WAYS is a

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

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 radi ...

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina, Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as Grand Strand, "The Grand Strand" i ...

. It is owned by

Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 8 ...

. Its studios are located on

U.S. Highway 17 U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, with ...

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 census. It is about 13 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and 21 miles north ...

, and its transmitter is located in the station's city of license,

Conway, South Carolina Conway is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 24,849 at the 2020 census, up from 17,103 in 2010 census. It is the county seat of Horry County and is part of the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. It is the ho ...

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 genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

station in the 1970s. An FM sister station at 93.9 was added around 1990, at which time the AM switched to

Southern gospel Southern gospel music is a genre of Christian music. Its name comes from its origins in the southeastern United States. Its lyrics are written to express either personal or a communal faith regarding biblical teachings and Christian life, a ...

. In 1995, the format changed to adult standards, with most of the music coming from the

AM Only 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 ...

satellite format. By this time, the station had a limited nighttime signal. In Fall 1999,

Hurricane Floyd Hurricane Floyd was a very powerful Cape Verde hurricane which struck the Bahamas and the East Coast of the United States. It was the sixth named storm, fourth hurricane, and third major hurricane in the 1999 Atlantic hurricane season. Floyd t ...

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

WXJY WYAY (106.3 FM, "Carolina Gold") is a radio station broadcasting an oldies format. Licensed to Bolivia, North Carolina, United States, WYAY serves the Wilmington area. The station is currently owned by Maryland Media One. History The 106.3 ...

and

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

to move to the

WSYN WSYN (103.1 FM, "Sunny 103.1") is a classic hits music formatted radio station licensed to Surfside Beach, South Carolina and serves the Grand Strand area. The Cumulus Media outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to b ...

WDAI WDAI (98.5 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 (FCC) to broadcas ...

studios near

Inlet Square Mall Inlet Square Mall is a single-level regional shopping center in Garden City, South Carolina, United States. Belk is the last major anchor with junior anchor Planet Fitness and with two vacant major anchors last occupied by Kmart, JCPenney, and va ...

. At the time, WJXY aired Conway High School football; those games moved to

WRNN-FM WRNN-FM (99.5 MHz) is a news/talk radio station licensed to Socastee, South Carolina and serves the Grand Strand area. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with an effective radiated power (ERP) of ...

. 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 federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

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 (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as wel ...

. 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

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 company ...

. 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 CBS Sports Radio. Broadcasting from a studio near Los Angeles, California, Rome hosts ''The Jim Rome Show'' o ...

would follow. WHSC became the new station for the

Myrtle Beach Pelicans The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at TicketReturn.com Field, which opene ...

. The station changed its call sign to WRWM on December 26, 2017, and to WAYS on February 13, 2020.Call Sign Changes
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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