WPHT
FCC | |
Facility ID | 9634 |
---|---|
Class | A |
Power | 50,000 watts unlimited |
Transmitter coordinates | |
Repeater(s) | 98.1 WOGL-HD3 (Philadelphia) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
Website | www |
WPHT (1210
WPHT is a
Programming
Talk
WPHT programming is mostly
Sports
WPHT airs
However, WPHT will still carry any Phillies games that WIP-FM is unable to air due to programming conflicts.History
Early years
The station first began broadcasting as WCAU in May 1922. It was a 250-watt station operating out of electrician William Durham's home at 19th and Market Streets. It is Philadelphia's third-oldest radio station, having signed on two months after WIP (now WTEL) and WFIL. In 1924, WCAU was sold to law partners Ike Levy and Daniel Murphy. Murphy later bowed out in favor of Ike's brother, Leon, a local dentist.
The station began its long association with CBS in 1927, when it was one of 16 charter network affiliates of the Columbia Phonographic Broadcasting System, a network airing CBS' first program on September 18, 1927.[5][note 1] The network struggled to find advertisers, however, and William S. Paley, who had previously purchased time on the station for an entertainment program promoting his family's La Palina cigars, bought the network with $500,000 of his family's money and renamed it the Columbia Broadcasting System.
Actor Paul Douglas began his career at WCAU, where he worked as an announcer and sportscaster from 1928 to 1934.
Power boost and shortwave
In 1930, WCAU initiated a
A series of power increases brought the station to 50,000 watts, with a new 50,000-watt transmitter dedicated October 2, 1932.[8] The Levy brothers eventually became major stockholders in CBS, and were members of the network's board for many years.
Studios and FM
On December 26, 1932, WCAU moved to a new facility at 1622 Chestnut Street.
WCAU began experimenting with an FM station in 1942 and it was licensed in 1943.[10] The call sign in its early years was WCAU-FM and it broadcast at 102.9 MHz.
CBS ownership
The Levys agreed to sell WCAU-AM-FM to
In 1957, the Bulletin sold WCAU-AM-FM-TV to CBS.
Talk and news
In the 1960s, WCAU gradually began moving away from music programming, as most CBS stations. By 1967 it had become a
in Los Angeles and several other CBS AM stations.WCAU never caught up to established all-news rival KYW. By 1980, WCAU was making moves to reclaim its heritage as a talk and sports leader. However, 96.5 WWDB-FM had established itself as a strong talk station, and WCAU struggled for years to attract listeners and establish a consistent image.
Oldies and sports
On August 15, 1990, CBS abruptly changed the WCAU call sign after 68 years, becoming WOGL. It dropped the talk format in favor of
In 1993, the AM station began running
Merger with Westinghouse
A year later, CBS merged with Westinghouse Electric Corporation, thus making 1210 AM a sister station to its long-time rival, KYW. With this move, the higher-rated KYW became the flagship station of CBS Radio's Philadelphia cluster.[14] Realizing that WGMP would never be able to compete against WIP, CBS began phasing out the sports talk shows in the summer of 1996.
Finally, on August 23, the station went all-talk once again as WPTS (We're Philadelphia's Talk Station). The call sign was changed again less than a month later to the current WPHT to avoid confusion with nearby Trenton, New Jersey's WPST. Only a year later, WIP became a sister station to WPHT when CBS merged with its owner, Infinity Broadcasting Corporation (at the time part of Viacom).
Entercom ownership
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with
In 2020, WPHT host Ken Matthews was named one of the 100 most important talk radio show hosts (the "Heavy Hundred") in America by TALKERS Magazine.[18]
See also
- Broadcasting of sports events
- CBS radio
- KYW (AM)
- WIP-FM
- WOGL
Notes
- ^ The other stations were ; and KOIL, Council Bluffs, Iowa.
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WPHT". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ O'Reilly, David (January 28, 2014). "Moorestown neighbors facing second radio tower". Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ "WPHT-AM 1210 kHz". radio-locator.com.
- ^ "New Deal Makes WIP-FM Exclusive Local Home for Phillies". InsideRadio.com. February 17, 2016. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ Radio Digest, September 1927, quoted in: McLeod, Elizabeth (September 20, 2002). CBS—In the Beginning, History of American Broadcasting. Retrieved January 1, 2007. Archived October 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Peterson, Adrian (August 15, 2007). "WCAU Used Shortwave in Philadelphia". RadioWorld.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ Peterson, Adrian (May 12, 2009). "A Sequel to the Philadelphia Story". RadioWorld.com. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- ^ "Endurance Record Set By Sponsor on WCAU" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 15, 1932. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
- ^ a b "WCAU in New Home" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 1, 1933. Retrieved October 7, 2014.
- ^ "History Cards for WOGL (covering W73PH / WPEN-FM / WCAU-FM from 1942-1981)". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
- ^ "The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia". broadcastpioneers.com. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- ^ "WCAU Drops Talk Format and Legendary Calls" (PDF). R&R The Industry's Newspaper. No. 854. August 24, 1990. p. 3. Retrieved June 5, 2017.
- ^ "CBS's WOGL (AM)/Philadelphia Drops Simulcast for Sports" (PDF). R&R The Industry's Newspaper. No. 1036. March 25, 1994. p. 3. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
- Bloomberg Business News. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
- ^ "CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom - RadioInsight".
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Thursday, May 14, 2020". TALKERS magazine - "The bible of talk media.". May 14, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
External links
- Official website
- WPHT in the FCC AM station database
- WPHT in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for WPHT