KWPN (AM)
kHz | |
Branding | ESPN Radio 640 |
---|---|
Programming | |
Format | Sports |
Affiliations | ESPN Radio |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
KATT-FM, KKWD, KYIS, WKY, WWLS-FM | |
History | |
First air date | September 16, 1922 (as WNAD, Norman, Oklahoma) |
Former call signs | WNAD (September 16, 1922-December 7, 1981) WWLS (1981-April 2, 2012) |
Former frequencies | 1010 kHz (1929–1941) |
Call sign meaning | "ESPN" |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 22190 |
Class | B |
Power | 5,000 watts day 1,000 watts night |
KWPN (640
KWPN's
History
University of Oklahoma
On September 26, 1922, the station
In 1941, when the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) was enacted, the station moved to 640 kHz. Being lower on the dial gave WNAD a wider coverage area, though the station was still required to be off the air at night, to protect 50,000-watt clear channel KFI in Los Angeles (as AM radio waves travel further at night).
Ownership changes
In 1973, after the university put an FM station KGOU on the air, it decided to sell the AM station. WNAD was acquired by Oklahoma Communications, Inc., and became a Mutual Broadcasting System network affiliate.[4]
The station was acquired by Norman Broadcasting in 1981.[5] It switched its call sign to WWLS, named after Norman Broadcasting's owner, Larry Steckline. It is unusual for stations in Oklahoma to have call letters beginning with a "W", as nearly all start with a "K." However, since the station traces its history back to 1922, when Oklahoma was in W territory, the station was granted new call letters beginning with a W from the Federal Communications Commission.
Sports radio
In 1989, WWLS was acquired by Fox Broadcasting. It was not associated with the
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0a/WWLS_logo.png/200px-WWLS_logo.png)
In 1999, WWLS was acquired by Citadel Broadcasting, the forerunner to today's Cumulus Broadcasting.[7] It flipped to a sports radio format, calling itself "The Sports Animal." It later received an FM simulcast on 98.1, which became WWLS-FM. On April 2, 2012, WWLS AM split from its "Sports Animal" simulcast with WWLS-FM and switched to mostly programming from ESPN Radio under new call letters KWPN. WWLS-FM continued with mostly local sports programming on weekdays, and later began simulcasting on co-owned WKY. On nights and weekends, all three stations often carry the same ESPN Radio programming.
References
External links
- KWPN in the FCC AM station database
- KWPN in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for KWPN