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WOAP (1080 AM) 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 ...
broadcasting
Regional Mexican Regional Mexican music refers collectively to the regional subgenres of the country music of Mexico and its derivatives from the Southwestern United States. Each subgenre is representative of a certain region and its popularity also varies by ...
Syndication of WMJH. Licensed to
Owosso, Michigan Owosso () is the largest city in Shiawassee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 14,714 at the 2020 census. It is located west of Flint, and northeast of Lansing. The city is mostly surrounded by Owosso Township on its we ...
, it serves Shiawassee County. While the station is a
daytimer 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 ...
, licensed to operate during daylight hours only, its programming is heard around the clock on its
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 ...
W276CZ (103.1 MHz) in Saginaw.


FM Translator

WOAP operates a 250-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 ...
which
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) ...
s WOAP, and broadcasts 24 hours a day to the immediate Owosso and Corunna areas. Although licensed to
Saginaw Saginaw () is a city in Saginaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. It had a population of 44,202 at the 2020 census. Located along the Saginaw River, Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of ...
, the translator's signal does not reach that city.


History

WOAP
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 on January 1, 1948. It was founded as an AM/FM combo station by the local daily newspaper. The call letters stand for Owosso ''
Argus-Press ''The Argus-Press'' is a daily newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers ca ...
''. The AM station was, and still is, a daytime-only station, while the FM station was intended to provide full-time service to the Owosso area. But at that time, there were few FM radios so WOAP-FM went silent by 1953. A decade later, there were enough FM radios on the air to allow WOAP-FM to return to the air on December 2, 1965. Because the Argus-Press had a media
monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...
in the Owosso area at that time with its daily newspaper and two radio stations, 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 ...
(FCC) forced the Argus-Press to sell the radio stations in 1987. The FM station is known today as 103.9 WRSR. In the late 1990s, the Michigan Radio Group sold both stations. Connoisseur Communications then assumed ownership of both, turning WMZX into a more regional station serving the Flint area while still licensed to Owosso. WOAP adopted an
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 ...
music format in 1995 after WFDF 910 AM dropped the format in favor of talk. The weaker WOAP, with its daytime-only signal, was then sold the following year to Hartman Broadcasting, which continued to operate WOAP as a local service, still retaining the standards format and imaging it as ''Great American Classics''. Less than two years later, Hartman Broadcasting sold WOAP to 1090 Investments, which immediately applied to the FCC for a
construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...
to move the station's operations to Waverly, located in Lansing's suburbs. The move would have allowed WOAP to increase its daytime power to 50,000 watts and add nighttime power authorization of 4,500 watts. Three years after the application was received, the FCC chose to dismiss the application, presumably under the likelihood that granting the station nighttime power would cause interference to WTIC in
Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...
and KRLD in
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, the Class A
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 AM 1080. In January 2006, WOAP dropped its full service
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 ...
format and adopted
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Religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...
programming. Three months later, 1090 Investments requested a
Special Temporary Authority Special Temporary Authority (STA) in U.S. broadcast law is a type of broadcast license which temporarily allows a broadcast station to operate outside of its normal technical or legal parameters. In the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) st ...
(STA) to take the station
dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...
, citing financial difficulties. The station remained off the air for almost a year. Four months after going dark, the station applied for reinstatement to move its facilities to Waverly and increase its daytime power, but withdrew its application for nighttime power. However, 1090 Investments pleaded for the FCC in its engineering presentation to be considered for nighttime power again, citing that denying Waverly local radio service in favor of a Connecticut station that had no local presence in Michigan would hurt its attempts to serve its community in an adequate fashion. In March 2007, WOAP was granted permission to move from Owosso to Waverly and increase its power with a six-tower directional antenna system to be built in Ingham County, about 20 miles south of Lansing. The station also returned to the air with a simulcast of the
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 ...
programming on
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 ...
1090 WCAR in
Livonia, Michigan Livonia ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A western suburb of Detroit, Livonia is located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 95,535. Originally organized as ...
. Despite the good news, WOAP again applied for a silent STA, going dark again on July 20, 2007. WOAP applied for an extension to stay off the air on January 8, 2008, citing ongoing financial difficulties. The request was granted on February 25, 2008. The STA extension expired on July 21, 2008. The station returned to the air in mid-July 2008 simulcasting co-owned WCAR, but fell silent once again on August 18, 2008. On July 21, 2008 (the day that WOAP's STA extension was set to expire), local webcaster Mint City Radio launched WOAP Online, an internet-only radio station patterned after the old WOAP's full service format. WOAP Online was programmed as a local radio station, featured music from the 1970s-90s, agricultural features, local announcements and old-time radio shows. WOAP Online has also featured coverage of local events, such as the Clinton County 4-H Youth Fair and Saint Johns Mint Festival (including coverage of the annual Mint Festival Parade). In September 2008, the station again applied for permission to remain silent due to "ongoing financial problems." As a matter of general FCC policy, financial causes are not sufficient reason to remain silent and still retain the license - the reason must be something "beyond the control" of the licensee. In May 2009, 1090 Investments sold its radio stations, including WOAP, to
Birach Broadcasting Corporation Birach Broadcasting Corporation is a company based in Southfield, Michigan, USA, that owns several AM radio stations and, formerly, one low-power television (LPTV Low-power broadcasting is broadcasting by a broadcast station at a low transm ...
. At that point, Mint City Radio dropped the WOAP moniker for its webcasts effective June 1. When the new management entered the studios for the first time on July 18, they found that practically nothing worked and the roof leaked. They had to rebuild the station and had a deadline from the FCC of August 18 to get the station back on the air or lose the operating license. The station returned to the air branded as ''The Big 1080'' on August 14, 2009, with 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 from its Owosso studio location. As the station returned to the air, the master control studio was being rebuilt and the neon WOAP sign, which had not worked for several years, was being repaired. WOAP announced on the air that Birach Broadcasting had ended its plans to move the station to the Lansing area. "The Big 1080" returned the traditional oldies format to a large chunk of mid-Michigan that had been without the format for some time, as the Lansing market no longer has an oldies station. WOAP was also the only station serving the Flint market with a 1950s-1970s nostalgia-based format, as WFNT, which had been airing
Citadel Media 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), whi ...
's Timeless Favorites format, changed to a News/Talk format in February 2010. WOAP carried Spartan Nation Radio which covers
Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...
athletics weeknights from 6 to 9. The station began 24-hour streaming audio on the
World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW or simply the Web) is an information system that enables Content (media), content sharing over the Internet through user-friendly ways meant to appeal to users beyond Information technology, IT specialists and hobbyis ...
in September 2010. Weekend programming included two syndicated programs,
Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...
's ''Rock, Roll & Remember'' and Dick Bartley's ''Classic Countdown''. Also included in the weekend lineup was a Sunday morning church service and a local
Polka Polka is a dance style and genre of dance music in originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though generally associated with Czech and Central European culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the ...
program. Spanish language and music programming was later added to weekend afternoons. As of February 2012, WOAP began broadcasting in C-Quam AM Stereo. On April 10, 2012, Birach sold WOAP and WMJH AM 810 in Grand Rapids to Cano's Broadcasting Company, pending FCC approval. Total combined sale for both stations was $1.1-million in the form of a promissory note. However, as of October 2015, no record had yet been filed with the FCC that the sale had been consummated, and the station's license was renewed to Birach on April 9, 2015. WOAP continued to carry Oldies with the evening sports talk show "Spartan Nation Radio" hosted by Hondo Carpenter. After three weeks of stunting with music of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, WOAP re-launched as "Super Hits 10-8-O" at the beginning of March 2013. The oldies format at that time evolved into more of a classic hits/oldies hybrid, with more 1980s music added into rotation. On July 1, 2013, the station changed to a Spanish language format full time. After this flip, much of the format and presentation was moved onto WMJH, effectively resulting in a format swap between the two stations. On February 2, 2015, the Spanish format was dropped and replaced with an adult hits format, this time an emphasis on 1980s and 1990s rock and pop music. On September 4, 2015, WOAP added an
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 ...
station, W276CZ''. It
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) ...
s WOAP and operates 24 hours a day. The FM signal serves the immediate Owosso/Corunna area. On September 2, 2015, Birach Broadcasting again sold WOAP and sister station WMJH to Cano's Broadcasting, LLC. The sale, at a price of $1.1 million, was consummated on January 1, 2016. On September 1, 2021, WOAP changed formats from adult hits to a hybrid rock/alternative/CHR format, branded as "103.1 Portal FM".WOAP Opens A Portal To Rock/Alternative/CHR Hybrid
Radioinsight - September 8, 2021 After only four months, the "Portal" programming ended and the station returned to Regional Mexican as a simulcast of sister station WMJH.


Previous logo


References


Sources


WOAP Online - Lansing State Journal FCC Memorandum Opinion And Order granting WOAP night time operation


External links


103.1 Portal FM Online
* * {{Daytime-only radio stations in Michigan OAP Radio stations established in 1948 Shiawassee County, Michigan 1948 establishments in Michigan OAP