WESC-FM (92.5

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 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 ...

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville ( ; ) is a city in Greenville County, South Carolina, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, sixth-most pop ...

, serving the Upstate region, including Greenville,

Spartanburg Spartanburg is a city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city had a population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-most populous city in the state. The Office of Management and Budg ...

and

Anderson, South Carolina Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 28,106 at the 2020 census, making it the 16th-most populous city in South Carolina. It is one of the principal cities in the Gree ...

, as well as

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

. It airs a classic country

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station goes by the name "92.5 WESC" and its slogan is "Carolina's Best Country And Your All-Time Favorites". iHeart owns three country stations in the

market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market *Marketing, the act of sat ...

: WSSL-FM 100.5 has a contemporary country format, while

WESC WeSC (short for "We are the Superlative Conspiracy") is a Swedish clothing brand that is primarily influenced by skateboarding and snowboarding. The company's CEO is Joseph Janus. Retail outlets In 2009, WeSC signed an exclusive retail deal wi ...

660 AM and WESC-FM 92.5

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) ...

classic country hits. The

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s and offices are on North Main Street in downtown Greenville. 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 along the

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border, off YMCA Camp Road, east of Cedar Mountain, North Carolina. WESC-FM broadcasts using

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 ...

History

Early years

WESC-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 ...

the air in March 1948 as the FM

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 ...

660,

ing its country music format. In the late 1960s, WESC-FM switched to beautiful music while WESC 660 remained a country outlet. WESC-AM-FM returned to a country music simulcast in the 1980s, although there were times the AM station aired separate programming, leaning toward classic country. WESC-AM-FM were acquired in 1998 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 ...

. In 2014, Clear Channel changed its name to

iHeartMedia 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 ...

. In 2000, the simulcast was split apart. WESC-FM retained its country format, while WESC 660 was leased to the Radio Training Network, which programmed a

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

format in conjunction with 89.3

WLFJ-FM WLFJ-FM (89.3 MHz) is a non-commercial radio station, licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, and serving the Upstate, including Spartanburg, Anderson and Clemson. Owned by the Radio Training Network, it broadcasts a Contemporary Christian ...

. The

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 ...

(LMA) ended in August 2019, after which the two stations returned to their prior simulcast.

Move toward classic country

In 2001, WESC-FM adjusted its format to

classic A classic is an outstanding example of a particular style; something of Masterpiece, lasting worth or with a timeless quality; of the first or Literary merit, highest quality, class, or rank – something that Exemplification, exemplifies its ...

-leaning country, in a move to separate itself from co-owned 100.5 WSSL-FM, which has a more youthful country sound. Although there is overlap with WSSL-FM, WESC distinguished itself by playing more 'genuine/raw' current selections along with hits from the early 1990s and before, sometimes going back to the 1970s. In the late 2010s, the station abandoned all current or recurrent hits and now strictly plays country music from the 1980s through the 2000s, with an occasional 1970s or earlier and song from the early 2010s played. WESC is the area's

network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

for

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athletics as well as

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, often calling itself "Your Racin' Station". WESC-FM has a half-century heritage as a country music station. In the 1980s and 90s, it was sometimes #1 in the Greenville-Spartanburg

Arbitron ratings Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...

Country Heartlines

WESC-FM was the home station for the syndicated radio show "Country Heartlines", hosted by John Crenshaw. A nationalized version of Crenshaw’s Cryin’ Lovin’ Laugin’ or Leavin’ show, the program was popular in the 1990s and at one time was carried on over 80 FM stations across the country. The show consisted of a format of country songs played in between callers calling in with a mix of relationship and love related problems, of which Crenshaw and other listeners would give advice and a lending ear. The syndicated show fully ended in 2011.

Transmitter

WESC-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

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s, the highest power permitted for most FM stations.FCC.gov/WESC-FM
/ref> The

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

has a

height above average terrain Height above average terrain (HAAT), or (less popularly) effective height above average terrain (EHAAT), is the vertical position of an antenna site above the surrounding landscape. HAAT is used extensively in FM radio and television, as it is ...

(HAAT) of 610 meters (2,001 ft). The transmitter is located near

Caesars Head State Park Caesars Head State Park is a park in northern Greenville County, South Carolina, that borders Transylvania County, North Carolina, and is reached via US 276. The eponymous rock formation, one of the highest points in Greenville County, is a gra ...

in northern Greenville County, near the

state line. WESC-FM can be heard across most of Northwestern or

Upstate South Carolina The Upstate, historically known as the Upcountry, is a region of the U.S. state of South Carolina, comprising the northwesternmost area of the state. Although loosely defined among locals, the general definition includes the 10 counties of the ...

and Western North Carolina, as well as part of Northeastern

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and a small portion of Eastern

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. The signal comes close to other nearby

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 ...

s, including Charlotte,

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, Columbia,

Knoxville Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

and the Tri-Cities. The station also has an auxiliary transmitter that operates at 100,000 watts ERP which is shared with the main WESC AM tower.

References

External links

WESC-FM official website
* {{IHeartMedia ESC-FM Classic country radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations