WHNZ (1250 AM) is a commercial

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radio ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough ...

. The station's

broadcast license A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary f ...

is held by iHM Licenses, LLC, a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

. The station airs a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...

format. WHNZ is one of the eight stations in the

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater ...

radio market A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also incl ...

owned by iHeartMedia. The station's studios are located on West Gandy Boulevard in

South Tampa South Tampa is a region in the city of Tampa that includes the neighborhoods of Beach Park, Ballast Point, Bayshore Beautiful, Bayshore Gardens, Bayside West, Belmar Shore, Davis Islands, Port Tampa, Fair Oaks-Manhattan Manor, Golfview, ...

. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

site is off Memorial Highway in

Town 'n' Country, Florida Town 'n' Country is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. The population was 85,951 at the 2020 census. Within Town 'n' Country are located Bay Crest Park, Countryway, Rocky Creek, Sweetwater Creek. ...

, co-located with

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

970 AM WFLA. By day, WHNZ broadcasts at 25,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

s. At night, to avoid interfering with other stations on AM 1250, WHNZ reduces power to 5,900 watts. The station uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performanc ...

at all times.

History

WHNZ is the successor of two radio stations, co-owned

WDAE WDAE (620 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Petersburg, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay area. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a sports radio format. WDAE is one of the oldest radio stations in Florida still broadcasting ...

, one of Florida's oldest radio stations, going on the air May 15, 1922 and spending most of its history at AM 1250. And it also has history on AM 570 in

Pinellas Park Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, Florida, United States. The population was 53,093 at the 2020 census. Originally home to northern transplants and vacationers, the hundred year old city has grown into the fourth largest ...

, which was WHNZ's original dial position and carried some of the same business and financial shows that are heard on today's WHNZ. On October 24, 1991, what was then

WPLP WPLP AM was the first 24-hour news/talk radio station in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. It began broadcasting at 570 AM on December 4, 1978. Its image name was "News/Talk 57 WPLP: The Talk of Tampa Bay." The 570 dial position in Tampa Bay bega ...

was bought by Paxson Communications, the company founded by multi-millionaire

Bud Paxson Lowell White "Bud" Paxson (April 17, 1935 – January 9, 2015) was an American media executive. In 1982, Paxson and his business partner, Roy Speer, co-founded the Home Shopping Club (now called the Home Shopping Network). He later established Pax T ...

after he had sold the

Home Shopping Network HSN, an initialism of its former name Home Shopping Network, is an American free-to-air television network owned by the Qurate Retail Group, which also owns catalog company Cornerstone Brands. Based in the Gateway area of St. Petersburg, Flo ...

. Unlike today's WHNZ, Paxson put a full-time business and financial station on AM 570, changing the

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally ass ...

to WHNZ. Those call letters refer to "Wins Radio," meaning that it will help you win in the business world. In 1998, Clear Channel Stations, the previous name of

, bought AM 570. It also bought AM 620 from

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...

, after Cox had moved what was WSUN and its Adult Standards format to co-owned AM 910 in nearby

Plant City, Florida Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census. Despite many thinking it was named for flor ...

, in anticipation of a sale. Once Clear Channel owned all three frequencies, 570, 620 and 1250, it was able to execute a three-way frequency swap. On New Year's Day, 2000, WDAE's sports format and call sign moved to AM 620. WHNZ's business format and call sign moved to AM 1250. And Clear Channel put a

format on AM 570, giving it the

WTBN WTBN (570 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pinellas Park, Florida and serving the Tampa Bay area. The station is owned by Salem Media Group and it airs a religious radio format. Most of the schedule is made up of brokered program ...

, which stood for Tampa Bay News. The following year,

Salem Communications Salem Media Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SALM; formerly Salem Communications Corporation) is an American radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher formerly based in Camarillo, California (moved most operations to Irv ...

took over AM 570, installing a

Christian radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk program ...

format, heard currently on WTBN. WHNZ was the

flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalt ...

of the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team from 2005 to 2008, now heard on WDAE. , WHNZ airs select sporting events moved from WDAE or WFLA due to schedule conflicts. Beginning on May 19, 2018, WHNZ will be the radio home of the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

. Weekday mornings began with ''

This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal ''This Morning: America's First News'' (formerly ''The Wall Street Journal This Morning'') is a two-hour radio news/talk program hosted by Gordon Deal and Jennifer Kushinka, who replaced long-serving co-host Gina Cervetti on January 2, 2015. In a ...

''. In afternoon

drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cl ...

, WHNZ carried the '' Todd Schnitt Show.'' (Schnitt for many years was a host on co-owned WFLA. His syndicated show aired in Tampa Bay on WHNZ live at 3 p.m. and was replayed on WFLA at 6 p.m..) At night, WHNZ carried

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent compan ...

. Brokered programs on money, business and health were heard in middays, evenings and weekends.

CBS Radio News CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

began most daytime hours. On July 26, 2021, WHNZ changed their format to Spanish news/talk, branded as "Acción 1250".HeartMedia Expands Acción To Jacksonville & Tampa
Radioinsight - July 26, 2021

Previous logo

References

External links

WHNZ official website
* * * *
FCC History Cards for WHNZ
{{IHeartMedia HNZ News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1922 Hillsborough County, Florida IHeartMedia radio stations 1922 establishments in Florida Radio stations licensed before 1923 and still broadcasting Spanish-language radio stations in Florida