WCOS-FM (97.5

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 ...

) is a

commercial Commercial may refer to: * (adjective for) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and services ** (adjective for) trade, the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information or money * a dose of advertising ...

radio station in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

. It airs a

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 ...

radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station goes by the name 97-5 WCOS and its current slogan is "#1 For New Country". Its studios and offices are on Graystone Boulevard in Columbia near

Interstate 126 Interstate 126 (I-126) is a spur route of I-26 entirely within the city limits of Columbia in the US state of South Carolina. It is entirely concurrent with U.S. Route 76 (US 76) and connects I-26 to Downtown Columbia. It i ...

. WCOS-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for all non-grandfathered stations. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

is north of the city, in the Arlington Heights neighborhood, off Heyward Brockingham Road. WCOS-FM broadcasts in the

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

hybrid format. It formerly carried a 1990s country hits format on its

digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...

WCOS-FM-HD2. WCOS-FM is a primary entry point station for the

Emergency Alert System The Emergency Alert System (EAS) is a Emergency population warning, national warning system in the United States designed to allow authorized officials to broadcast emergency alerts and warning messages to the public via Cable television, cable ...

Programming

WCOS-FM plays a variety of country songs, mostly from the 2000s, but occasionally going back to the 1980s, with current and recent hits in heavy rotation. Weekdays begin with "The Morning Rush" featuring Jonathan Rush and Kelly Nash. Overnights, WCOS-FM carries the

nationally syndicated Broadcast syndication is the practice of content owners leasing the right to broadcast their content to other television stations or radio stations, without having an official broadcast network to air it on. It is common in the United States whe ...

" CMT After Midnite." WCOS-FM is South Carolina's primary entry point station for the

History

WCOS-FM

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

in March 1951 as the

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 ...

of WCOS (1400 AM). It was Columbia's second FM station and originally broadcast on 97.9 MHz. Prior to 1963, it was on the air only during the evening hours. The separate programming featured Broadway showtunes,

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

, along with news from the

ABC Radio Network Cumulus Media Networks was an American radio network owned and operated by Cumulus Media. From 2011 until its merger with Westwood One, it controlled many of the radio assets formerly belonging to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC), which ...

. In the fall of 1963, the station began broadcasting in

FM stereo FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting that uses frequency modulation (FM) of the radio broadcast carrier wave. Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to transmit high-fidelity sound ...

and the hours were extended to the daytime. The morning show was a

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

of 1400 WCOS, which was hosted by Bob Fulton, the long-time announcer for

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

Gamecocks football. After 9 am, the format was

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

and beautiful music. The music was broadcast in mono until 6 pm, converting to stereo for the evening hours. In the late 1960s, WCOS-FM converted to a

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

format. Prior to the change, the station promoted the new format by announcing frequently that WCOS-FM was "going underground." By 1973, the station changed to country, adopting its longtime slogan "The Great 98." The country format has remained since. In 1991, the station upgraded its signal by changing the frequency from 97.9 MHz to 97.5 MHz and increasing its power to 100,000 watts. That made it one of the strongest FM signals in the Columbia radio market. In 1997, WCOS-AM-FM were acquired by Capstar, Inc. Then in 2000, Capstar, including WCOS-AM-FM, were acquired by

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

-based

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., or 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 founded by ...

.Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2005 page D-458
/ref> Clear Channel changed its name to iHeartMedia in 2014. WCOS-FM is co-owned with

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 ...

station WCOS (AM), CHR/Top 40 station WNOK, variety hits station WLTY,

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

station

WXBT WXBT (100.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to West Columbia, South Carolina and serving the Columbia metropolitan area (South Carolina), Columbia metropolitan area. It airs an urban ...

Black Information Network Black Information Network (BIN) is a Broadcast network, radio network and content brand owned by iHeartMedia. Launched on June 30, 2020, it is an all-news radio network of stations targeting African American communities, carrying mostly important ...

station 105.5 W288CX, and

talk radio 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. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

station

WVOC WVOC (560 AM broadcasting, AM) – branded ''News Radio 103.5 & 560 WVOC'' – is a commercial radio, commercial Talk radio, news/talk radio station licensed to serve Columbia, South Carolina. Owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., the station covers the ...

in the Columbia

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 ...

References

External links

Official website
* {{coord, 34.140, N, 81.056, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title COS-FM Radio stations established in 1951 Country radio stations in the United States 1951 establishments in South Carolina IHeartMedia radio stations