W261AX
W261AX is a translator station serving the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania market, broadcasting on 100.1 MHz on the FM dial with a power of 99 watts. The station is owned by Martz Communications Group (through its Radio Power subsidiary), but broadcasts the programming of Entercom-owned news/talk station KDKA (1020 AM). From 2011 to 2020, the translator carried a mainstream urban format, for most of that time in conjunction with Martz-owned WAMO (660 AM).
| Translator for KDKA Pittsburgh | |
|---|---|
| City | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Broadcast area | Pittsburgh metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 100.1 MHz |
| Branding | 100.1 FM and AM 1020 KDKA |
| Slogan | Pittsburgh's News, Weather and Traffic |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Martz Communications Group (Radio Power, Inc.) |
| Operator | Entercom |
| History | |
First air date | May 21, 2011 |
Call sign meaning | sequentially assigned |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 150026 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 99 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°24′47″N 79°51′14″W |
| Repeater(s) | 100.7-3 WBZZ-HD3 |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wamo100.com |
Station history
W261AX signed on the air May 21, 2011, serving as a rebroadcast translator for WPYT at 660 AM, with the promised mainstream urban format, though it leaned in a rhythmic direction. At the end of 2011, they changed their slogan to "Pittsburgh's Home for Hip-hop and Hottest Hits", and became an official rhythmic contemporary station.[1] On June 3, 2011, WPYT changed its call sign to WAMO, marking the return of the callsign to the market after two years. This was WAMO's fourth incarnation in Pittsburgh, as it originally broadcast on 860 AM, later with a simulcast on 105.9 FM before being moved to 106.7 in 1996. In 2017, the station added another translator, W297BU (107.3 FM), and in 2018, a HD simulcast via WBZZ-HD3, expanding its reach in the area.
In January 2013, WAMO was added to BDS' Rhythmic Airplay panel as an indicator reporter, but is not considered a monitored reporter because it is not rated in Nielsen Audio (as Martz is a non-subscriber) and in part due to being an AM daytimer with an FM translator, this despite having a primary emphasis on R&B/Hip-Hop material. That would change by 2017, when it became a monitored R&B/Hip-Hop reporter in both BDS and Mediabase. BDS would return WAMO back to the Rhythmic panel as a monitored reporter in February 2019 due to an adjustment in its musical direction, with Mediabase moving the station to its Rhythmic panel the following July.
On June 25, 2019, at 11 a.m., WAMO/W297BU changed their format to urban adult contemporary, branded as "107.3 The Beat". The previous rhythmic format remained on W261AX and WBZZ-HD3, and continued to use the WAMO call letters in their branding.[2] On October 16, 2020, WAMO announced that the "WAMO 100" hip hop programming would return to 107.3 and 660 on November 2.[3] W261AX was concurrently repurposed as an FM translator for KDKA (1020 AM), a move announced by KDKA owner Entercom on October 19; the move coincides with KDKA's 100th anniversary.[4]
References
- "Urban To Return To Pittsburgh". RadioInsight. 2011-02-20. Retrieved 2011-02-21.
- 107.3 The Beat Launches in Pittsburgh Radioinsight - June 25, 2019
- Venta, Lance (October 16, 2020). "WAMO On The Move". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
- Venta, Lance (October 19, 2020). "KDKA Gifts Itself An FM For Its Centennial". RadioInsight. Retrieved October 20, 2020.