WTDY-FM
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2020) |
(CP) | |
Call sign meaning | "Today" (previous format) |
---|---|
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 51434 |
Class | B |
ERP |
|
HAAT | 337.8 meters (1,108 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°02′30.4″N 75°14′9.6″W / 40.041778°N 75.236000°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
Website | www |
WTDY-FM (96.5
WTDY's studios are co-located with located within Audacy's corporate headquarters in
History
1945-1958: Early years
Independence Broadcasting Company, the owners of WHAT (1340 AM), applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a construction permit for a new FM station on 103.5 MHz on October 5, 1945. The FCC granted the permit on July 10, 1947, while reassigning the station to 105.3 MHz. The FCC granted permission on December 2, 1948 for the station to begin broadcasting, by which time it had been assigned the WHAT-FM call sign.[5]
In 1956, a young disc jockey known as Sid Mark took the airwaves for the first time in Philadelphia on WHAT-AM-FM, beginning a multi-decade career.
On July 24, 1957, Independence Broadcasting applied to the FCC for a construction permit to change the station's frequency to 96.5 MHz. The FCC granted the permit on October 30, 1957, followed by a new license effective September 26, 1958.[5]
1958-1975: Jazz
WHAT-FM became a full-time jazz station in 1958, the first of its kind on the FM dial. On November 18, 1968, the call sign was changed to WWDB,[5] referring to the brother and sister owners of the station, William and Dolly Banks. In the early 1970s, WWDB experimented with playing adult contemporary music, but eventually went back to jazz.
1975-2000: Talk
In 1975, the station's format was changed to
After her brother William died in 1979, Dolly Banks took over as general manager. William Banks had no children, so several distant relatives filed lawsuits, fighting for ownership of twin stations WWDB/WHAT. In 1985, Dolly Banks retired after the African-American employees of sister station WHAT, along with the Black Media Caucus in Washington, D.C., sued the estate, receiving millions of dollars and forcing an estate sale of WWDB. The sale, which was overseen by the
After a few months of ownership, in 1986, Regan Henry flipped WWDB, selling it to the decidedly not Black Charles Schwartz, who ran it under the name of Panache Broadcasting. Ten years later, Mercury Broadcasting purchased WWDB for $48 million.
After having been nearly 100% local programming, WWDB under Mercury ownership, added more nationally syndicated personalities such as
2000-2003: 1980s hits
At that time, WWDB's format was changed to
2003-2015: Rhythmic
On November 17, 2003, at 7:50 a.m., WPTP began stunting with
During its tenure as "Wired", the station would occasionally shift back and forth between Rhythmic and Mainstream Top 40, while still placing an emphasis on Rhythmic and Dance currents/recurrents, and avoiding most rock-leaning product.
On October 2, 2014, Beasley Broadcast Group announced that it would trade five radio stations located in
2015-2017: Top 40
During and after the trade, rumors abounded online that CBS would flip the station to
During its tenure as "AMP", the station's ratings improved, mostly to a low to mid-3 share of the market, but did not dethrone WIOQ. In the December 2016 Philadelphia PPM ratings report, WZMP held a 3.0 share as compared to WIOQ's 3.6 share. Around Christmas of 2016, morning host Jason Cage and afternoon host Mike Adam left the station.
2017-2018: Adult contemporary
On January 5, 2017, at 10 a.m., after playing "
On February 2, 2017, CBS announced that it would merge its radio division (which included WTDY-FM) with
2018-present: Hot AC; return to CHR, and return to Hot AC
On March 16, 2018, the station rebranded as 96.5 TDY, shifting to a hot adult contemporary format with a larger emphasis on current music. The switch also restored a hot AC-formatted station to the market for the first time since WISX's aforementioned flip, and returned the format to the 96.5 frequency since the flip to rhythmic in 2003.[18]
On November 12, 2018, WTDY-FM launched a new morning show, Coop & Casey in the Morning, hosted by Sean ‘Coop’ Tabler and Casey Reed.[19] The station also shifted back to a Top 40/CHR format, a move that followed Entercom's acquisition of former AC competitor WBEB.[20]
In March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and cost cutting measures, Casey Reed of Coop & Casey in the Morning was let go, with longtime radio and morning show host Sean "Coop" Tabler remaining.
For the weekend of May 11 through 15, 2023, the station temporarily rebranded as "96.5 TAY" (pronounced "Ninety-Swift-Five T-A-Y"), playing only music by
HD Radio
WTDY-FM HD2
In 2007, WRDW added an
WTDY-FM HD3
In September 2015, WTDY-HD3 aired Popecast, a temporary station produced by
In August 2019, WTDY-HD3 began airing programming from "Channel Q", Entercom's Talk/EDM service for the LGBTQ community. Previously, it aired a travelers' information loop as "Hear Philly". The HD3 subchannel has moved to HD2 and has since been turned off.
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WTDY-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Playlist". 96.5 TDY. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "Todays965.CBSlocal.com". cbslocal.com. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "WTDY-FM Radio Station Coverage Map". radio-locator.com. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ a b c "History Cards for WTDY-FM". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
- ^ Retrieved on 2009-03-12.
- ^ American Radio History[dead link]
- ^ Irv Homer YouTube
- ^ American Radio History[dead link]
- ^ CBS And Beasley Swap Philadelphia/Miami For Charlotte/Tampa from Radio Insight (October 2, 2014)
- ^ "96.5 AMP Radio Debuts In Philadelphia" from Radio Insight (April 10, 2015)
- ^ "Wired 96.5 Becomes Amp Radio - Format Change Archive". formatchange.com. April 10, 2015. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ "WZMP Philadelphia Flips To AC "Today's 96.5"". RadioInsight. January 5, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "WISX Philadelphia Gets Real With Throwbacks". RadioInsight. June 29, 2017. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ "CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom". radioinsight.com. February 2, 2017. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
- ^ Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio
- ^ Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger
- ^ "Today's 96.5 Philadelphia Flips To Hot AC 96.5 TDY". RadioInsight. March 16, 2018. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
- ^ Venta, Lance (November 13, 2018). "Coop & Casey Take Mornings At 96.5 TDY Philadelphia". RadioInsight. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- ^ Venta, Lance (November 19, 2018). "A Year In, Has Entercom's Massive Revamps of CBS Radio Stations Paid Off?". RadioInsight. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
- ^ WTDY Goes All Taylor Swift for Four Days
- ^ "Philly Gets Pop-Up Pope Station". Insideradio.com. September 15, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "iHeart To Launch Philadelphia Papal Pop-Up Format". RadioInsight. September 13, 2015. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "Papal Visit Prompts WDAS-A (Smooth Jazz 'JJZ)/Philadelphia To Air 'Pope Info Radio' 9/19-27". All Access. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
External links
- Official website
- WTDY in the FCC FM station database
- WTDY in Nielsen Audio's FM station database