WMC (AM)

Last updated
WMC
Broadcast area Memphis metropolitan area
Frequency 790 kHz
BrandingThe Bet Memphis
Programming
Language(s) English
Format Sports gambling
AffiliationsBetQL Audio Network
CBS Sports Radio
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
January 20, 1923 (1923-01-20)
Call sign meaning
 Memphis Commercial Appeal (former sister newspaper)
Technical information
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 19185
Class B
Power 5,000  watts
Transmitter coordinates
 35°10′7″N89°53′6″W / 35.16861°N 89.88500°W / 35.16861; -89.88500
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live (via  Audacy)

WMC (790 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Memphis, Tennessee, broadcasting a sports gambling format. It is one of the city's oldest radio stations, and still uses its original three-letter call sign. WMC maintains studios in the Audacy, Inc. complex in Southeast Memphis, and has its transmitter towers (a four-tower array) in Northeast Memphis.

Contents

The station runs direct satellite feeds of BetQL Network and CBS Sports Radio. In addition to sports talk shows, WMC features longtime Memphis disc jockey George Klein's weekly tribute program to Elvis Presley. Klein and Presley were close friends and confidantes during the latter's lifetime and the former's long stint on WHBQ.

The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., which (as Entercom) it purchased from CBS Radio in September 2006. [1] WMC and sister WMC-FM were for many years owned and operated by Scripps Howard Broadcasting, along with its one-time co-owned TV sister WMC-TV Channel 5, before SHB sold the stations in 1993. WMC is one of six radio properties in the Memphis market held by Audacy; the others are WLFP, WMC-FM, WMFS, WMFS-FM and WRVR.[ citation needed ] WMFS and WMFS-FM, like WMC, are sports stations. All three formerly shared feeds from ESPN Radio (which remains on the WMFS stations), although WMFS and WMFS-FM also have local hosts, while WMC sometimes carries CBS Sports Radio.

History

Schedule for WMC's debut broadcast on January 20, 1923 Program schedule for January 20, 1923 debut broadcast of radio station WMC, Memphis, Tennessee.gif
Schedule for WMC's debut broadcast on January 20, 1923

WMC was first licensed in January 1923 to the Memphis Commercial Appeal , and the call letters reflected the M and C from its owner's initials. The station was initially authorized to transmit on both the "Class B" high-power "entertainment" wavelength of 400 meters (750 kHz) as well as the "market and weather forecasts" wavelength of 485 meters (619 kHz). [3]

The newspaper reported that it received WMC's initial authorization via a telegram from the government, and it began test transmissions on the evening of January 17, 1923, [4] in preparation for the station's formal debut on the evening of January 20, 1923. [2] Among the station's unique features were late night concerts from blues singers. Although Memphis was racially segregated, Bessie Smith performed at WMC on October 5, 1923. [5] The station's signal was wide-ranging, and in the summer of 1924 it reported that it had been heard as far south as off the coast of Chile, in addition to having been one of the stations previously heard during an Arctic expedition led by Donald Baxter MacMillan. [6]

In the 1930s, WMC carried the NBC Radio Red Network, while rival WMPS, owned by the Memphis Press-Scimitar , aired the NBC Blue Network. [7] Starting in the 1930s, the station used a riverboat whistle as its sounder, a nod to Memphis' location on the Mississippi River—a practice that continued well into the 1990s.

WMC added an FM sister station, WMC-FM, in 1947 and a TV station, WMCT (now WMC-TV), in 1948. [8] Because WMC was an NBC Radio Network affiliate, WMC-TV also affiliated with the NBC TV Network, which it still carries to this day.

During the 1960s, WMC had a middle of the road format of popular adult singers (known in the industry as MOR). In 1973, WMC became the first 24-hour full-time country music station in Memphis and was often #1 in the ratings. By the 1980s, music listening was shifting from AM radio to FM and in 1983, 105.9 WGKX (KIX 106) went country as WMC's first full signal FM country competition. By 1989, WMC switched to news/talk.

An NBC radio affiliate since 1927, WMC switched to CBS Radio News in 1994. [9]

In 1997, "News/Talk 790" gave up Rush Limbaugh to rival 600 WREC as well as its morning news show. [10]

In July 2001, WMC made the switch to all-sports as "Sportsplus 790". The Good Times Show, with news about casino gambling in Tunica, Mississippi, made its debut on the station at that time. [11]

In December 2005, CBS Radio changed WMC to a classic country format, because the Memphis radio market had many competing sports stations. [12] Most programming was provided by Jones Radio Networks' Classic Hit Country network, which subsequently became Dial Global's Classic Country network. The station returned to an all-sports format on October 17, 2011, taking the Fox Sports Radio affiliation from 730 KQPN. [13]

On May 1, 2014, WMC picked up the ESPN Radio affiliation (rebranding as "ESPN 790") in addition to its current CBS Sports Radio affiliation. [14]

On December 9, 2021, WMC changed its affiliation to a combination of BetQL and CBS Sports Radio as "The Bet 790". [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWKB</span> Radio station in Buffalo, New York

WWKB is a commercial radio station in Buffalo, New York. It broadcasts a sports betting radio format and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. Most programming is from the co-owned BetQL Radio Network, with some shows from CBS Sports Radio. The studios are on Corporate Parkway in Amherst, New York. It is one of two sports radio stations owned by Audacy in the Buffalo radio market. WGR 550 AM primarily broadcasts local sports programming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMC-FM</span> Hot adult contemporary radio station in Memphis

WMC-FM is a commercial hot adult contemporary radio station licensed to Memphis, Tennessee, serving the Memphis metropolitan area and much of surrounding West Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and eastern Arkansas. Owned by Audacy, Inc. The WMC-FM studios are located in Memphis' Colonial Acres neighborhood, while the station transmitter resides in northeast Memphis. Besides a standard analog transmission, WMC-FM is also available online via Audacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KRLD (AM)</span> Clear-channel news/talk radio station in Dallas–Fort Worth, Texas

KRLD is a commercial AM radio station in Dallas, Texas. Owned and operated by Audacy, Inc., the station carries an all news radio format on weekdays, switching to mostly non-political talk radio nights and weekends. Syndicated shows include The Dave Ramsey Show, Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb and America in the Morning with John Trout. Some weekends hours carry paid brokered programming. Most hours begin with CBS News Radio. The studios and offices are in Uptown Dallas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMC-TV</span> NBC affiliate in Memphis, Tennessee

WMC-TV is a television station in Memphis, Tennessee, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Gray Television. Its studios are located on Union Avenue in midtown Memphis, and its transmitter is located in northeast Memphis, near the suburb of Bartlett, Tennessee.

KXST is a commercial radio station licensed to North Las Vegas, Nevada, and broadcasting to the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., but is currently silent.

WWWL is a commercial radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts a sports gambling format. The station's studios are located at the 400 Poydras Tower in Downtown New Orleans. The transmitter site is in Algiers, near the city limits of Gretna and Terrytown. The station operates at 5,000 watts around the clock, although after sunset, it switches to a directional antenna. The station is simulcast on FM translator station W225CZ.

WJFK is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a sports gambling radio format. Licensed to Morningside, Maryland, and serving the Washington metropolitan area, the station is owned by Audacy, Inc. The radio studios are in Southeast DC in the Navy Yard neighborhood. Programming is supplied by the co-owned BetQL Audio Network and CBS Sports Radio.

WQAM is a radio station in Miami, Florida. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts a sports talk format carrying a mixture of local and CBS Sports Radio programming. Studios are located in Audacy's Miami office on Northeast Second Avenue, and the transmitter site is in the Little River neighborhood of Miami at 360 Northeast 71st Street.

WJZ is a commercial AM radio station in Baltimore, Maryland. It is owned by Audacy, Inc., and broadcasts a sports betting radio format, carrying the BetQL network during the day and evening, with CBS Sports Radio heard nights and weekends. The studios are on Clarkview Road in Baltimore, off Jones Falls Expressway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KCSP (AM)</span> Sports radio station in Kansas City, Missouri

KCSP is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Kansas City, Missouri. The Audacy, Inc.-owned station broadcasts a sports radio format. The studios and offices are located on Squibb Road in Mission, Kansas. KCSP is one of the oldest radio stations in the Kansas City metropolitan area, going on the air in 1922, just after KMBZ, and several months before WHB.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WXYT (AM)</span> Radio station in Michigan, United States

WXYT is a commercial radio station licensed to Detroit, Michigan, featuring a betting-oriented sports format known as "The Bet Detroit". Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves Metro Detroit and much of Southeast Michigan. Studios for WXYT are located in Southfield, while the station transmitter resides in Ash Township. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WXYT is licensed for HD Radio broadcasting, is relayed over the third digital subchannel of WXYT-FM and is available online via Audacy.

WMFS-FM is a United States commercial sports radio radio station in Bartlett, Tennessee, broadcasting to the Memphis, Tennessee area, owned by Audacy, Inc. WMFS is the radio home for the Memphis Grizzlies. The station's studios are in Southeast Memphis, and the transmitter tower is in Northeast Memphis.

WAXY is an AM radio station licensed to South Miami, Florida, with a Spanish language conservative talk format. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its studios are located in Audacy's Miami office on Northwest Second Avenue, and its transmitter is in Everglades National Park.

KAMP – branded as 1430 AM The Bet – is a commercial sports AM radio station licensed to Aurora, Colorado, and serving the Denver metropolitan area. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station's format focuses on sports betting, and is the market affiliate for CBS Sports Radio and the BetQL Network. The KAMP studios located in the Denver Tech Center, while the transmitter is located in nearby Highlands Ranch, near Colorado State Highway 470.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRVR</span> Radio station in Memphis, Tennessee

WRVR is an adult contemporary radio station broadcasting in Memphis, Tennessee. It has broadcast this format for at least 34 years as of 2021. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station's studios are located in Southeast Memphis, and the transmitter tower is in Cordova, Tennessee, outside Memphis.

WMFS is a commercial AM radio station located in Memphis, Tennessee. WMFS airs sports radio programming branded as "ESPN 680AM Sports Radio Memphis". The station simulcasts with WMFS-FM 92.9. WMFS is home to the Geoff Calkins Show, the Jason and John Show, the Eric Hasseltine Show, and the Gary Parrish Show. As of the 2007 baseball season, WMFS has become the home of St. Louis Cardinals broadcasts in the Memphis area. It also broadcasts Tennessee Volunteers football and basketball games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WREC</span> Radio station in Memphis, Tennessee

WREC is a commercial AM radio station in Memphis, Tennessee. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Memphis. WREC is West Tennessee's primary entry point station for the Emergency Alert System.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHLL</span> Country music radio station in Springfield, Massachusetts

WHLL – branded 98.1 Hall of Fame Country – is a commercial country music radio station licensed to Springfield, Massachusetts. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station serves the Springfield metropolitan area; and the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts. The WHLL studios are located at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, alongside sister stations WMAS-FM and WWEI, while the station transmitter, shared with WMAS-FM, resides in Springfield's Brightwood neighborhood. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WHLL simulcasts over low-power analog Springfield translator W251CT (98.1 FM) and on the second HD Radio channel of WMAS-FM, and streams online via Audacy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WROC (AM)</span> Radio station in Rochester, New York

WROC, currently branded as 95.7 The Fan, is an AM radio station licensed to Rochester, New York, airing a sports radio format. The format is closely affiliated with Buffalo sister station WGR, and carries content from CBS Sports Radio, the BetQL Network, and local shows, along with play-by-play from teams owned by Pegula Sports and Entertainment. The station's studios are located at High Falls Studios downtown, and its transmitter tower is on Rochester's southside near the I-390/I-590 freeway interchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CBS Sports Radio</span> Sports radio network

CBS Sports Radio is a sports radio network that debuted with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013.

References

  1. ↑ Hicks, Ed (2006-08-21). "Entercom Buys 3 CBS Radio Stations in Memphis". Memphis Business Journal.
  2. 1 2 "Radio Fans Tune In! WMC Opens Tonight", Memphis (Tennessee) Commercial Appeal, January 20, 1923, page 1.
  3. ↑ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, February 1, 1923, page 3.
  4. ↑ "'This is Radio WMC,' Announcer Remarks", Memphis Commercial Appeal, January 18, 1923, page 1.
  5. ↑ "Hit On Radio," Chicago Defender, October 6, 1923, p. 8
  6. ↑ "WMC Hits Into South Pacific Territories", Memphis Commercial Appeal, July 13, 1924, page 15.
  7. ↑ "Radio Center: A Landmark of American Music" (PDF). www.radiocenterflats.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
  8. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook (1977 edition)
  9. ↑ Stark, Phyllis (June 4, 1994). "Vox Jox". Billboard . Vol. 106, no. 23. p. 129.
  10. ↑ Hanas, Jim (January 22, 1998). "WMC-AM abandoned its morning news show. Now, rival WREC-AM gives it a shot". www.memphisflyer.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2009-02-26.
  11. ↑ Robison, John (2001-07-01). "GoodTimes Radio Moves to SportsPlus 790 WMC". Casino City Times. Archived from the original on 2006-10-29.
  12. ↑ Tucker, Ken (2005-12-30). "Legendary Station Brings 'Country Legends' to Memphis". Radio Monitor.[ permanent dead link ]
  13. ↑ "Confirmed: "Country Legends" WMC-AM (790) in Memphis to flip to sports". Radio-Info.com. October 14, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved October 15, 2011.
  14. ↑ Venta, Lance (May 1, 2014). "Entercom Expands ESPN Brand in Memphis". RadioInsight. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  15. ↑ Venta, Lance (December 8, 2021). "Audacy Launches 790 The Bet In Memphis". RadioInsight. Retrieved 2021-12-08.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.