WERC-FM
iHeartMedia, Inc. | |
| WDXB, WERC, WMJJ, WQEN | |
| History | |
First air date | September 1993 |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 105.9 MHz (1993–2005) |
Call sign meaning | Derived from WERC |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 62278 |
| Class | C2 |
| ERP | 29,500 watts |
| HAAT | 190 meters (620 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 33°29′4.4″N 86°48′25.0″W / 33.484556°N 86.806944°W |
| Translator(s) |
|
| Repeater(s) | 960 WERC (Birmingham) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
|
| Website | wercfm |
WERC-FM (105.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Hoover, Alabama, and serving Greater Birmingham. It is owned by iHeartMedia and it simulcasts a talk radio format with sister station WERC 960 AM. The studios and offices are in Beacon Ridge Tower on First Avenue South in Birmingham, off Interstate 65.
WERC-FM has an
History
Today's WERC-FM is the successor of two Birmingham-area FM stations, WWIV and WENN-FM.
WWIV
WERC-FM debuted in September 1993.
On January 22, 1996, the music focus was shifted to modern rock and alternative music. The station changed its on-air name to 106X and took on the new call sign WRAX.[3] The station remained with this format until it swapped dial positions with WENN in December 1997.
WENN-FM
WENN-FM
Both WENN-FM and AM were purchased in 1976 by Dr.
By the late 1980s, WENN-FM began to shift from an R&B/soul-based sound to a more
Changes in ownership
In 1997, Gaston, died at age 101. His heirs wanted to sell their media properties. At about the same time, WENN-FM faced direct competition on FM for the first time, as both WBHJ (95.7 FM) and WBHK (98.7 FM) adopted formats that challenged WENN-FM for urban listeners. The ratings for WENN-FM faltered.
In the wake of the passing of the
The purchase of WENN-FM by an out-of-town based company, as well as the sudden and steep decline in the station's ratings, prompted management to make a change. In December 1997, Dick Broadcasting swapped the broadcast frequencies of WENN and WRAX. Management believed owning the only alternative rock station in the market would be more profitable on the stronger signal, rather than what had become the third choice for listeners of urban music. The switch occurred, and WENN became known as "Rhythm 105.9". However, the 105.9 signal had lower power and a shorter tower location on the eastern side of Birmingham. By the end of 1998, the legendary WENN-FM, though still profitable, briefly went off the air. Dick Broadcasting, which had no experience with urban formats, decided to sell WENN-FM, fearing it would bring down the value of its cluster.
Clear Channel Communications
In 1999, WENN-FM was purchased by
In January 2000, "Jammin' Oldies" came to an end. WENN-FM switched to an urban adult contemporary format with a new name, "V-105.9" (even though there was no "V" in the call letters). The station subsequently tweaked the format, adding more new rap and hip hop in an attempt to make it competitive with 95.7 Jamz, but met with limited success. In September 2002, it again changed its name, this time to "Power 105.9", focusing even more on hip hop, rap and youthful R&B. None of these formats worked, so it switched to urban gospel as "Hallelujah 105.9 FM" on February 1, 2003. It copied an urban gospel station that Clear Channel had introduced in Memphis the previous year, WHAL-FM. This format proved more successful, consistently ranking among the top 10 stations in Birmingham's Arbitron ratings.
To increase the station's broadcast power and improve its coverage area, on February 1, 2005, WENN moved from 105.9 to 105.5. It changed the station's city of license from Trussville to Hoover. It began calling itself "105.5 Hallelujah FM", swapping dial positions with WRTR in Tuscaloosa.
Alternative rock and talk
On December 2, 2006, Clear Channel surprised Birmingham radio listeners by ending urban gospel music on WENN-FM. The new format was alternative rock. This came less than one week after WRAX, by then at 100.5 FM, dropped modern rock to become the market's first FM sports radio station.[5] The WENN-FM call letters were retired on September 18, 2008.[4] The new call sign was WVVB, as "105.5 The Vulcan", a tribute to a well-known landmark in Birmingham: The Vulcan Statue.
WVVB changed formats on July 6, 2009, to become a simulcast of the news-talk format of WERC, then at 960 AM. This was the second incarnation of WERC-FM in Birmingham. From 1972 until 1977, the WERC-FM call letters were assigned to 106.9 FM. The simulcast with 960 AM ended in January 2011, when that frequency changed formats and became an active rock station. It revived the "Vulcan" branding and, on February 15, the WVVB call letters. At that point, the talk format aired solely on WERC-FM. On June 23, 2011, WERC-FM resumed simulcasting on 960 AM. The AM station resumed the WERC call sign on July 14, 2011.
HD Radio subchannels
WERC-FM-HD2 went on the air in June 2011 with an urban gospel format, branded as "Hallelujah 105.1". It feeds
WERC-FM-HD3 went on the air in December 2013 with
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WERC-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ a b "B-Radio-All-YB-1995" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-11-10. Retrieved 2022-11-10.
- ^ "R&R-1996-01-26" (PDF).
- ^ a b "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ^ "Local FM voice taking position at new station". The Huntsville Times. Huntsville, Alabama. January 28, 2007.
Jimbo Wood [...] one of the city's top rock radio voices, is taking a job as program director/on-air jock with the newest rock station in Birmingham, WENN-FM 105.5 The Vulcan, owned by Clear Channel. It replaced Hallelujah FM, a gospel station, and helps fill the alternative rock void left when WRAX-FM 100.5 The X went off the air in the summer of 2007.
- ^ "Station Guides". Archived from the original on 2018-05-06. Retrieved 2018-05-05.