WDEN-FM
Nash FM Network | |
Ownership | |
---|---|
Owner |
|
WLZN, WMAC, WMGB, WPEZ | |
History | |
First air date | 1947 |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 46996 |
Class | C1 |
ERP | 100,000 watts |
HAAT | 177 meters (581 ft) |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | wden.com |
WDEN-FM (99.1
WDEN-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum permitted for non-grandfathered FM stations. It uses a tower that is 177 meters (581 feet) in height above average terrain (HAAT). The transmitter is off Ocmulgee East Boulevard (Route 87), near Interstate 16 in Macon.[2]
Programming
WDEN-FM's parent company, Cumulus Media, has renamed most of the country music stations in its chain "
WDEN-FM is an active participant in the community as well as supporting charitable causes. Each year, it holds a local radiothon for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital in Memphis.
History
WMAZ-FM and WAYS
The WDEN-FM license traces its history back to 1947, when WMAZ-FM signed on at 99.1 as Macon's first FM station.
In the 1950s, as network programming moved from radio to TV, WMAZ-AM-FM switched to a
Southeastern sold WMAZ-AM-FM-TV to Southern Broadcasting Corporation in 1963, which merged with the News-Piedmont Company to form
Multimedia merged with Gannett in 1995. Gannett had by this time decided to pull out of radio, concentrating on its TV stations and newspapers. It sold off WMAZ and WAYS in 1996 to Ocmulgee Broadcasting Company for $1.5 million.[5] The next year, U.S. Broadcasting Limited Partnership, the owner of WDEN-AM-FM, bought WMWR (the renamed WMAZ) and WAYS from Ocmulgee in a $4.7 million transaction; by this time, WAYS was an oldies station.[6]
In the early 1990s, WAYS flipped to oldies.
Moving WDEN-FM to 99.1
In 2000, as part of an agreement to create a new move-in radio station in Atlanta, U.S. Broadcasting applied to downgrade WDEN-FM 105.3 from 100,000 watts to 6,100 and relocate it to 105.5 MHz. In order to preserve the country format's regional coverage, it was decided to move WDEN-FM to the 99.1 facility. For the month of December 2000, WDEN-FM was simulcast on 105.3 and 99.1, with messages asking listeners to tune to 99.1 for WDEN-FM's country format. The day after Christmas, WDEN-FM moved exclusively to 99.1; WAYS and its oldies format changed positions to the newly moved 105.5 MHz.
Cumulus Media acquired all four stations in 2002.[7] WDEN-FM continues as Macon's top-rated country music station for more than half a century.[8]
References
- ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WDEN-FM
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1950 page 124
- ^ Telecasting Yearbook 1954-1955 page 100
- ^ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. March 22, 1996. p. 8. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
- ^ "Transactions" (PDF). Radio & Records. March 14, 1997. p. 6. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2003-2004 page D-123
- ^ StationRatings.com/Macon
External links
- #1 Country 99 WDEN - Official Website
- WDEN in the FCC FM station database
- WDEN in Nielsen Audio's FM station database