WPAD (1560 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

format. Licensed to

Paducah, Kentucky Paducah ( ) is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in the Upland South, and the county seat of McCracken County, Kentucky, United States. The most populous city in the Jackson Purchase region, it is located in the Southeastern Unit ...

, United States. The station is owned by the Bristol Broadcasting Company, Inc.

1560 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 1560 kHz: 1560 AM is classified as a United States clear-channel frequency by the Federal Communications Commission. KNZR Bakersfield and WFME New York City share Class A status of 15 ...

is a United States

clear-channel A clear-channel station is a North American AM broadcasting, AM radio station that has the highest level of protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly from nighttime skywave signals. This classifi ...

frequency; KNZR and WFME share Class A status on this frequency.

History

Early years

WPAD is the fifth oldest radio broadcasting station in Kentucky, founded in 1930 by Pierce Lackey, with its inaugural broadcast taking place on August 23, billed as "The Voice of Western Kentucky." The opening of this station marked the return of radio in Paducah after the shutdown of the short-lived WIAR, which operated from 1922 until 1924. WPAD initially broadcast on 1420 kHz with a 100 watt signal.

Ohio River Flood of 1937

WPAD was one of several radio stations that was impacted by the infamous

Ohio River flood of 1937 The Ohio River flood of 1937 took place in late January and February 1937. With damage stretching from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Cairo, Illinois, 385 people died, one million people were left homeless and property losses reached $500 million ...

; the station was temporarily relocated to a garage in Avondale Heights in order to remain of the air.

Power increases and CBS affiliation

In 1941, the power was increased to 250 watts, and the frequency was changed to 1450 kHz. In 1943, the station joined the

CBS radio network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

. In 1946, WPAD-FM (now WDDJ) was established as the first FM broadcasting station in the state, continuing with FM simulcast of the AM until the 1970s. In 1962, the power was increased to 1,000 watts.

Ownership changes

In 1967, Lackey died and the station was purchased by

Union City, Tennessee Union City is a city in and the county seat of Obion County, Tennessee, United States. 11,170 people were living in the town as of the 2020 census. It is the principal urban settlement of the surrounding micropolitan area, which includes Obion Cou ...

, businessman Ed Fritts and his wife, Ruth, for a price of $158,000. In the 1970s, the FM call letters were changed to WDDJ and the FM programming was changed to progressive rock. In 1984, the stations were sold to Bill Bereman of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, who would later sell the station to Purchase Broadcasting (presided by Lee Hagan) in 1991. In 1996, the stations were purchased by Bristol Broadcasting, owner of WKYX and WKYQ. WPAD exchanged frequencies with WDXR, and continued to operate on 1560 kHz with an "oldies" format.

Recent developments

On October 22, 2014, WPAD was granted a

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 ...

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 decrease day power to 1,000 watts and decrease night power to 35 watts. The license to cover for the new facility was granted on April 28, 2017.

Programming

Weekdays

*'' Erik Kuselias – The Erik Kuselias Show'' – 5a-6a *''The Jeff Bidwell Show'' – 6a-9a *''Kentucky Sports Radio'' – 9a-11a *''

The Dan Patrick Show ''The Dan Patrick Show'' is a syndicated radio and television sports talk show, hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. It is currently produced by Patrick and is syndicated to radio stations by Premiere Radio Networks, within and inde ...

'' – 11a-2p (Tape Delayed) *''The

Rich Eisen Richard Eisen ( ; born June 24, 1969) is an American television sportscaster and radio host. Since 2003, he has worked for NFL Network as a host of various pregame, halftime, and postgame shows and doing occasional play-by-play. He also hosts ...

Show'' – 2p-5p (Tape Delayed) *''

Steve Gorman Steve Gorman (born August 17, 1965) is an American musician and radio host. He is best known as the former drummer of the American rock and roll band The Black Crowes. He spent time as the drummer for British rock band Stereophonics. He also hos ...

Sports'' – 5p-7p * J.T. The Brick w/ Tomm Looney – 7p-10p *The Jason Smith Show w/ Mike Harmon - 10p-1a *

The Ben Maller Show Benjamin "Big Ben" Maller (born April 29, 1975) is an American sports radio host who hosts a The Ben Maller Show, weekday radio show on Fox Sports Radio, which airs 11pm-3am PT/2am-6am ET. Maller is considered one of the first influential sports ...

w/ Eddie Garcia – 1a-5aWeekday lineup
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Special Programming

*McCracken County High School Sports *Live Church Programming (Sundays 10a-Noon) *

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (colloquially referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Predators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Divisio ...

Radio Network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass media, mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio (Duplex (teleco ...

(limited) (

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

) *

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

(

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

) *Marshall Toy Sports Show (Mondays 5p-7p)

References

External links

* * * * {{Sports Radio Stations in Kentucky PAD Infinity Sports Network stations Sports radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1941