WIWF (96.9 FM) 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 ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, broadcasting to the

Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an impor ...

area South Carolina. 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 airs a classic hits

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, ...

branded as "96.9 The Wolf." The syndicated John Boy & Billy show, from

Premiere Networks Premiere Networks, Inc. (formerly Premiere Radio Networks, shortened as PRN) is an American media company, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, for which it currently serves as its main original radio content distribution and production arm. It is th ...

, is heard weekday mornings on WIWF, with local DJs heard the rest of the day. WIWF's studios are located in

North Charleston North Charleston is a city in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. As ...

. WIWF's

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 ...

tower is off Seewee Road in Awendaw. Its effective radiated power is 99,000

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 (100,000 with

beam tilt Beam tilt is used in radio to aim the main lobe of the vertical plane radiation pattern of an antenna below (or above) the horizontal plane. The simplest way is mechanical beam tilt, where the antenna is physically mounted in such a manner a ...

). The antenna

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) is 539 meters (1,758 feet).

History

The station

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 April 1, 1948, as WCSC-FM, the FM sister to WCSC (now

WSPO WSPO (1390 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Charleston, South Carolina. This station is owned by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Charleston Radio Group. It airs an urban gospel radio format. The studios are east of t ...

). WCSC-FM was Charleston's second FM station, going on the air a year after WTMA-FM (now

WSSX-FM WSSX-FM (95.1 Hertz#SI multiples, MHz, "95SX") is a Contemporary hit radio, top 40 (CHR) radio station located in Charleston, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with an effective r ...

). WCSC-AM-FM were CBS Radio

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 ...

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) ...

ing CBS's schedule of dramas, comedies, news and sports. As network programming moved from radio to television, WCSC-AM-FM switched to a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: Entertainment Books * ''Full Service'' (book), a 2012 memoir by Scotty Bowers * '' Full Service No Waiting'', a 1998 album by Peter Case Music * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block fr ...

middle of the road format of popular adult music, news and sports. In the late 1960s, 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 ...

began requiring FM stations to end their simulcasts; WCSC-FM would switch to a beautiful music format. To give it a separate identity from WCSC, the FM station became WXTC-FM in 1973, calling itself "Ecstasy." In 1985, the station flipped to

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 ...

, and in the second half of the 1990s, WXTC-FM downgraded its format to

soft 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 ...

, which then later flipped to

smooth jazz Smooth jazz is commercially oriented crossover jazz music. Although often described as a "genre", it is a debatable and highly controversial subject in jazz music circles. As a radio format, however, smooth jazz radio became the successor to e ...

(as WJZK) in 1996. In 1997, the format would switch again, this time to 1970s hits, and adopt the WSUY call letters. The format would shift towards its former adult contemporary format in the 2000s. On October 11, 2007, after a day of redirecting listeners to sister station

WSSX WSSX-FM (95.1 Hertz#SI multiples, MHz, "95SX") is a Contemporary hit radio, top 40 (CHR) radio station located in Charleston, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with an effective r ...

, WSUY dropped the AC format and flipped to

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 ...

as "96.9 The Wolf." This came shortly before

Citadel Broadcasting Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company founded and developed by Larry Wilson. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the count ...

moved its Charleston country outlet,

WNKT WNKT (107.5 FM) is a sports radio station licensed to Eastover, South Carolina, and serves the Columbia, South Carolina, market. The Cumulus Media outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with an effective r ...

, into the

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 ...

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 ...

. With the change to The Wolf, Citadel Broadcasting had a country music station in the Charleston market, even after WNKT relocated, to compete with rival country music station

WEZL WEZL (103.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Charleston, South Carolina, and serving the Lowcountry. It broadcasts a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. WEZL carries two nationally syndicated progr ...

, owned by

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 ...

(now iHeartMedia). However, the changes left Charleston without any adult contemporary-formatted stations. Shortly after the flip to country, the WSUY call letters were changed to WIWF. (

WXLY WXLY (102.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to North Charleston, South Carolina, and serving the Charleston metropolitan area, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The station airs an adult contemporary radio format branded ''Y102.5'' with ...

would soon become an adult contemporary station.) Citadel merged with

on September 16, 2011. On February 3, 2014, WIWF, along with nine other Cumulus owned country music stations, made the switch to the "

Nash FM Nash is a media brand owned by Cumulus Media. It covers country music-related properties owned by Cumulus, including radio stations, digital properties and publications ('' Nash Country Daily''), Nash TV (a video on-demand service operated in pa ...

" branding. Jessica Chandler and Jay Shadix moved to afternoons as their morning show was replaced by '' America's Morning Show''. On November 19, 2018, WIWF dropped the "Nash FM" branding and the country music format for the return of the "96.9 The Wolf" branding, and began playing

Christmas music Christmas music comprises a variety of Music genre, genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas and holiday season, Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or in the case of Christmas ...

for the holiday season. On December 26, 2018, WIWF launched a classic hits format, retaining the "Wolf" branding.Cumulus Launches Classic Hits 96.9 The Wolf Charleston
Radioinsight - December 26, 2018 WIWF also brought in the syndicated John Boy & Billy radio show for mornings, based at

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 ...

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 ...

. The playlist primarily consists of 1970s and 1980s rock, pop/rock, and soft rock hits from artists such as Foreigner,

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 ...

Steve Miller Band The Steve Miller Band is an American rock music, rock band formed in San Francisco, California in 1966. The band is led by Steve Miller (musician), Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals. The group had a string of mid- to late-1970s hit singles ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Eagles Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of Genus, genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus ''Aquila ( ...

, and

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He was the leader and frontman of the Rock music, rock bands Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Mudcrutch and a member of the late 1980s sup ...

References

External links

WIWF Official Website
*
WXTC video from 1986
{{coord, 32.925, N, 79.699, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title Classic hits radio stations in the United States IWF Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1948 1948 establishments in South Carolina