WYTS
This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2007) |
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Facility ID | 25038 |
Class | C |
Power | 1,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°56′31″N 83°01′20″W / 39.94194°N 83.02222°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live (via iHeartRadio) |
Website | ohio |
WYTS (1230
WYTS is the sixth-oldest continuously running radio station in the state of Ohio,[2] and is best known for its Top 40 format in the 1960s and 1970s under the heritage WCOL calls. In the time period between 1998 and today, the station has undergone five different format changes with as many different call signs.
History
Early years
WMAN / WSEN
WYTS was first licensed, as WMAN, to the Broad Street Baptist Church in downtown Columbus on October 5, 1922.[3] The original call letters were randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available call signs. Studios and transmitter were located within the church, and its initial schedule was only a few hours of church services each Sunday. Church member W. E. Heskett became the license holder of WMAN in conjunction with the church in December 1924, and had purchased the station outright by 1927. Hours of operation expanded gradually beyond Sunday services, and WMAN's studios were relocated to the Seneca Hotel.
Heskett leased airtime on WMAN to the Columbus Broadcasting Corporation in late 1929, with a buyout following months later. In order to distance the station from its original religious image, its call sign was changed to WSEN on September 9, 1930,[4] reflecting the Seneca Hotel. By 1932, the station operated on a daily basis from 8:00 a.m. until midnight.
WCOL
The station became WCOL on September 11, 1934,
The August 1941 adoption of the
The Pixleys sold WCOL AM and FM to Air Trails, Inc. in January 1952. Air Trails, and its successor Great Trails Broadcasting would be the primary owners of WCOL for over 52 years. Operating power for the station was increased to 1,000 watts during the daytime by July 1960, along with broadcasting 24-hours a day. By then an independent station, it changed its format to Top-40 that July 1, dubbing itself "The New WCOL".
WCOL was best known to Columbus area residents throughout the 1960s during this era, and was the primary Top-40 format station in the Columbus market when its jingle "twelve thirty the new W-C-O-L" was part of the local audio landscape. It held this distinction from 1960 to the early 1970s, until the rise in popularity of FM broadcasting and competition from WNCI.
WCOL, in its Top-40 heyday was heralded as the station which "premiered" the hits. Bryan McIntyre gained national award recognition for his uncanny ability to pick hit music, in advance of other radio markets. The WCOL calls were also used in tribute as the backdrop for the 1996
Air Trails was renamed Great Trails Broadcasting in 1969 after a corporate reorganization, but still retaining much of the management and personnel. Great Trails also would own regional stations
As the 1970s faded, the station changed format to a more adult-contemporary focus. WCOL was still successful in this format until a series of management and airstaff changeovers followed in the early 1980s, including a brief switch to middle of the road-styled adult standards and the brief return of Columbus broadcast legend Spook Beckman. The station began broadcasting at 1,000 watts 24-hours a day, along with a format change to news/talk. After that format failed to show in the ratings, WCOL flipped back to "Top-40 Oldies" with the WXGT calls dropped reverting to WCOL-FM.
By 1991, WCOL-AM was simulcasting WCOL-FM's oldies programming, with the AM station soon breaking off to play 1950s oldies. In short order, WCOL went back to a news/talk format, only this time assuming a mostly-syndicated lineup.
Later years
The station and WCOL-FM were sold to Nationwide Communications in 1994, the parent company of WNCI.
WCOL became WFII on March 24, 1997, airing a syndicated conservative
WFII was not a ratings success, and in 2001 the station became WZNW, airing a sports talk format as "1230 The Zone". However, WZNW was never able to compete effectively against the other full-time sports station in Columbus, WBNS, which held the rights to the Ohio State Buckeyes.
WCOL returned to 1230 in 2003, playing pre-
At noon on September 7, 2004, WCOL became WTPG, as "Progressive Talk AM 1230." WTPG carried programming mostly from the
On December 23, 2006, the Columbus Dispatch reported that WTPG would change again that January 8 over to a conservative-based talk format, under the WYTS calls. Bruce Collins, the local program director for WTVN and WYTS, said: "Whether it's politics or sports, financial information or general advice, central Ohio listeners will have the opportunity to talk about it on 'Talk 1230.'"
Shortly after the station announced the pending format change, a small group of people formed Ohio Majority Radio, an eventually unsuccessful grassroots attempt to save the progressive radio format on 1230 AM. Competing station WVKO (1580 AM) eventually changed formats, and picked up much of the former WTPG schedule for a brief time before switching to a religious format.
On January 26, 2009, WYTS dropped the conservative talk format and became the Columbus affiliate for Fox Sports Radio. WYTS will carry the full FSR schedule (with the exception of 9 a.m. – noon, when a replay of the Steve Czaban Show will air instead of The Dan Patrick Show, which aired on WTDA) and will hold on to The Jim Rome Show. After WTDA dropped its talk format and Patrick's show in late December 2009, WYTS picked Patrick's show live.
On February 21, 2017, WYTS and W287CP flipped to Urban AC as "Vibe 105.3". The change comes as the sports format was made irrelevant due to sister station WXZX flipping to a similar format the previous November. Michael Eiland, assistant program director and middayer of sister WODC, will host mornings on Vibe. The remainder of the day will feature Premium Choice hosts including WVAZ afternoon host Joe Soto in middays and WSOL-FM midday host Jo-Jo in afternoons.[8]
On March 28, 2017, just over a month after the flip to "Vibe", WYTS and W287CP rebranded as "Kiss 105.3". The change was likely due to a conflict with similarly branded "Vibe Radio HD" on WCVO-HD2.[9]
On November 29, 2017, WYTS flipped to a
On October 2, 2020, WYTS flipped to all-news, joining iHeart's "Black Information Network". The classic hip hop format continues on the 105.3 translator, relayed by WZCB's HD2 sub-channel.[11]
Previous logo
References
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WYTS". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Five older continuously-Ohio radio stations are: WHK, Cleveland, (first licensed 2/21/1922); WLW, Cincinnati, (3/2/1922); WTVN, Columbus, (4/29/1922 as WBAV); WBNS, Columbus, (5/13/1922 as WCAH); and WVSG, Columbus, (6/3/1922 as WEAO). WTRC, Stockdale, (7/28/1922 as WJAK) later moved to Indiana.
- ^ "New Stations", Radio Service Bulletin, October 2, 1922, page 3.
- ^ "Alterations and Corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, September 30, 1930, page 10.
- ^ "(2) Changes to List", Radio Service Bulletin, September 15, 1934, page 3.
- ^ "Ban On Multiple Ownership in Same Area", Broadcasting, August 11, 1941, pages 6-7.
- ^ "WCOL" (advertisement), Broadcasting, January 16, 1961, page 20.
- ^ Urban AC "Vibe 105.3" Debuts In Columbus Radioinsight - February 21, 2017
- ^ "Vibe Conflict Leads To WYTS Rebranding As Kiss 105.3". RadioInsight. 2017-03-28. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ^ "WYTS Brings Classic Hip-Hop Back To Columbus". RadioInsight. 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2020-01-19.
- ^ Black Information Network Launches In Columbus & Miami Radioinsight - October 2, 2020
External links
- WYTS in the FCC AM station database
- WYTS in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- FCC History Cards for WYTS (covering 1922-1981 as WMAN / WSEN / WCOL)
- Broadcast Pro-File for WCOL (mikeadams.org)
- WCOL Tribute Site (mikeadams.org)
- WCOL Tribute Site
- Columbus Music History: WCOL Hit-Line Surveys (columbusmusichistory.com)