WMMR (93.3
FM, "93-3 WMMR") is a commercial radio station licensed to serve
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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 ...
. The station is owned by 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 ...
through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC and broadcasts an
active rock 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, ...
. The station's studios and offices are located in
Bala Cynwyd and the transmitter is atop
One Liberty Place at () in
Center City Philadelphia.
WMMR 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 ...
.
Its HD2 subchannel plays live rock performances and sessions in WMMR's studios.
WMMR carries
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team play ...
hockey games when its
all-sports sister station 97.5
WPEN is airing another sporting event and cannot broadcast the Flyers game. WMMR is the home of ''
Preston and Steve'', heard weekday mornings, and midday personality
Pierre Robert, heard on WMMR since 1981.
In 2014, WMMR was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
in its "Heritage Rock Stations" category.
History
1940s
On February 11, 1941, 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 ...
granted Pennsylvania Broadcasting Company a construction permit for a new FM station on 44.7 MHz on the original 42-50 MHz FM broadcast band with the W47PH
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 ...
. The construction permit was modified on November 4, 1941, when the FCC reallocated the station to 44.9 MHz with a corresponding call sign change to W49PH. The FCC also on this date granted the station authority for the first time to begin broadcasting.
The station
signed on for the first time on April 20, 1942,
and was granted its first license on March 2, 1943.
Programming was initially a
simulcast of sister station
AM 610 WIP.
On November 1, 1943, the station was assigned the WIP-FM call sign.
After the FCC created the current FM broadcast band on June 27, 1945, Pennsylvania Broadcasting applied to the FCC for a construction permit on October 24, 1946, to install a new transmitter and antenna for operation on 97.5 MHz. On July 10, 1947, the FCC reallocated the station to 93.3 MHz, modifying the construction permit. The commission granted Pennsylvania Broadcasting a new license for the station for operation on 93.3 MHz on December 22, 1948.
1950s and 1960s
In the 1950s and 1960s, WIP-FM carried a
full service format of
middle of the road (MOR) music, news, sports and talk. The station's license was voluntarily reassigned by the FCC to WIP Broadcasting, Inc. on September 17, 1958, followed by another voluntary reassignment to Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation on December 29, 1959. The FCC granted a licensee name change from Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation to
Metromedia, Inc. on May 11, 1961. On August 6, 1962, Metromedia applied for a construction permit to relocate the station's transmitter and antenna in Philadelphia from 35 South 9th Street to 12 South 12th Street at
the
Loews Philadelphia Hotel. This resulted in raising the station's
height above average terrain (HAAT) from 430 feet to 668 feet, while decreasing the station's
effective radiated power (ERP) from 20,000 watts to 7,500 watts. The FCC granted Metromedia a new license for the station with the new facilities on September 30, 1963.
On July 1, 1966, the station's call sign was changed to WMMR.
The call sign reflected the name of the station's owner, "Metromedia" (and "Radio"). From 1948 to 1993, WMMR was used unofficially as a slogan by a local student-run
carrier current
Carrier current transmission, originally called wired wireless, employs guided low-power Radio frequency, radio-frequency signals, which are transmitted along electrical conductors. The transmissions are picked up by receivers that are either conne ...
radio station at the
University of Minnesota
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities (historically known as University of Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint ...
. The MOR format was still being used, but with different programming from the AM side, although the AM disc jockeys' announcements were used for both stations. Studios of WIP and WMMR were on 19th Street near
Rittenhouse Square.
Beginning in 1968, WMMR began adopting 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, similar to that of several Metromedia-owned stations including
WNEW-FM
WNEW-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, ''NEW 102.7'') is a hot adult contemporary-Radio format, formatted radio station, City of license, licensed to New York, New York and owned by Audacy, Inc. The station's studios are located at the Audacy faci ...
in New York City. WNEW-FM and WMMR had a close relationship, ran similar promotions, and sometimes featured each other's disc jockeys on the air.
WMMS in
Cleveland
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
,
KMET in Los Angeles, and
KSAN in San Francisco were also part of the Metromedia chain and also helped pioneer the progressive rock format in the 1960s.
Dave Herman was WMMR's first rock DJ. His show, dubbed ''The Marconi Experiment,'' debuted on April 29, 1968.
Before Herman's arrival, WMMR ran an "MOR" format, including programs such as ''Sinatra and Company''. ''The Marconi Experiment'' was very much an experiment for the station, with progressive rock still new to the FM band. The first song played on the show was "
Flying" by
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
. Over the instrumental song, Herman recited these words: "Arise my heart, and fill your voice with music. For he who shares not dawn with his song, is one of the sons of ever darkness." This was known as "The Incantation" and continued as the regular show opening.
Several Philadelphia FM stations tried to compete with WMMR in the late 1960s, including
WIFI
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for Wireless LAN, local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by ...
and
WDAS-FM. Neither station stayed with the rock format for long. In 1970, WIFI switched to a
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, while WDAS-FM changed format around 1971 to reflect its AM counterpart as 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 ...
station.
1970s
Michael Cuscuna from the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...
's
WXPN replaced Herman in 1970, but was quickly hired away by WABC-FM (now
WPLJ) in New York City.
Michael Tearson, also from WXPN, replaced Cuscuna and remained a mainstay at WMMR for over 20 years. Herman went to WABC-FM and then for a couple of decades on WNEW-FM, and later on
WXRK. Tearson later worked at
WMGK in Philadelphia, from April 2002 until January 2013. He was also heard on
Sirius XM's
Deep Tracks channel.
Later in the 1970s, two other Philadelphia radio stations became competitors:
WYSP (formerly WIBG-FM) and
WIOQ. WYSP later became a
classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
outlet while WIOQ became a Top 40 radio station.
One of WMMR's most influential disc jockeys during the 1970s was
Ed Sciaky, who was known for playing and boosting the careers of new artists such as
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
and
Yes. Sciaky is credited with introducing
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
to Philadelphia, and decades later, the city remains one of Springsteen's strongest fan bases and the scenes of many of his best-received concerts. WMMR alumni include
David Dye, host of the ''
World Cafe'' on
WXPN and
syndicated on many
NPR stations. Another former WMMR DJ is Nick Spitzer, now a
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
resident and host of "
American Routes
''American Routes'' is a weekly two-hour public radio program that presents the breadth and depth of the American musical and cultural landscape. Hosted by Nick Spitzer, ''American Routes'' is syndicated by 225 stations, with over half a million ...
" on NPR. One-time WMMR midday DJ Dick Hungate later switched to
WYSP, pioneering the
classic rock
Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
format in Philadelphia.
John DeBella, now hosting mornings on co-owned
WMGK, was the morning
drive time DJ for many years, alongside newscaster and sidekick Mark "The Shark" Drucker, who later was a reporter on
all-news
All-news radio is a radio format devoted entirely to the discussion and broadcast of news.
All-news radio is available in both local and radio syndication, syndicated forms, and is carried on both major US satellite radio networks. All-news sta ...
KYW. Some WMMR DJs such as Dave Herman and
Carol Miller would later go onto longtime careers on New York stations.
1980s
On July 17, 1980, Metromedia applied for a construction permit to increase the station's ERP to 29,000 watts. The FCC granted the permit on July 17, 1981, followed by a new license with the upgraded facilities on August 1, 1981.
WMMR's license was transferred to Metropolitan Broadcasting Corporation on October 22, 1986.
On October 26, 1987, Metropolitan Broadcasting applied for a construction permit to change the transmitter location to "Building Rooftop 1650 Market St., Philadelphia, PA" (the address of
One Liberty Place) and increase the station's HAAT to . The FCC granted the permit on May 1, 1989. On October 26, 1989, WMMR was purchased by
Group W Radio Acquisition Company, with the sale consummating on December 7, 1989, thus becoming a sister station to
KYW-TV and
KYW radio.
1990s
Group W Radio modified the construction permit on February 12, 1992, by decreasing the HAAT to and changing the ERP to 18,000 watts. The FCC granted the change on March 9, 1992. The FCC granted a new license with the new facilities on January 6, 1997.
Greater Los Angeles Radio, Inc., a division 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 ...
, purchased WMMR, with the sale consummating on August 22, 1997.
2000s
In May 2005, the station began airing the ''
Preston & Steve'' show in morning drive, which was previously heard on
WPLY. In early 2006, WMMR launched its digital HD2 subchannel with the "WMMaRchives" format, airing the station's archive of live and studio performances.
2010s
On July 19, 2016,
Beasley Media Group announced it would acquire Greater Media and its 21 stations (including WMMR) for $240 million. The FCC approved the sale on October 6, and the sale closed on November 1.
2020s
In 2021, midday DJ
Pierre Robert celebrated his 40th year on the air at WMMR. The Philadelphia City Council passed a resolution to declare November 24 as Pierre Robert Day.
For many years, WMMR prided itself on having live and local DJs 24/7/365, a rarity in modern radio. This run would end in October 2022, when owners Beasley Media made major cuts to the staff of WMMR and other stations, resulting in the elimination of the live overnight block. Among those laid off were 18-year WMMR afternoon host Paul Jaxon.
Awards
In 2007, WMMR was nominated for the ''
Radio & Records'' magazine award for "
Active Rock Station of the Year" in a top 25 market. Other nominees included
WIYY in
Baltimore
Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
,
WAAF in
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 ...
,
KBPI in
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
,
WRIF in Detroit, and
KISW in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
.
In 2010, the station was honored by the
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a Industry trade group, trade association and lobbying, lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasting, broadcasters in th ...
with the
Marconi Award for "Rock Station of the Year". WMMR has also been honored as the Major Market Radio Station of the Year by the rock community
RadioContraband in both 2011 and 2012.
Radio Contraband.com
/ref> In the late 1980s, WMMR was recognized as one of the best rock stations in America by ''Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
Magazine''.
In 2014, WMMR was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
in the "Heritage Rock Stations" category.
References
External links
*
*
{{Authority control
1942 establishments in Pennsylvania
Active rock radio stations in the United States
MMR
Metromedia
Radio stations established in 1942
MMR