WLON

WLON (1050 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format and serving the Lincolnton, North Carolina area, and owned and operated by Calvin Hastings, through licensee KTC Broadcasting, Inc. WLON AM is also the home of [Lincoln County] football every Friday night, Atlanta Braves baseball, [Clemson and Duke] and UNC Tar Heels college basketball and football. WLON also carries Charlotte Hornet Basketball, Carolina Panther Football, the ACC and NCAA basketball tournaments.

WLON
CityLincolnton, North Carolina
Frequency1050 kHz
BrandingThe Boss
SloganBeach, Oldies and Sports
Programming
FormatOldies
Affiliations[North Carolina News Network]
Ownership
OwnerCalvin Hastings
(KTC Broadcasting, Inc.)
WOHS in Shelby, N.C. and WCSL in Cherryville, N.C.
History
First air date
1953
Technical information
Facility ID62366
ClassD
Power1,000 watts day
231 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
35°29′28.00″N 81°16′3.00″W
Translator(s)W298CK (107.5 MHz, Lincolnton)
Links
WebsiteThe Boss 1050 Website

History

Frank Hall of Lake Wylie, Tommy Hunter of Belmont and Jeff and Vivian Nichols of Lincolnton owned the 34-year-old WLON, the only radio station in Lincoln County. Jeff Nichols was general manager. The format was adult contemporary/oldies. Larry Seagle had been news director for 18 years. Tim Biggerstaff had been a DJ for about 10 years.

On April 1, 1993, Cherryville-based KTC Broadcasting Inc. took over WLON in a lease agreement. KTC was buying the station but would operate it under a lease agreement until the Federal Communications Commission approved the sale. WLON would join The Piedmont Superstations Radio Network of WCSL in Cherryville, WGNC in Gastonia and WOHS (730 AM) in Shelby, which simulcast most of their programming. The change would mean 24-hour broadcasts on WLON for the first time. .Tim Biggerstaff would remain as morning DJ, and his show would be heard on all four KTC stations. News for the entire area would be expanded. The four stations aired UNC football and basketball, Atlanta Braves baseball, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins NFL football, and CBS coverage of such events as The World Series and The Super Bowl.

The four stations added the NFL Carolina Panthers when the team began playing in 1995. They also aired games of the NBA Charlotte Hornets.[1]

Previous logo

Late in 1999, the four stations changed from country music to "super oldies." Biggerstaff, the program director, said country had moved away from its traditional sound. Lillie White remained as midday host, and Andy Foster was afternoon host. Local and sports remained important, and the stations aired the One-on-One sports radio network at night.[2]

In 2004, Biggerstaff was still hosting his show on WCSL and WLON despite diabetes-related health problems.[3] Later he moved to Lincolnton-based Hometown Radio's Shelby operation. On WADA he played classic country music and hosted a "Swap Shop" show on WGNC and WOHS. By this time he had experienced a kidney transplant and two pancreas transplants.[4]

WLON played a mixture of 1960s, 1970s and some 1980s oldies music, as well as Christian contemporary and beach music on Sundays.

WLON now plays Beach and Oldies along with the sports.

Effective December 1, 2014, Calvin Hastings repurchased WLON and WCSL from HRN Broadcasting for $240,000, through his licensee KTC Broadcasting, Inc.

On August 8, 2016, WLON changed their format to oldies, branded as "The Boss".

References
  1. David Poole, "Sports Finds Many Homes on Dial", The Charlotte Observer, October 4, 1995
  2. Sharon E. White, "Up-Tempo Oldies Push Country Aside at 4 Stations in Regional AM Network", The Charlotte Observer, December 5, 1999.
  3. Joe DePriest, "New Friend Offers Gift for Ailing DJ", The Charlotte Observer, April 14, 2004.
  4. Joe DePriest, "DJ's Listeners Friends in Need and in Deed", The Charlotte Observer, June 7, 2007.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.