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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Victorres43 (talk | contribs) at 08:51, 13 August 2021 (WWRM is still classified as a mainstream adult contemporary by Mediabase and BDS. It's just that WWRM is more millennial-focused with few songs before 2000 being played. Also, WWRM isn't focused on current hits.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

WWRM
Broadcast areaTampa Bay area
Frequency94.9 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingMagic 94-9
Programming
Language(s)English
FormatAdult contemporary
Ownership
Owner
History
First air date
September 1, 1970 (1970-09-01)
Former call signs
WLCY-FM (1970–78)
WYNF (1978–81)
WYNF-FM (1981–93)
Call sign meaning
W WaRM (prior branding)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID74200
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT470 meters (1,540 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
27°49′12″N 82°15′40″W / 27.820°N 82.261°W / 27.820; -82.261
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Listen live (via Audacy)
Websitewww.mymagic949.com

WWRM (94.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Tampa, Florida, and serving the Tampa Bay area. It has an adult contemporary radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are located on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg.[2] It calls itself Magic 94.9.

WWRM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts.[3] The transmitter tower is shared with WTSP Channel 10, Tampa's CBS TV Network affiliate, off Rhodine Road in Riverview .[4]

History

Top 40 era

On September 1, 1970, the station signed on as WLCY-FM St. Petersburg.[5] It was put on the air by Rahall Communications, co-owned with WLCY 1380 AM and WLCY-TV Channel 10. The studios were in the "Rahall Color Communications Center" on Gandy Boulevard. During the early 1970s, WLCY-FM was an automated station, airing Drake-Chenault’s "Hit Parade" and TM’s "Stereo Rock" formats.

Hoping to follow the sudden rise in popularity of local Top 40 station WRBQ-FM ("Q105") in the mid-1970s, WLCY-FM switched to live disc jockeys in 1976, using the moniker "Y95", using the whole-number frequency closest to 94.9. It soon adopted a new call sign, WYNF, a convenient shorthand for "Y-Ninety-Five".

Rock WYNF

In 1980, Taft Broadcasting bought the station and rebranded it "95FM--Florida's Best Rock". The music changed from Top 40 to album-oriented rock, to compete with the dominant local AOR station, WQXM. WYNF's studios moved from St. Petersburg to Tampa, at 504 Reo Street (near Tampa International Airport), home of Taft's WDAE 1250 AM. Two years later, the station was re-branded "95ynf". WYNF began calling itself "The New 95". Taft later became Great American Broadcasting.

In 1985, Great American Broadcasting sold WYNF to CBS Radio subsidiary Infinity Broadcasting. The studios were relocated to 4th Street North in St. Petersburg at the Koger Executive Center. 95ynf dominated the Tampa bay area for AOR music. In the early 1980s, WYNF again became a sister station to Channel 10 (now WTSP) after Taft acquired Gulf Broadcasting. (Around that time, WDAE was sold to Gannett, while Taft acquired WSUN AM 620 from Plough, Inc.)

Ron & Ron

After trying out several morning teams including Nick van Cleve and Jack Strapp, and later replacing van Cleve with Ron Diaz, program director Carey Curelop paired Diaz with local comic Ron Bennington, creating the popular Ron and Ron morning show at WYNF in the late nineteen-eighties. The show was successful in the Arbitron ratings and Ron & Ron became known as "Radio's Bad Boys." Their agent Ross Reback helped them form The Ron & Ron Radio Network to own and syndicate the show to other FM stations.

The show's final broadcast on WYNF was on March 12, 1993. Reback became President and CEO of the newly formed network and negotiated deals to broadcast the show in Miami, Orlando and Jacksonville, with another dozen markets soon following (including a new more lucrative deal with WSUN).

Switch to WWRM

Logo of the radio station between 2010 and February 2012

In 1993, Cox Broadcasting, owners of WWRM (then at 107.3, as "Warm 107"), bought WYNF, as part of a trade with CBS Radio, also involving stations in Dallas. The studios were relocated back to St. Petersburg at The Koger Center. By that point, rival rock station WXTB had surpassed WYNF in the Arbitron ratings, eventually forcing WYNF to make a format change.

On August 16, 1993, at 10 a.m., WYNF stopped playing rock music and began simulcasting WSUN's talk radio programming.[6] Seven days later, Cox relocated the Soft Adult Contemporary format of "Warm 107" and its WWRM call sign to 94.9, becoming "Warm 94.9".[7]

In the late 1990s, the station had a minor overhaul, becoming "The New Magic 94.9", though keeping the format and WWRM call sign. (WWRM's old frequency at 107.3 has since become classic hits WXGL.) WWRM 94.9 evolved to more of a mainstream AC sound by 2001, while its new sister station WDUV 105.5 concentrated on the softer AC hits. In May 2011, after ten years of being called "The New Magic 94.9", the station dropped "The New" in its name, becoming simply "Magic 94.9." On December 26, 2011, Magic 94.9 changed its slogan to "80's, 90's, & now."

For many years as a Soft AC station, WWRM had played all-Christmas music for much of November and December. But starting in November 2013, the all-Christmas music format shifted to sister station 105.5 WDUV.[8] WWRM currently mixes some holiday songs in its usual playlist from Thanksgiving to Christmas. When B98.7 WPBB became an adult contemporary station, WWRM shifted its format a bit more uptempo, with fewer songs released before 2000 being played, while retaining the "Magic" branding. WPBB has since become an active rock station. WWRM continues its 2000-now direction, in order to differentiate themselves from WDUV.

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WWRM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ MyMagic949.com/contact-us
  3. ^ FCC.gov/WWRM
  4. ^ Radio-Locator.com/WWRM
  5. ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1972 page B-46
  6. ^ "WYNF changes sound like a lot of talk", St. Petersburg Times (August 17, 1993)
  7. ^ "Cold move: Double dose of Warm", St. Petersburg Times (August 20, 1993)
  8. ^ https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10153521504620442&set=a.10150240027185442.469958.228458480441&type=1&theater
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