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WFNZ (610
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 ...
), known on air as "102.5 The Block", 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 ...
AM
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 ...
in
Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
. Owned by
Urban One Urban One, Inc. (formerly Radio One) is an American media conglomerate based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1980 by Cathy Hughes, the company primarily operates media properties targeting African Americans. It is the largest African-Ame ...
, the station airs an
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 ...
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, ...
. Its studios and offices are at 1 Julian Price Place. WFNZ uses a
directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...
and transmits with 5,000 watts by day. At night, it reduces power to 1,000 watts, sending most of its signal to the east, to avoid interfering with other stations on
AM 610 The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 610 kHz: The Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by ...
and adjacent frequencies. 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 at the site of its former studios on Radio Road in the Oakdale neighborhood of Northwest Charlotte. Programming is also heard on 200-watt
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 ...
W273DA at 102.5
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 ...
. That translator is fed by the HD2
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 compressi ...
of
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 ...
WOSF WOSF (105.3 FM) is an urban adult contemporary station licensed to Gaffney, South Carolina; serving the Charlotte, North Carolina market. WOSF is the Charlotte affiliate of the Rickey Smiley Morning Show. Owned by Urban One, the station's studi ...
(105.3 FM).


History


WAYS

The station first
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 1941 as WAYS. It was one of only three radio stations in Charlotte, and it was powered at 1,000 watts around the clock. WAYS was owned by the Inter-City Advertising Company and was an
affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation platfo ...
of the
NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Co ...
and
Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Golden Age of Radio, ...
. During one of the polio epidemics of the late 1940s, WAYS provided family programming for children who had to stay at home. By the 1950s, it increased its daytime power to 5,000 watts, using a directional antenna at night.


Top 40

By the 1960s, WAYS was Charlotte's lowest-rated station. Its studios were in such bad shape, cats were needed to control the rodents. Stan and Sis Kaplan of
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
bought WAYS in May 1965 for $550,000. Beginning in June of that year, "61 Big WAYS" aired an energetic
Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...
format which was considered by older residents to be "an alien sound in the Carolinas". It went to number one, surpassing longtime leader WBT, eventually becoming one of the highest-rated Top 40 stations in the country. One reason was the Treasure Hunt, where people had to listen to clues from "Mr. Treasure" (Jack Gale) telling them how to find a $1,000 coupon. News director C. Michael Blackwell would interview winners. Personalities included John Kilgo, Jack Pride, Tom Kinard, Jack Armstrong, Pete Ray of "The Pete Ray-D-O Show", Dick Blanchard, and Long John Silver. WAYS jocks who went on to greater fame included Morton Downey Jr., actor
Jay Thomas Jon "Jay" Thomas Terrell (July 12, 1948 – August 24, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, and radio personality. He was heard in New York from 1976–1979 on top-40 station 99X, and later on rhythmic CHR station 92KTU, and in Los Angeles ...
, and Robert Murphy (who had success in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
). Eventually, the morning show was simulcast on both WAYS and sister FM
WROQ WROQ (101.1 FM) is a classic rock radio station licensed to Anderson, South Carolina, and serving the Upstate South Carolina region, including Greenville and Spartanburg. The station has had a classic rock format since December 1, 1987. This ...
. Larry Sprinkle, now a
WCNC-TV WCNC-TV (channel 36) is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with NBC. The station is owned by Tegna Inc. WCNC-TV's studios are located in the Wood Ridge Center office complex off Billy Graham Parkway (Ch ...
morning weather personality, also worked at the stations. They were known for lampooning ''
The PTL Club ''The PTL Club'', also known as ''The Jim and Tammy Show'', was a Christian television program that was first hosted by evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, running from 1974 to 1989. The program was later known as ''PTL Today'' and as '' ...
'' with Bill Taker of the Pass the Loot Club.


Talk radio and oldies

However, due to rising popularity of music on
FM radio 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, high-f ...
, ratings for the station dropped, and on September 6, 1982, WAYS changed formats to a hybrid
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. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, interviews w ...
/
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...
format. WAYS would continue to simulcast Murphy's morning show, but much of the programming would come from ABC's Talkradio network. WAYS was one of 24 affiliates carrying programming from KABC and KGO such as
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
, Dr. Irene Kassoria, Dr. Toni Grant and Owen Spann. John Kilgo's "Inside Sports" continued from 6 to 8 pm. The ratings continued to slide. On August 20, 1984, the station switched its
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 as ...
to WROQ (AM) and flipped back to Top 40. It simulcast its
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 ...
WROQ-FM in morning and 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 c ...
s, while airing automated music in other time periods. In June 1986, it changed its calls to WAES (a phonetic version of the old call letters). It broadcast an
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 ...
format, briefly bringing back its old "61 Big WAYS" moniker. Also, in September of that year, the Kaplans sold the stations for $13 million to CRB Broadcasting, which would then sell them to Adams Radio in July 1988, then to Tenore Broadcasting in March 1989.


Adult standards and Z-Rock

However, WAES failed to make much headway in the ratings, despite playing many of the songs it played in its heyday. It carried the satellite-delivered Oldies Channel format. After 18 months, on June 27, 1988, WAES began airing the " AM Only"
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 ...
satellite format during the day, and talk show hosts Bruce Williams, Neil Myers and
Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American TV and radio host presenter, author, and former spokesman. He was a WMBM radio interviewer in the Miami area in the 1950s and 1960s and beginning in ...
at night. It brought back the WROQ call letters on January 18, 1990. It began playing heavy metal rock, flipping to the
Z-Rock Z Rock was a nationally Broadcast syndication#Radio syndication, syndicated radio network based in Dallas, Texas, that, from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, played Heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of ...
network, and rebranded as "Q61". The hard rock format only lasted a year.


Back to oldies

On January 15, 1991, 610 AM became WGKL, and reverted to oldies after Adams Radio re-acquired the two stations. WGKL aired the "
Kool Gold Classic Hits (known as Kool Gold until June 17, 2012) is a 24-hour music format produced by Westwood One. Its playlist is composed of oldies music from the mid-1960s to mid-1980s, from artists such as Billy Joel, The Beatles, The Temptations, Flee ...
" satellite format, while the FM aired its sister network "Pure Gold". In October of that year, the station became WAQS (another phonetic play on its old calls) while keeping the oldies format. The flip to oldies was part of a company-wide initiative where most of Adams' AM stations flipped to the format. However, this resulted in the bankruptcy of the company, with their stations being placed in receivership and being sold off one by one.


Sports talk

On August 31, 1992, 610 AM became Charlotte's first all-sports station as "Sports 610 AM WAQS". Gerry Vaillancourt, formerly of WCNT, was the station's first local sports talk host, debuting on September 14. Another local host was
Michele Tafoya Michele Tafoya (born 1964/1965) is an American reporter and retired sports broadcaster for CBS and NBC. Most notably, from 2011 to 2022, she worked primarily as a sideline reporter for ''NBC Sunday Night Football''. Over the course of her career ...
, who was then known on-air as Mickey Conley. In March 1993,
AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...
temporarily acquired WAQS and its FM sister station, WAQQ, while a permanent owner was being sought. Pyramid Broadcasting, then-owners of
WRFX WRFX (99.7 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station City of license, licensed to Kannapolis, North Carolina and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it airs a classic rock radio format, and ...
, bought the stations in September 1993, and WAQS became known as WRFX (AM). It began using the moniker "Fox 610 Sports" in May 1994. Pyramid merged with Evergreen Media in July 1995, resulting in WRFX-FM being spun off to SFX Broadcasting, and AM 610 going to Evergreen.


WFNZ

WRFX switched its call letters to WFNZ, on November 20, 1995, with the slogan "Where Fans Rule". In December 1996, WFNZ (and Evergreen's four other Charlotte stations) were swapped to
EZ Communications EZ Communications, Inc. was a corporation with its headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia. In the 1970s, the small company was one of the pioneers of the easy listening on the FM broadcasting radio spectrum with 2 stations in Manassas and Richmond. Wi ...
(Evergreen would receive EZ's Philadelphia stations
WIOQ WIOQ (102.1 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a contemporary hit radio radio format, format and is owned by iHeartMedia. The radio studio, studios and off ...
and
WUSL WUSL (98.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It carries a mainstream urban radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia The studios and offices are on Presidential Boulevard in Bala Cynwyd. WUSL is a ...
in return).
American Radio Systems American Radio Systems Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1993 until 1998. Its predecessor, Atlantic Ventures, was founded by Steven B. Dodge, Eric Schultz, Joseph Winn, and Michael Milsom. American Radio Systems was formed from ...
acquired EZ Communications in July 1997, followed by
Infinity Broadcasting Infinity Broadcasting Corporation was a radio company that existed from 1972 until 2005. It was founded by Michael A. Wiener and Gerald Carrus. It became associated with popular radio personalities like Howard Stern, Opie and Anthony, Don Im ...
's acquisition of ARS in September. Infinity was renamed to CBS Radio in December 2005. On April 1, 1996, Vaillancourt moved to WBT. One reason was that at WFNZ, he would have had to give up his role in
Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...
broadcasts. In 2003, WFNZ added a semi-satellite, WFNA, on 1660 AM after the FCC expanded the AM radio band. It replaced
Infinity Infinity is something which is boundless, endless, or larger than any natural number. It is denoted by \infty, called the infinity symbol. From the time of the Ancient Greek mathematics, ancient Greeks, the Infinity (philosophy), philosophic ...
-owned gospel station
WGIV (1600 AM) WGIV (1600 kHz) was a commercial AM radio station, licensed to Charlotte, North Carolina, and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. It was the first station in the Charlotte radio market to target the African-American audience full time. ...
, which left the air. (The
WGIV WGIV (1370 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Pineville, North Carolina, and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. It airs an mainstream urban radio format. WGIV is owned by Frank Neely, but the station is operated by Steve ...
call letters are now on a different station in the Charlotte area, under different ownership.) The two stations, known as "The Franchise", simulcast on weekdays and had separate schedules during nights and weekends. From 2006 to 2012, WFNZ was the Charlotte-area home of
North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...
football and basketball, previously heard on WBT. WBT sales director Steve Sklenar said the games pre-empted
John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...
's show and, during the ACC Tournament,
Rush Limbaugh Rush Hudson Limbaugh III ( ; January 12, 1951 – February 17, 2021) was an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative political commentator who was the host of ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'', which first aired in 1984 and was nati ...
. WBT wanted the games, Sklenar said, because its powerful 50,000-watt signal brought the Tar Heels to most of the East Coast at night. However, the pre-emptions cost the station a lot of money. In contrast, WFNZ could use WFNA to air
Charlotte 49ers The Charlotte 49ers are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina. The 49ers compete at the Nati ...
basketball even when there was a conflict.


Strong signal

For many years, WFNZ boasted the second-strongest signal in the Charlotte area, at 5,000 watts (which is stronger at 610 AM than it would be on a higher frequency). However,
WCRU WCRU (960 kHz) is an AM radio station licensed to Dallas, North Carolina and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Christian talk and teaching radio format and is owned by the Truth Broadcasting Corporation. ...
and sister WBCN (formerly WFNA) operated at 10,000 watts. During the day, it provides at least grade B coverage to 35 counties in North and
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
. However, it must power down to 1,000 watts at night due to a large glut of
clear-channel station A clear-channel station is a North American AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classification exists to ensure the viability of cross ...
s on nearby channels. This makes WFNZ hard to hear even in some parts of Mecklenburg County and all but unlistenable in much of the South Carolina portion of the market. Due to its nighttime signal limitations, UNC signed up WFNZ's former FM sister WRFX to simulcast Tar Heel basketball games from 2008 to 2011, as well as any football games kicking off after 5 pm.
WNOW-FM WHHH (100.9 FM, "Hot 100.9") is a radio station licensed to Speedway, Indiana. Owned by Urban One, it broadcasts an mainstream urban format serving the Indianapolis metropolitan area. Its studios are co-located with its sister stations at Mer ...
took over this duty for the 2011–12 season, after which the Tar Heels moved back to WBT full-time. Shortly after WBCN broke off from WFNZ, two of the other stations in CBS Radio's Charlotte cluster,
WPEG WPEG (97.9 FM, "Power 98") is a mainstream urban radio station serving the Charlotte, North Carolina, market. It is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group. The station's studios are located on South Boulevard in the city's South End, and a transmit ...
and WBAV, added WFNZ to their digital subcarriers to improve WFNZ's nighttime signal. WFNZ ran a tailgate prior to
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
home games at the station's "Doghouse" located near
Bank of America Stadium Bank of America Stadium is a 74,867-seat multi-purpose stadium located on in the Uptown section of Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It is the home facility and headquarters of the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL ...
. In November 2007, the station went through a scheduling change when the station lost its syndication of "The Bill Rosinski Show" after the Charis Radio Network cancelled the show. Instead of picking up syndication from Sporting News Radio or ESPN Radio, the station added a one-hour show featuring Chuck Howard and added an hour to the "Mac Attack" show. On October 1, 2008, Howard announced that he was leaving the station to become the producer for
NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...
Media Group. A new show featuring former
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...
players Frank Garcia and Brentson Buckner began airing on October 6, 2008.


610 The Fan

On September 14, 2009, WFNZ changed its branding from "The Franchise" to "The Fan", moving in some
ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...
programming from 1660 AM and dropping
Sporting News Radio SportsMap was a sports radio network that was distributed by Gow Media. The SportsMap Radio Network supplied its network affiliates with a 24-hour schedule of sports programming, including call-in shows and sports updates. Over its history, thro ...
programming. WBCN, formerly WFNA, broke from the simulcast and flipped to a
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 ...
format as "America's Talk 1660". November 24, 2010, was the last day for Mark Packer, host of the station's most popular show "Primetime with the Packman", and a WFNZ host for 13 years. His show was syndicated to 14 stations in markets that include
Raleigh Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...
,
Greensboro Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, af ...
and Charleston. Though Packer, son of
Billy Packer Anthony William Packer (born Anthony William Paczkowski; February 25, 1940 – January 26, 2023) was an American college basketball player, sportscaster, and author. Packer spent more than three decades working as a color analyst for television ...
, continued his "Southern Fried Football" and "Packman on Sports" on the
WJZY WJZY (channel 46) is a television station licensed to Belmont, North Carolina, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for the Charlotte area. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Rock Hill, South Carolina–licensed MyNetworkTV affi ...
10:00 newscast, he would be off Charlotte radio due to a
non-compete clause In contract law, a non-compete clause (often NCC), restrictive covenant, or covenant not to compete (CNC), is a clause under which one party (usually an employee) agrees not to enter into or start a similar profession or trade in competition again ...
until July 2011. On August 8, 2011, WZGV took over ESPN Radio programming from WFNZ, which aired the network mostly at night.
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 ...
would be used for night and weekend slots. May 14, 2014, was the last day for Marc James, host of "The Drive with Marc James". He announced it on the air and on Twitter.


Beasley and Entercom ownership

On October 2, 2014, CBS Radio announced that it would trade all of their
Tampa Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa'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 t ...
and Charlotte stations (including WFNZ), as well as
WIP (AM) WTEL (610 kHz), branded "Philadelphia's BIN 610", is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Philadelphia and serving the Delaware Valley, including parts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. While owned by the Beasley Broadcast Grou ...
in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
to the
Beasley Broadcast Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owns 57 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Bea ...
in exchange for five stations located in Miami and Philadelphia.CBS And Beasley Swap Philadelphia/Miami For Charlotte/Tampa
from Radio Insight (October 2, 2014)
The swap was completed on December 1, 2014. On July 25, 2016, WFNZ added a
translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''trans ...
at 102.5 FM. On October 18, 2016, Beasley announced that WFNZ and its FM translator would be sold to
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corp., it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning over 220 radio stations across 47 media ...
, pending FCC approval. The move comes after Beasley's acquisition of
Greater Media Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, was an American media company that specialized in radio stations. The markets where they owned radio stations included Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey. The comp ...
which locally owned WBT AM/FM and
WLNK WLNK (107.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Charlotte, North Carolina. The station is owned by Urban One and broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. Its studios are located at One Julian Price Place on West Morehea ...
. Those stations were to be spun off to a divestiture trust to stay under ownership limits, but were also sold to Entercom as well. Upon the completion of the Greater Media-Beasley merger on November 1, Entercom began operating the stations via a time brokerage agreement, which lasted until the sale was consummated on January 10, 2017.


Sale to Urban One

On November 5, 2020,
Urban One Urban One, Inc. (formerly Radio One) is an American media conglomerate based in Silver Spring, Maryland. Founded in 1980 by Cathy Hughes, the company primarily operates media properties targeting African Americans. It is the largest African-Ame ...
agreed to a station swap with Entercom involving four stations in
Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
,
St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
and Washington, D.C. to Entercom in exchange for their cluster of Charlotte stations, including WFNZ. As part of the terms of the deal, Urban One took over operations via a
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 ...
on November 23. The swap was consummated on April 20, 2021. With the Urban One acquisition, WFNZ offered local sports hosts weekdays from 6 a.m. to 7 pm. On nights and weekends, it carried programming from
CBS Sports Radio Infinity Sports Network is an American sports radio network. It debuted as CBS Sports Radio with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013. Infinity Sports Network is programmed by Audacy, Inc ...
. WFNZ served as 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 loyal ...
for the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
'S
Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...
and
Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...
's
Charlotte FC Charlotte Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the e ...
. In January 2022, MLS expansion team
Charlotte FC Charlotte Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the e ...
announced a radio partnership with Radio One that made WFNZ the team's radio flagship. Since the Hornets had priority on WFNZ, when both teams were playing at the same time, the Charlotte FC broadcast moved to sister station WBT.


Urban contemporary

WFNZ programming was dropped from the 102.5 translator on February 28, 2022. The translator flipped to an
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 ...
-
hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
format, "102.5 The Block", carried through the HD2 channel of WOSF. Following a transition period, sister station WFNZ-FM (92.7), which (as WQNC) had served as the previous outlet for "The Block", became the new FM simulcast of WFNZ. After 30 years of broadcasting the sports format on AM, WFNZ split from its FM simulcast at midnight EST on September 19, 2022, and began simulcasting "102.5 The Block". DJ Ace, formerly of WQNC, joined the station as afternoon host on November 14.


Notable staff


DJs

*
Jay Thomas Jon "Jay" Thomas Terrell (July 12, 1948 – August 24, 2017) was an American actor, comedian, and radio personality. He was heard in New York from 1976–1979 on top-40 station 99X, and later on rhythmic CHR station 92KTU, and in Los Angeles ...


Former talk hosts

* Morton Downey Jr.


Former sports talk hosts

* Brentson Buckner *
Steve Czaban Steve Czaban (pronounced ZAY-ben; born June 1, 1968) is an American sports radio personality. Czaban hosts ''The Steve Czaban Show'' on 97.3 The Game. He also formerly hosted ''The Steve Czaban Show'' on Yahoo! Sports Radio and formerly hosted ...
* Frank Garcia: Co-host of "Bustin' Loose With Frank Garcia *
Muhsin Muhammad Muhsin Muhammad II (; born Melvin Darnell Campbell Jr. May 5, 1973) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Muhammad played ...
*
Bill Rosinski Bill Rosinski is an American sportscaster and talk show host, operating primarily out of Charlotte, North Carolina. Rosinski currently works for ESPN Radio as its lead college football and college basketball commentator, as well as for ISP Sport ...


References


The Mac Attack visits WCCB



External links

* * {{Urban One
FNZ FNZ (also known as Finatik N Zac) are an Australian record production duo composed of Michael "Finatik" Mulé and Isaac "Zac" De Boni. The group was formed in 2009, signing to fellow producer Jim Jonsin's Rebel Rock Entertainment the following ...
Radio stations established in 1941 Urban One stations 1941 establishments in North Carolina Urban contemporary radio stations in the United States