WAYS (1050

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 a silent radio station in

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...

. It is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...

and it had previously aired a

sports radio Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

format, much of it from

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an Radio in the United States, American Sports radio, 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 ...

. Its studios are on U.S. Highway 17 in

Murrells Inlet, South Carolina Murrells Inlet is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Georgetown County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 7,547 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is about 13 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Ca ...

, and its transmitter is located in the station's

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

Conway, South Carolina Conway is a city in and the county seat of Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 24,849 at the 2020 census, up from 17,103 in the 2010 census, making it the 18th-most populous city in the state. The city is part of ...

. Programming had also been heard on

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

W270BZ at 101.9

MHz 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 u ...

in Conway.

History

WAYS originally signed on February 23, 1977, as WJAL. That August, the call sign became WJXY, a call sign that stayed with the station for many years. WJXY was a daytime-only

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

station in the 1970s. An FM sister station at 93.9 was added around 1990, at which time the AM switched to Southern gospel. In 1995, the format changed to

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

, with most of the music coming from the AM Only satellite format. By this time, the station had a limited nighttime signal. In Fall 1999,

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful and large tropical cyclone which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth list of named tropical cyclones, named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1 ...

damaged WJXY's studios and transmitter site and forced WJXY-FM, WXJY and

WSEA WSEA (100.3 FM broadcasting, FM) — branded as Sports Radio 100.3 "The Game" Myrtle Beach — is a Sports radio, sports radio station licensed to Atlantic Beach, South Carolina and serves the Grand Strand area. The Cumulus Media outlet is lice ...

to move to the WSYN/

WDAI WDAI (98.5 FM broadcasting, FM, "98.5 Kiss FM") is a mainstream urban radio station licensed to Pawleys Island, South Carolina, and serves the Grand Strand area. The Cumulus Media outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FC ...

studios near Inlet Square Mall. At the time, WJXY aired Conway High School football; those games moved to WRNN-FM. WJXY was off the air for several months. Early in 2000, the station was back, but not in stereo. Many listeners had complained. The station was assigned the WIQB call letters by the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

on November 16, 2000. For a time, WIQB aired the same programming as

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

station WSYN. On February 15, 2003, WIQB became part of "The Team" all sports format along with WJXY-FM. On April 30, 2010, WIQB switched to southern gospel and changed its letters to WHSC. On March 5, 2012, WHSC became the new Myrtle Beach affiliate of

. Dan Patrick would air live in the market rather than on tape, and

Jim Rome James Phillip Rome (born October 14, 1964) is an American sports radio host. His talk show, '' The Jim Rome Show'', is syndicated by Westwood One. Broadcasting from a studio near Los Angeles, California, Rome hosts ''The Jim Rome Show'' on r ...

would follow. WHSC became the new station for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. The station changed its call sign to WRWM on December 26, 2017, and to WAYS on February 13, 2020. Cumulus applied for WAYS to be temporarily silent in March 2025. It was one of six Cumulus stations to close the weekend of March 7, as part of a larger shutdown of underperforming Cumulus stations.

Translator

References

External links

* * {{Cumulus Media AYS Sports radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1977 1977 establishments in South Carolina Fox Sports Radio stations