WOWW
WOWW (1430 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Germantown, Tennessee, and serving the Memphis metropolitan area. WOWW carries a classic hits radio format and calls itself "Guess FM." It is owned and operated by Flinn Broadcasting Corporation.[2] The studios and offices are in Southaven, Mississippi.
 | |
| City | Germantown, Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Memphis metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 1430 kHz |
| Branding | 97.7 and 100.1 Guess FM |
| Slogan | Memphis' Greatest Hits |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic hits |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Flinn Broadcasting Corporation |
| KXHT, WGSF, WHBQ, WHBQ-FM, WMPS, WMSO | |
| History | |
First air date | October 29, 1955 (as WHER)[1] |
Former call signs | WHER (1955–73) WWEE (1973–1988) WWBA (1988-1989) WEZI (1989-1989) WNWZ (1989-1997) |
Call sign meaning | derived from "wow" |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 21728 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 2,500 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°12′50″N 89°47′46″W |
| Translator(s) | 97.7 W249BN (Memphis) 100.1 W261CE (Southaven, MS) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | GuessFM.com |
WOWW is powered at 2,500 watts. At night, to protect other stations on 1430 AM, WOWW uses a directional antenna with a six-tower array. The transmitter is off Orgill Road in Bartlett, Tennessee.[3] Programming is also heard on two FM translators: 220 watt W249BN at 97.7 MHz in Memphis[4] and 250 watt W261CE at 100.1 MHz in Southaven, Mississippi.[5]
History
WHER
On October 29, 1955, the station signed on as WHER, a pioneering station with an all-female air staff, including broadcaster Vida Jane Butler.[1][6] The radio station was the brainchild of Sam Phillips, who used a portion of the $35,000 he made from the sale of Elvis Presley's recording contract to RCA Records to finance the station.[1][7] A portion of the balance of the funding came from Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson, who also provided the station's first home, in a part of the third Holiday Inn ever built.[1][7] It aired light music and had the slogan "1,000 Beautiful Watts".[1] The licensee was Tri-State Broadcasting Service, initially owned by Phillips, Clarence A. Camp, and James E. Connolly.[8]
WWEE
In the early 1970s, WHER went to a mixed-gender air staff and became talk station WWEE. The station gave birth to the longest running sports talk show "SportsLine" (now called "SportsTime"). "SportsLine" went on the air in 1972. Notable former staff members include Marge Thrasher, Bill Thomas, George Lapides, Dick Palmer, Jim Fields, and Jeff Weinberger.
In 1981, the Phillips family bought out the other owners of Tri-State Broadcasting Service, becoming known as the Big River Broadcasting Corporation. Big River liquidated in 1986, selling WWEE to the Ardman Broadcasting Corporation of Tennessee. In 1989, after seven months spent simulcasting co-owned WEZI (now WLFP with the same call letters, Ardman relaunched the station as WNWZ. Flinn bought the station in 1993, changing the call letters to WOWW in 1997.
Format flips
On April 10, 2013, WOWW changed their format to country, simulcasting WEBL 95.3 FM.[9]
On June 21, 2013, WUMY dropped its classic country format for variety hits as "97.7 Guess FM".[10]
On January 2, 2014, WOWW began stunting, directing listeners to WUMY 830 AM Memphis, Tennessee, which took over the "Guess FM" variety hits format.[11]
A few days later, WOWW changed their format to country, branded as "The Rebel", simulcasting WEBL 95.3 FM Coldwater, MS.
On August 6, 2018, WOWW changed their format to classic hits, branded as "97.7 Guess FM".[12]
Translator
In addition to the main station, WOWW is relayed by two FM translators to widen its broadcast area. It also provides the listener with high fidelity/stereophonic sound.
| Call sign | Frequency (MHz) | City of license | Facility ID | ERP (W) | Height (m (ft)) | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W249BN | 97.7 | Memphis, Tennessee | 139990 | 220 | 223.4 m (733 ft) | D | FCC |
| W261CE | 100.1 | Southaven, Mississippi | 149153 | 250 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | FCC |
References
- Charles F. Ganzert (2003). "All-Women's Radio: WHER-AM in Memphis". Journal of Radio Studies. Broadcast Education Association. 10. doi:10.1207/s15506843jrs1001_8. ISSN 1095-5046.
- "NPR Revisits WHER – The World's First All-Girl Radio Station". NPR. October 25, 1999. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- "WOWW Facility Record". Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
- Radio-Locator.com/WOWW
- Radio-Locator.com/W249BN
- Radio-Locator.com/W261CE
- "Tenn. Radio Pioneer 'Janie Joplin' Has Died", All Things Considered. NPR. April 5, 2007. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- Dye, Robert W. (2017). Memphis: Birthplace of Rock and Roll. Arcadia Publishing. p. 71. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- History Cards for WOWW, fcc.gov. Retrieved July 24, 2019.
- Alternative Returns to Memphis Radioinsight - April 10, 2013
- Guess What’s New In Memphis
- http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/87265/guess-fm-memphis-relocates/
- "Guess Where Guess FM Moved in Memphis", RadioInsight. August 14, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
External links
- WOWW in the FCC's AM station database
- WOWW on Radio-Locator
- WOWW in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- W249BN in the FCC's FM station database
- W249BN on Radio-Locator
- W261CE in the FCC's FM station database
- W261CE on Radio-Locator
WHER
- Kitchen Sisters documentary on WHER
- "Golden Girls", On the Media, October 28, 2005. '
- "Talk on Lost and Found Sound's", Peter Guralnick