WMPX (1490

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) is an AM

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

licensed to

Midland, Michigan Midland is a city in Midland County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The population was 42,547 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Midland metropolitan statistical area, part of the larger Saginaw-Midland-Bay City ...

broadcasting a classic hits format, simulcasting WMRX-FM 97.7 Beaverton. The station is imaged as "Sunny 97.7107.7", with 107.7 being the frequency of translator W299CK Midland. Until January 2014, the station featured the

America's Best Music America's Best Music is the on-air branding of a soft oldies and adult standards 24-hour radio network, formerly known as AM Only. The service is syndicated by Westwood One, a subsidiary of Cumulus Media. It was one of the original Transtar Ra ...

format distributed by

Westwood One Westwood One, Inc. is an American radio network owned by Cumulus Media. The company syndicates talk, music, and sports programming. The company takes its name from an earlier network also named Westwood One, a company founded in 1976. The co ...

. Until March 1, 2019, WMPX was simulcast with WMRX-FM 97.7 24/7 except for some local sports play-by-play. Although there are other radio stations licensed to Midland, WMPX is today the only commercial radio station that primarily serves the Midland area (

WUGN WUGN (99.7 FM) is a non-commercial Christian radio station in Midland, Michigan. The station broadcasts with 100,000 watts from a 997-foot tower, giving it a strong signal throughout the middle of the mitten of Michigan from Houghton Lake south ...

is a non-commercial religious station and

WKQZ WKQZ (93.3 FM ''Z93'') is an active rock radio station serving east-central Michigan, owned by Cumulus Media. The station is licensed to Midland, Michigan, although its studios are in Saginaw. WKQZ is the Tri-Cities affiliate for the Detroit ...

is licensed to Midland but has studios in Saginaw).

History

WMPX began broadcasting in 1948 as WMDN. WMDN was Midland's first radio station, owned by the city's newspaper, the ''

Midland Daily News The ''Midland Daily News'' is a daily newspaper which serves Midland County, Michigan. The offices for the paper are located at 219 East Main Street in downtown Midland; the paper is widely circulated around Midland County. The newspaper also ...

.'' That station continued to use that call sign until July 1971. The station was sold in 1959 to a group of Bay City businessmen. The station was then sold in 1968 to Patten Broadcasting Co. and changed the call sign in 1971 to WMPX after firm president Myron P. Patten. WMPX general manager Ronald Maines bought the station from Patten Communications Corp in 1981. WMPX in Midland, along with WMRX-FM in Beaverton, changed hands again in late 1992 with Steel Broadcasting as the new owners. Steel Broadcasting was headed up by Tom Steel (55 percent) and previous WMPX shareholder Pat Patten (45 percent). Steel, Assistant General Manager at the station at the time of the sale, was originally hired as a sales rep at WMPX in 197

On March 1, 2019, WMPX split from its simulcast with WMRX-FM and launched a classic country format, branded as "107.7 The Highway" (simulcast on FM translator W299CK 107.7 FM Midland). Black Diamond Broadcasting began operating WMPX under a

local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one corporation, company agrees to operate a radio station, radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it ...

in October 2020. In April 2023, Black Diamond Broadcasting exercised an option to purchase WMPX, WMRX-FM, and translator W299CK from Steel Broadcasting. On July 7, 2023, WMPX dropped its classic country format and switched back to a simulcast of WMRX-FM's classic hits format, branded as "Sunny 97.7/107.7".Sunny Doubles Up in Central Michigan
Radioinsight - July 7, 2023 The acquisition by Black Diamond Broadcasting was consummated on October 17, 2023, at a price of $100,000.

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References

External links

* * MPX (AM) Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1948 Midland, Michigan {{Michigan-radio-station-stub