WSPA-FM

WSPA-FM

City of license	Spartanburg, South Carolina
Broadcast area	Upstate South Carolina & Western North Carolina
Branding	Magic 98.9
Slogan	"Lite Rock"
Frequency	98.9 MHz In Asheville @ 97.7 FM (MHz)
First air date	August 29, 1946
Format	Adult Contemporary
ERP	100,000 watts
HAAT	580 meters
Class	C
Facility ID	66400
Transmitter coordinates	35°10′11.00″N 82°17′28.00″W
Callsign meaning	SPArtanburg (City of License) Also a nod to former owner SPArtan Radiocasting W-atch S-partanburg P-ush A-head
Owner	Entercom Communications
Sister stations	WFBC-FM, WROQ, WTPT-FM, WORD-FM/WYRD/WYRD-FM
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	magic989online.com

WSPA-FM is an Adult Contemporary radio station licensed to Spartanburg, South Carolina and serves the Upstate region, including Greenville and Spartanburg. The Entercom Communications outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast at 98.9 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW. The station goes by the name Magic 98.9 and its current slogan is '"Today's Lite Rock." It simulcasts in Asheville, North Carolina at 97.7 MHz, mainly to serve areas in the northern part of Asheville that are shielded from the main signal.

WSPA-FM is one of South Carolina's most powerful stations. It provides at least secondary coverage of 94 counties in four states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee). Under the right conditions, it can be heard as far east as Charlotte and as far west as the north Georgia mountains. WSPA is owned by Philadelphia based Entercom Communications. The transmitter tower (which is visible as far as 35 miles away) is located atop Hogback Mountain, near Landrum.

The station's playlist mainly consists of soft rock/pop music from the 1970s through present. Its main competition is WMYI, who broadcasts a Hot AC format.

History

WSPA-FM signed on the air August 29, 1946 as the sister station to WSPA AM 950. It was South Carolina's first FM radio station. Also, on August 1, 1960, WSPA-FM became the first station in South Carolina (as well as the Southeast) to broadcast in stereo. WSPA-FM was also the sixth station in the world to broadcast in stereo.

For many years WSPA-FM was a beautiful music station. In the early 1990s the station changed to MOR known then as 'Lite-FM 98.9.' In 1992, the station became known as "Lite Rock 98.9" with a soft adult contemporary format, then the station switched to "Magic 98.9" in 2002; in recent years the station's sound has moved in a more mainstream AC direction.

WSPA-FM was originally owned by SpartanRadiocasting until selling to Keymarket, who were then taken over by Sinclair Broadcasting in the 1990s and early 2000s until being acquired by Entercom Communications. The station has gone through a number of morning shows (see below). Afternoon host Stacie Bartro moved to the station in 2006 after working at the former 103.3/103.9 and 106.3 The Walk changed formats. Mid-day host Lee Alexander has been a staple of upstate radio since the 1970s, working at stations such as WQOK-AM and WFBC-FM. The station is the area affiliate for The John Tesh Radio Show.

In the Summer 2008 ratings (12+), WSPA-FM made it to third place, only behind WJMZ-FM and WESC-FM, and frequently enjoys a top 5 finish in the 12+ Arbitron ratings. Until July 2011, the station competed head-on with Clear Channel Communications' WMYI; that station transitioned to Hot AC, leaving WSPA as the only mainstream Adult Contemporary station in the market. Every year, around the second week of November, the station transitions to an all-Christmas format, a tradition that began in the early 2000s. The adult contemporary format resumes on December 26.

From 2008 until 2010, the station used what it called 'song tags.' These played after every song played on the station stating the artist and the name of the song in a semi-robotic voice recorded by Stacie Bartro.

Programming

• 5:30AM–8:00AM Magic Mornings w/ John & Lauren
• 9:00AM–2:00PM Lee Alexander
• 2:00PM–7:00PM Stacie Bartro
• 7:00PM–12:00AM John Tesh

Former on-air staff

• Bo Griffin
• Greg McKinney
• John Gosnell
• Kimberly Kelly
• Mark Hamlin
• Michael McKeel
• Monnie Whitson
• Rick Woodell
• Rocky Valentine
• TK
• Mike Vassey
• Jeff Warren
• Craig Debolt
• Bob Morgan
• sen van wessel

Morning Shows

• Rick Woodell (later Rick & Kimberly), ?-2005
• Bo Griffin, 2005–2006
• TK & Monnie, 2006–2008
• Mark & Monnie, 2008-early 2009
• Monnie, 2009-early 2010
• Bo & Lauren, 2010–2011
• John & Lauren, 2011-

External links

• Magic 98.9 Online
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WSPA
• Radio-Locator information on WSPA
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WSPA