consummated on June 1, 2014.

Previous logos

WAXX logo early-1970s to circa-1985. WAXXRadiologo1970s-1980s.png
WAXX logo early-1970s to circa-1985.
WAXX logo circa-1985 to circa-1997. WAXXold80s90s.png
WAXX logo circa-1985 to circa-1997.
WAXX logo circa-1997 to circa-2005. WAXXRadiologo1990s-2005.png
WAXX logo circa-1997 to circa-2005.
WAXX logo 2005 to 2021 WAXX 104.5WAXX logo.png
WAXX logo 2005 to 2021

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WQOW</span> TV station in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

WQOW is a television station in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States, serving the Chippewa Valley as an affiliate of ABC. Owned by Allen Media Group, the station has studios on Friedeck Road in Eau Claire, and its transmitter is located in Altoona, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WXOW</span> TV station in La Crosse, Wisconsin

WXOW is a television station in La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Allen Media Group. The station's studios and transmitter are located on County Highway 25 in La Crescent, Minnesota.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEAU</span> TV station in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

WEAU is a television station licensed to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States, serving the La Crosse–Eau Claire market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Gray Media, and maintains studios on South Hastings Way / US 53 Business in Altoona ; its transmitter is located north of Fairchild, near the Eau Claire–Clark county line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKBT-DT</span> CBS/MyNetworkTV affiliate in La Crosse, Wisconsin

WKBT-DT is a television station licensed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, serving the La Crosse–Eau Claire market as an affiliate of CBS and MyNetworkTV. Owned by Morgan Murphy Media, the station maintains studios on South 6th Street in downtown La Crosse, and its transmitter is located on Silver Creek Road in Galesville, Wisconsin.

WLAX, licensed to La Crosse, Wisconsin, United States, and WEUX, licensed to Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, are two television stations affiliated with Fox network for the La Crosse–Eau Claire market. The stations are owned by Nexstar Media Group. WLAX maintains studios at Interchange Place in La Crosse and a transmitter in La Crescent, Minnesota, while WEUX has offices on WIS 93 in Eau Claire and a transmitter southeast of Colfax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WJMZ-FM</span> Radio station in Anderson, South Carolina

WJMZ-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Anderson, South Carolina and serving the Upstate South Carolina region, including Greenville and Spartanburg. The station is owned by SummitMedia and airs an urban adult contemporary radio format. It is among the highest rated stations in the Greenville–Spartanburg radio market, according to Nielsen ratings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRTB</span> Radio station in Illinois, United States

WRTB is a country music radio station licensed to serve Winnebago, Illinois, and serving the Rockford market. Before flipping to country, WRTB used the Bob FM format from August 1, 2006, to February 21, 2014.

KVDT is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Allen, Texas, and serving the greater Dallas-Fort Worth radio market. It is owned by VCY America, Inc., and it airs a Christian radio format. Most programming comes from studios at VCY America's headquarters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. KVDT schedules Christian talk and teaching shows in the daytime, while Christian music is heard at night. SRN News provides hourly news updates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WAYY</span> Radio station in Eau Claire, Wisconsin

WAYY is a commercial radio station in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. It broadcasts a sports radio format and is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting. Programming is mostly from Infinity Sports Network. It also carries Milwaukee Brewers baseball and Milwaukee Bucks basketball. The radio studios and offices are in Altoona, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WEAQ</span> Radio station in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin

WEAQ is a radio station in the Eau Claire area of Wisconsin, with its studio and offices located in Altoona, Wisconsin. Its transmitter is located in Lake Hallie, Wisconsin.

WGNW is a radio station serving the Eau Claire region of Wisconsin. The transmitter is located six miles northeast of Bloomer, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WIAL</span> Radio station in Elk Mound, Wisconsin

WIAL is a radio station in the Eau Claire area of Wisconsin, with its studio/offices located in Altoona, Wisconsin. Its transmitter is located in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WECL</span> Radio station in Lake Hallie, Wisconsin

WECL is an active rock formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Lake Hallie, Wisconsin, serving the Eau Claire/Chippewa Falls area. WECL is owned and operated by Mid-West Family Broadcasting.

Mid-West Family Broadcasting is an independently owned broadcasting company based in Madison, Wisconsin. The company owns and manages radio stations in Madison, Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, La Crosse, Wisconsin, Benton Harbor/St. Joseph, Michigan, South Bend/Elkhart, Indiana, Springfield, Illinois, Springfield, Missouri, and Rockford, Illinois. In 2013 Mid-West Family purchased the Maverick stations in Rockford, Illinois and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. This added 11 stations starting May 1, 2013 with an LMA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WXRX</span> Radio station in Illinois, United States

WXRX is a radio station. Licensed to Belvidere, Illinois, the station serves the Rockford, Illinois area. Originally created by a company called "Radio Works" run by David McAley and Robert Rhea Jr., it is now owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting. WXRX started as a classic rock station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWSR</span> Radio station in Lima, Ohio

WWSR is a commercial radio station in Lima, Ohio, broadcasting a sports format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WUEC</span> Radio station in Wisconsin, United States

WUEC is a radio station in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States. The station is part of Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR) and broadcasts its WPR Music service consisting of classical and jazz music with news updates. WUEC also broadcasts local programming from studios in the Wisconsin Public Broadcasting regional center in Eau Claire and three hours of student programming a week from studios in the Hibbard Humanities building at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire (UW-EC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMEQ-FM</span> Radio station in Menomonie, Wisconsin

WMEQ-FM is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Menomonie, Wisconsin, United States, the station serves the Eau Claire area. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and carries the nationally syndicated radio program Bob & Tom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WISM-FM</span> Radio station in Altoona, Wisconsin

WISM-FM is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Altoona, Wisconsin, United States, the station serves the Eau Claire-Chippewa Falls area. It is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting.

WNTA is a radio station licensed to Rockford, Illinois, United States. It serves the Rockford/Stateline area, using a two tower directional antenna system on Sandy Hollow Road. The station's current format is sports. WNTA rebroadcasts on W246DW 97.1 FM and is owned by Mid-West Family Broadcasting.

References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for WAXX". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "FCC history cards" . Retrieved February 25, 2021.

44°39′51″N90°57′41″W / 44.6641°N 90.9615°W / 44.6641; -90.9615