WIP-FM
This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2008) |
Broadcast area | Delaware Valley |
---|---|
Frequency | 94.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | Sports Radio 94 WIP |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | Sports radio |
Subchannels |
|
Affiliations | |
Ownership | |
Owner |
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KYW, WBEB, WOGL, WPHI-FM, WPHT, WTDY-FM | |
History | |
First air date | 1948 |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Taken from former sister station/simulcast 610 WIP, which was randomly assigned |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 28628 |
Class | B |
ERP | |
HAAT | 339 meters (1,112 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°02′30″N 75°14′10.1″W / 40.04167°N 75.236139°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
Website | www |
WIP-FM (94.1
WIP-FM is the flagship station for the Philadelphia Eagles Football Network and the MLB Philadelphia Phillies Radio Network. The station has local hosts days and evenings, with programming from Infinity Sports Network heard overnight.
WIP-FM broadcasts using
History
Beginning as WIBG-FM
In 1948, the station
In 1968, owner Storer Broadcasting shut the station down while attempting to get Federal Communications Commission (FCC) permission for an increase in power. WIBG-FM was a restricted Class B station at the time. It was limited in range to avoid interfering with WKOK-FM in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, also on 94.1 MHz, 106 miles away (see Signal Note below). In 1969, WIBG-FM's call sign was changed to WPNA when Storer sold WIBG (AM) but kept the FM station. The station remained silent for two years.
Sold to SJR Communications
Having been unsuccessful in getting the Sunbury station to agree to an FCC waiver, Storer sold WPNA, along with
On August 23, 1971, WYSP went on the air. The format consisted of live announcers playing
Album rock format
At 6 a.m. on August 6, 1973, the easy listening and big band music abruptly stopped, and WYSP began playing album-oriented rock (AOR). The entire announcing staff was fired (despite attempts to unionize), and five new announcers were hired, including Tom Straw and Dean Clark. The music included popular cuts from top-selling rock albums by artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Chicago, and Crosby Stills and Nash. Radio consultant Kent Burkhart was signed up. He hired Dick Findley from WEBN in Cincinnati to be the Program Director, music director, handle the promotions, and host middays. With promotional help from artists like Aerosmith, Jimmy Buffett, and Charlie Daniels, the station took off. After a series of concerts in the park, high school hops and public involvement, the station beat rock competitor WMMR by more than 2 to 1 in the ratings. It was at that point in 1975-1976 that the station peaked. New consultant Ken Abrams began "The Fox & Leonard Morning Show" (Sonny Fox & Bob Leonard), the first two-man morning show on AOR radio.
In 1974, WYSP became Philadelphia's "quad" station, piping its audio through a Sony Quadrophonic encoder, which provided "ambience" effects to the rear channels of the handful of quad radios in the market. Due to a compatibility problem with regular mono radios, and a lack of interest from the listening public, the quad encoder was quietly dismantled in 1976.
In 1977, the station moved its transmitter to its current location at the Philadelphia master antenna farm in Roxborough.
In June 1979, Program Director Steve Sutton was hired to put a failing WYSP back on track. Assembling a line-up of Jerry Abear, Sean McKay and Bill Fantini (6-10a), Denny Somach (10a-2p), Randy Kotz (2-6p), Gary Bridges (6-10p), Cyndy Drue (10p-2a) and Trip Reeb (2-6a), the station broke artists like
In 1981, WYSP was acquired by the
.Classic rock format
In the fall of 1981, WYSP became one of the first radio stations to switch to "Classic Rock." Account Executive Jim Sacony gave General Manager Frank X. Feller a reel-to-reel tape with a sample of what the Classic Rock format would sound like.[8] The featured artists on the reel to reel were The Yardbirds, The Zombies, The Young Rascals, Van Morrison, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Steppenwolf and The Byrds.
Feller liked what he heard and directed Program Director and Midday DJ Dick Hungate to team up with station consultant Lee Abrams to come up with a plan. They wanted to better compete with the two more-established rock stations, 93.3 WMMR and 102.1 WIOQ. The actual on-air description, "Classic Rock," was thought of in a strategy session, in which other adjectives such as "timeless" and "vintage" also were discussed by Hungate and Abrams. Hungate created a playlist of older rock tracks based upon his previous Philly experience as music director of WMMR in 1978–79. For the on-air playlist, Hungate used metal file boxes and color-coded 3" X 5" index cards to manually rotate titles depending on each song's popularity.
Hard rock format
In 1995, WYSP abandoned classic rock for a new contemporary hard rock format during a period when former WMMR morning host John DeBella joined the station. WYSP returned to classic rock again a few years later, but ultimately switched back to a current, hard-rock format.
Purchase by CBS Radio
In 1996, Infinity Broadcasting merged with
Talk shows added to rock format
Over its years as a rock station, WYSP sometimes added talk-intensive or talk-based shows during the daytime hours. In 1986, WYSP was the first
Over time, other syndicated shows made WYSP their Philadelphia home, including
Free FM
On October 25, 2005, CBS Radio switched WYSP and several other Stern affiliates to the "
For many years, WYSP
At 11:59 p.m. on March 16, 2007, WYSP D.J. Jacky Bam Bam (now with WMMR) signed off at the station's studios at 5th and Market Streets, also shared with KYW, KYW-TV, and WPSG, before switching over to the new studios one block away, located on the 9th floor at 4th and Market. (KYW (AM) is also located in the same building, but on the 10th floor.) The first all-talk broadcast from the new studios, the 9 a.m. Barsky Show, was broadcast on March 19, 2007, with minor, but correctable problems.
On November 20, 2006, WYSP added the Scotty and Alex Show to replace
Philadelphia's FM Talk Station
During the week of June 18, 2007, WYSP stopped calling its talk format "Free FM." New imaging was slowly rolled out which referred to the station as either "94-1 WYSP" or "94 WYSP." During the week of June 25, a new "94 WYSP Talks" logo was unveiled on the station website, wiping clean any reference to "Free FM" from the station's identity. On August 13, during the first "Eagles Radio" broadcast of the year, new imaging began to refer to the station as "Philadelphia's FM Talk Station." A similar nickname also began to be used by corporate sister station KLSX in Los Angeles.
In June 2007, long time music programmer Gil Edwards was let go, further evidence that WYSP was committed to talk programming. Edwards lobbied for a return to rock before leaving but was rebuffed by management.[9]
On September 11, 2007, an article was published in the Philadelphia Daily News reporting a format change at WYSP was imminent.[10] Paul Barsky brushed the article off as rumor, as did Matt of the Matt and Huggy Show and Kidd Chris. Scotty and Alex referred to their show that night as their "last" show, claiming that not many radio shows get to do a final broadcast. They hoped to return the next day, but it turned out that night's show really was their last.
On September 12, 2007, Paul Barsky stated that he had re-signed with the station, and his show continued as normal with guest Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles. Promos for the station would later be heard featuring McNabb announcing that "The Rock Is Back," which had been recorded the day of his appearance. At the start of Kidd Chris' broadcast, he discussed the topic of the format change, revealing that Scotty, Alex, Matt and Huggy had been fired, the Barsky Show was no more, and that Chris himself had lost members of his show (later revealed to be co-producer "Monkeyboy" Dave Eitel and producer Brad Maybe).
Return to rock
The following day, Opie and Anthony broadcast their show from the WYSP studios. They joked about the lack of secrecy about the format change. Articles about the switch appeared in that day's Philadelphia Daily News and The Philadelphia Inquirer. Opie joked about the "94 WYSP, The Rock Station" sweatshirt Anthony was wearing and the tearing down of a "94 WYSP Talks" poster in the studio.
At 5 p.m., WYSP switched back to an
.On October 23, 2007, WYSP ceased airing the syndicated Opie and Anthony Show, replacing them with music.[11] October 23, 2007, was also the last day Kidd Chris's show aired in the 3-7 PM slot. He ended his show with "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, and music took over his time slot the next day. For nearly a month, he was in talks with the station for a new contract, and was expected to return in the morning slot.[12] On November 25, WYSP's website announced that Kidd Chris would be returning the following day, with his show airing from 6-10 a.m., Opie and Anthony's old time slot.
Kidd Chris remained the morning host for seven months until May 16, 2008, when CBS terminated Chris and WYSP program director John Cook due to an offensive song called "Schwoogies" which first aired on March 21 and several times there after. The song referred to
On August 25, 2008, WYSP returned to the classic rock format it shed in 1995, using the slogan "The Rock You Grew Up With from the 70s, 80s, & 90s." WYSP's version of classic rock had a harder direction than that of the market's other classic rock station, WMGK, WMMR's sister station.
Former "
Sports talk format
WYSP's sister station, WIP, had been airing a popular all-sports format since 1988; by 2009, it had to compete with an FM sports rival, WPEN-FM. Speculation had grown that CBS would want an FM counterpart to capitalize on WIP's popularity.
On August 18, 2011, CBS Radio announced that WIP would begin simulcasting its sports format on 94.1 FM, starting on September 6, thus ending music on 94.1.[14] The change actually took place on September 2, four days earlier than announced. On its final day, Howard Stern called into the station to discuss his time on WYSP with host Spike Eskin.[15] At 3:00 p.m. that day, WYSP ended its music format with "Fade to Black" by Metallica as its final song. The WYSP classic rock programming was then moved to its HD-3 subchannel.[16] The station switched its call sign to WIP-FM.
Shortly after WIP-FM began its simulcast with WIP (AM), the two stations began to sometimes split, with certain sporting events not heard on both frequencies. Most Philadelphia Phillies broadcasts, heard on WIP-FM in 2012, were also carried on the AM dial by co-owned
CBS station trades and Entercom ownership
On October 2, 2014, CBS Radio announced that it would trade 14 radio stations located in
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with
Notable on-air staff
Current on-air staff
- Jon Johnson (2:00AM – 6:00AM)
- Joe DeCamara (Morning Show; 5:30AM – 10:00AM)
- Jon Ritchie (Morning Show; 5:30AM – 10:00AM)
- James Seltzer (Morning Show; 6:00AM – 10:00AM)
- Rhea Hughes (Morning Show; 6:00AM – 10:00AM)
- Devan Kaney (Morning Show; 6:00AM – 10:00AM)
- Joe Giglio (Midday Show; 10:00AM – 2:00PM)
- Hugh Douglas (Midday Show; 10:00AM – 2:00PM)
- Spike Eskin (Afternoon Show; 2:00PM – 6:00PM)
- Ike Reese (Afternoon Show; 2:00PM – 6:00PM)
- Jack Fritz (Afternoon Show; 2:00PM – 6:00PM)
- Steve Trevelise (Friday Mornings)
- Sonny Hill (Sunday Mornings; 8:00AM – 10:00 AM)
- Howard Eskin (Saturday Mornings; 8:00AM – 10:00AM; Eagles games)
- Glen Macnow (Weekends; 10:00AM – 1:00PM)
- Jody McDonald (Sunday 10:00AM – 1:00PM; Weeknights)
- Mike Sielski (Saturday; 10:00AM – 1:00PM)
- Sean Bell (Weeknights)
- Hunter Brody (Weeknights)
- Reuben Frank (Weekday evenings)
- Paul Jolovitz (Late nights)
- Al Morganti (Weekends)
- Rickie Ricardo (Late nights)
- Ashlyn Sullivan (Evenings)
- Ruben Amaro Jr.(Contributor)
- Joe Conklin(Comedian, Contributor)
- Ben Davis (Contributor)
- Ray Didinger (Contributor)
- Ron Jaworski (Contributor)
- Seth Joyner (Contributor)
- Eliot Shorr-Parks (Contributor; Eagles reporter)
- Scott Franzke (Phillies games)
- Larry Andersen (Phillies games)
- Merrill Reese (Eagles games)
- Mike Quick (Eagles games)
- Rob Ellis (Fill-in host)
- Rob Charry (Fill-in host)
- Tom Kelly (Fill-in host and sports updates)
- Ava Graham
- Andrew Porter
Former staff
- Joe Altimonte
- John Barchard (2016–2020)
- Michael Barkann (now with NBC Sports Philadelphia)
- Ed Benkin (Late nights and sports updates; 2009–2020)
- Tom Brookshier (Mornings)
- Tony Bruno
- Bill Campbell
- Chris Carlin (2016–2019)
- Craig Carton
- Angelo Cataldi (Mornings; 1988–2023)
- Garry Cobb
- Pat Croce
- Mark Eckel (Weekday evenings)
- Steve Fredericks (1992-April 16, 2004)
- Kris Gamble
- Anthony Gargano
- Jan Gorham (retired)
- Big Daddy Graham (Early Mornings)
- Matt Hammond (Weekend and fill-in host)
- Marshall Harris (Fill-in host; 2016-2019)
- Josh Innes
- Jim Jackson
- Keith Jones (Mornings; 2002–2023)
- Lucy Jones
- John Kincade
- Ben Livingston (2009–2019)
- Jon Marks
- Bill Matz (Early mornings)
- Steve Martorano
- John Marzano
- John McAdams
- Jack McCaffery
- Don McKee
- Donna McQuillan
- Mike Missanelli (1992-May 1, 2003; July 5, 2005 – March 20, 2006)
- Sweeny Murti
- Joe Pellegrino
- Vince Quinn
- Jay Sapovites
- Sue Shilling (Sports updates)
- Peter Solomon (Sunday mornings)
- Brian Startare
- Lenny Stevens
- Hollis Thomas
- Dave Uram (Sports updates)
- Sal Violante
Signal note
WIP-FM is short-spaced to two other Class B stations:
WQKX 94KX (licensed to serve Sunbury, Pennsylvania) also operates on 94.1 MHz and the distance between the stations' transmitters is 93 miles (150 km) as determined by FCC rules.[24] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current FCC rules is 150 miles (240 km).[25]
WNYC-FM WNYC 93.9 FM (licensed to serve New York City) operates on a first adjacent channel (93.9 MHz) to WIP-FM and the distance between the stations' transmitters is 82 miles (132 km) as determined by FCC rules.[24] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on first adjacent channels according to current FCC rules is 105 miles (169 km).[25]
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WIP-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "FCC 335-FM Digital Notification [WIP-FM]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. April 28, 2011. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
- ^ "FM Query Results for WIP-FM". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
- ^ "Radio NE to Territories" (PDF). Broadcasting Yearbook. 1965. p. B-132. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
- ^ "Broadcasting Magazine, April 26, 1971 page 56" (PDF). Retrieved July 17, 2018.
- ^ "Broadcasting Yearbook 1974 page B-182" (PDF). Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ "Broadcasting Yearbook 1986 page B-243" (PDF). Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ "RR-1986-08-22" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ Klein, Michael (September 13, 2007). "WYSP set to announce a change in its format". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on February 7, 2008. Retrieved September 13, 2007.
- ^ "Dan Gross | WYSP eyes format change". philly.com. September 11, 2007. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ Klein, Michael (October 23, 2007). "‘Opie & Anthony’ dumped by WYSP". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
- ^ Klein, Michael (October 25, 2007). "Inqlings | Kidd Chris will return, enriched". www.inquirer.com. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
- ^ "Philly Gossip". philly.com. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
- ^ Gross, Dan (August 17, 2011). "WIP to announce takeover of 94 WYSP, new line-up tomorrow". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
- ^ PJFTech (December 16, 2011), WYSP Spike interviews Howard Stern on last day Sep 2 2011, archived from the original on December 13, 2021, retrieved February 20, 2018
- ^ PJFTech (September 2, 2011), 94 WYSP's Last Day, Last Moments and first moments of 94WIP-FM, archived from the original on December 13, 2021, retrieved February 20, 2018
- ^ "News : Heritage Philly WIP-AM adds syndicated Nick and Artie to all-sports line-up | Radio-Info.com". Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
- ^ "CBS Radio, Cumulus pact for "CBS Sports Radio" network (audio) | Radio & Television Business Report". rbr.com. June 21, 2012. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ "CBS And Beasley Swap Philadelphia/Miami For Charlotte/Tampa - RadioInsight". RadioInsight. October 2, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ "CBS Beasley Deal Closes - RadioInsight". RadioInsight. December 1, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ "CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom - RadioInsight". RadioInsight. February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
- ^ "Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio". Entercom. November 9, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
- ^ a b "Reference points and distance computations. 47 CFR § 73.208". Retrieved August 21, 2021.
- ^ a b "Minimum distance separation between stations. 47 CFR § 73.207(b)(1)" (PDF). Retrieved July 17, 2021.
External links
- Official website
- WIP in the FCC FM station database
- WIP in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- FCC History Cards for WIP-FM
- WYSP audio clip from 1985