WWL-FM (105.3

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 ...

) is a

commercial radio Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state sponsorship, for example. It was the United States' first model ...

station licensed to

Kenner, Louisiana Kenner is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the most populous city in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Jefferson Parish, and is the largest incorporated suburban city of New Orleans. The population was 66,448 at the 2020 United States cen ...

, and serving the

New Orleans metropolitan area The New Orleans metropolitan area, designated the New Orleans–Metairie metropolitan statistical area by the Office of Management and Budget, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, or simply Greater New Orleans (, ), is a List of United States me ...

. It is owned by

Audacy, Inc. 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 ...

WWL-FM and

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 ...

WWL (870 AM)

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) ...

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 wi ...

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 ...

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 studios and offices are in the

400 Poydras Tower 400 Poydras Tower, formerly known as the Texaco Center, located at 400 Poydras Street in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidat ...

in the

New Orleans Central Business District The Central Business District (CBD) is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The CBD is a subdistrict of the French Quarter/CBD area. Its boundaries, as defined by the City Planning Commission are Iberville, De ...

. WWL-FM has an

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would ha ...

(ERP) of 96,000 watts. Its

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 ...

site is off Paris Road in

Chalmette, Louisiana Chalmette ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in, and the parish seat of, St. Bernard Parish in southeastern Louisiana, United States. The 2010 census reported that Chalmette had 16,751 people; 2011 population was listed as 17,119; however, th ...

. WWL-FM broadcasts in the

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 ...

hybrid format, with its HD2

digital 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 compress ...

carrying both

Infinity Sports Network 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, In ...

and shows on food and lifestyles.

Programming

News and talk

The weekday schedule features news and talk programming mornings and early afternoons, shifting to sports talk and live play-by-play after 4 pm. All weekday programming from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. is hosted by local WWL personalities and reporters. The only nationally syndicated programs are

shows at 8 pm, family finances expert

Dave Ramsey David Lawrence Ramsey III (born September 3, 1960) is an American radio personality who offers financial advice. He is the founder and CEO of Ramsey Solutions and a co-host of '' The Ramsey Show'', a nationally syndicated radio program. He ...

at 1 a.m. and ''

This Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal ''This Morning: America's First News'' (formerly ''The Wall Street Journal This Morning'') is a two-hour radio news/talk program hosted by Gordon Deal and Jennifer Kushinka, who replaced long-serving co-host Gina Cervetti on January 2, 2015. I ...

'', at 4 am. Weekend programming includes shows on money, law, gardening, home improvement and the outdoors before sports takes over the schedule. WWL is a long-time

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

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 ...

. Most hours on weekdays begin with local newscasts branded as ''WWL First News'', while

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

begins most hours nights and weekends.

Sports

Sports shows begin during 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 ...

, hosted by former

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 ...

quarterback

Bobby Herbert Robert Herbert (21 November 1925 – 31 December 2006) was a Scottish footballer who played as a wing half in the English and Scottish Football Leagues. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, Herbert started off with Blantyre Victoria before moving to ...

. WWL-AM-FM are part-time

affiliates. Programming from that network is heard in late evenings, and in several blocks during the day on weekends. When two live sporting events occur at the same time, one of the games moves to

WWWL WWWL (1350 AM broadcasting, AM, "The Bet New Orleans") is a commercial radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts a sports gambling format. The station's studios are located at the 400 Poydras Tower in Downto ...

, which airs a mostly sports format. For many years, WWL has been the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

station for broadcasts of

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

games, continuously since the 1995 season. WWL-AM-FM continue to be the lead stations on the

New Orleans Saints Radio Network The New Orleans Saints Radio Network is a radio network which carries games of the New Orleans Saints. The flagship stations of the radio network is 870 WWL-AM and 105.3 WWL-FM in New Orleans. Many of the stations that broadcast these games are a ...

, with

s in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

and three other states. WWL-AM-FM are also the flagships for

New Orleans Pelicans The New Orleans Pelicans are an American professional basketball team based in New Orleans. The Pelicans compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Confere ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

broadcasts. The team had been with KLRZ for five years leading up to 2024. With the 2024-25 season, team broadcasts returned to WWL-AM-FM.RadioInsight.com "WWL Extends Rights Deal With New Orleans Saints; Adds NBA’s Pelicans" June 5, 2024
/REF> WWL-AM-FM serve as the New Orleans outlets of the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers (also known as the Fighting Tigers) are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in Division I of the National Collegiat ...

, simulcasting all football games, while some men's basketball and baseball games are also heard. WWL-AM-FM share flagship status with

WDGL WDGL (98.1 FM, "Eagle 98.1") is a commercial radio station licensed to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The station is owned by Guaranty Broadcasting, and airs a classic rock radio format. WDGL calls itself "The ''ROCK'' Station." It is the flagship r ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. WWL was previously the radio home of the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave interc ...

History

WVSL, WXEL, WAIL, WLTS, WKZN

On September 8, 1970, 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 as WVSL-FM in

Slidell, Louisiana Slidell is a city on the northeast shore of Lake Pontchartrain in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 28,781 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the sixteenth-most ...

. It was owned by Bill Garrett Broadcasting, which also owned WBGS (1560 AM). In the late 1970s, the

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 ...

for 105.3 was WXEL. In 1981, the station switched formats to

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

as WAIL. The station was acquired in 1984 by Phase Two Broadcasting, which changed the

to WLTS, and flipped to a

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 ...

format. "Lite 105" spent 16 years in this format, although over time, the

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player, either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs that can be played once or in a loop. ...

shifted to a more uptempo, mainstream direction. In 1999, the station was acquired by

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 ...

, its current owner. The

city of license In U.S., Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broadcast ...

was changed from Slidell to Kenner, where

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is an international airport under Class B airspace in the City of Kenner, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is owned by the City of New Orleans and is west of downtown New ...

is located. During this time, the station evolved to a

hot 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 as WKZN "105.3 The Zone".

Switch to WWL-FM

On August 29, 2005, the station's transmitter was severely damaged during

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

, knocking it off the air. It returned to broadcasting with low power as a temporary simulcast of co-owned WWL 870. Other FM stations in New Orleans suspended their music formats during the storm's aftermath to rebroadcast news from local TV stations. In early October 2005, Entercom decided to switch two of its New Orleans FM station dial positions, with WTKL and

WKBU WKBU (95.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "Bayou 95.7") is a radio station city of license, licensed to New Orleans. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts a classic rock radio format, format. It shares studios with its sister stations at 400 Poydras Tower ...

exchanging frequencies. FM 105.3 became WTKL with a classic hits format and the "Kool" name, formerly "Kool 95.7". However, only three weeks later, it was decided by Entercom to scrap the classic hits format and return 105.3 to the WWL simulcast. Entercom cited positive listener response to WWL being heard on FM and complaints about its removal from the FM dial. Some listeners said they wanted WWL programming to remain on FM due to issues receiving the AM station in the

. The "Kool 105.3" format continued as an Internet-only webcast for a short time after it was discontinued on FM. With 105.3 simulcasting WWL, Entercom asked 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) to switch the call letters to WWL-FM.

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 ...

WLMG WLMG (101.9 FM, "Magic 101.9 FM") is a good commercial radio station licensed to New Orleans, Louisiana. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format. From Black Friday to December 25 each year, it switches to al ...

was the original home of the WWL-FM call sign, from 1970 to 1980, airing beautiful music at first, and then

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 ...

hits.

References

External links

* * ( Guide to reading History Cards) {{Entercom WL-FM News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1970 1970 establishments in Louisiana Audacy, Inc. radio stations Kenner, Louisiana Mass media in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana Sports radio stations in the United States