WDUL
kHz | |
| Branding | Hot 98.1 |
|---|---|
| Programming | |
| Format | Top 40 (CHR) |
| Affiliations | Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KDAL, KDAL-FM, KDKE, KTCO, WDSM | |
| History | |
First air date | August 10, 1959 |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 1320 kHz (1959–1967) |
Call sign meaning | "Duluth" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 26590 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 1,000 watts (day) 26 watts (night) |
| Translator(s) | 98.1 W251CD (Superior) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | hot98duluth |
WDUL (970
WDUL is a
History
WQMN 1320
The station
At noon on May 9, 1964, the station changed its call sign to WAKX ("WAX"), playing a Top 40 format. Lance "Tac" Hammer was the station's first program director.[4]
WAKX 970
WAKX moved to 970 kHz, formerly the home of WIGL in Superior, on October 26, 1967. The 1320 kHz frequency in the Duluth-Superior market is no longer in use.
Owner Lew Latto purchased the facilities of beautiful music station KPIR in September 1974, and began simulcasting the format of WAKX on both 970 AM and 98.9 FM.
KXTP
In 1982, the AM station changed its call sign to KXTP and switched to
In 1994, Latto sold KXTP and WAKX to Ken Beuhler and Patty McNulty, the owners of WDSM and KZIO (currently KDKE). The FM station flipped from classic rock to country music and became KTCO. Later that decade, Buehler and McNulty sold their stations to Shockley Communications, which changed KXTP's format to country music and then Radio Disney network in April 1998.
WGEE
It later switched to
AM 970 returned to the "Music of Your Life" adult standards format in September 2008, dropping ESPN Radio.
On March 7, 2014, WGEE changed formats from adult standards, back to sports, this time with programming from
WDUL
On March 16, 2015, WGEE changed its call sign to WDUL. Even though WDUL is licensed to Superior, Wisconsin, the call letters stand for Duluth, Minnesota.
On November 4, 2020, WDUL rebranded as "970 The Game". Its weekday daytime programming originated from WRNW 97.3 FM, a sports station in Milwaukee owned by iHeartMedia.[5]
Hot 98.1
On April 25, 2022, WDUL changed formats from sports to Top 40 (CHR), branded as "Hot 98.1" competing against Top 40 outlet KBMX 107.7 "Mix 108". Some programs from the prior sports format were moved to sister station 710 WDSM.[6]
The switch to a Top 40 (CHR) format was primarily for listeners to 98.1 FM, the station's translator outlet. This also returned the Top 40 (CHR) format to 970 AM for the first time since WAKX signed off in 1982.
Previous logo
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WDUL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WDUL
- ^ Station "History Cards" (FCC.gov)
- ^ "Station Changes Format, Name", Billboard, June 6, 1964, page 14.
- ^ 97.3 The Game Expands Across Wisconsin Radioinsight - November 4, 2020
- ^ Its Getting Hot In Duluth Radioinsight - April 25, 2022
External links
- Website for Midwest Communications
- WAKX history
- WAKX survey from July 28, 1967
- WDUL in the FCC AM station database
- WDUL in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- W251CD in the FCC FM station database
- W251CD at FCCdata.org
- FCC history cards for WDUL (covering WQMN/WAKX, 1958-1979)