WWXM (97.7 FM) is a top 40 (CHR) station licensed to Garden City, South Carolina and serves the Grand Strand area. The iHeartMedia, Inc. outlet is licensed by 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 broadcast with 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 100 kW. The station goes by the name Mix 97.7. Its studios are located on the U.S. 17 Bypass in

Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the " Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. It ...

, and 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 ...

is in Murrells Inlet.

History

The station was located in

Georgetown, South Carolina Georgetown is the third oldest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina and the county seat of Georgetown County, South Carolina, Georgetown County, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, Lowcountry. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census ...

for many years prior to a power increase from 3,000 to 50,000 watts. The station originally signed on the air as WINH-FM, a companion to WINH (AM) owned by the Winyah Bay Broadcasting Company in September 1971. In 1975 the station's call letters changed to WGMB and became known as ''"The New 98 Rock WGMB"''. Years later that slogan was changed into ''"98 Rock WGMB, We're The Rock Of The Bay!"'' as the marketplace adopted digital tuners. For a brief time in the mid-1980s, the station was AC with the new call letters WMXX, under the new moniker as ''"Magic 97.7"'', and the logo used on

billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

s resembled that of

WMAG WMAG (99.5 FM broadcasting, FM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to High Point, North Carolina, and serving the Piedmont Triad, including Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro and Winston-Salem, North Car ...

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the United States, U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, North Carolina, Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph County, North Carolina, Randolph, ...

. After the station improved its signal, it was known as WBPR and then again as WGMB under their new moniker as ''"The New Power 98 FM"'' and had a CHR with a rhythmic lean. Later the format moved in a more mainstream CHR direction, and on November 1, 1993, the change to then new current moniker as ''"The New Mix 97.7"'' and the current call letters as WWXM was made in the early 1990s and WWXM had a

Hot AC 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 was used for several years. The signal was eventually improved to 100,000 watts and the city of license was moved to Garden City Beach. Root Communications of Daytona Beach bought WWXM in a deal announced in June 1997 and moved it from Waccamaw Pottery to studios shared by WWSK and WGTR near the back gate of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. As of 2000, Booger and Leanne Sullivan co-hosted the morning show. Qantum Communications Inc. purchased Myrtle Beach's Root Communications Group LP stations in 2003. On May 15, 2014, Qantum Communications announced that it would sell its 29 stations, including WWXM, to Clear Channel Communications (now

iHeartMedia 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 ...

), in a transaction connected to Clear Channel's sale of WALK AM- FM in

Patchogue, New York Patchogue ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 12,408 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Patchogue is an incorporated community in the Town (New ...

Connoisseur Media Connoisseur Media LLC is an American media company. It is based in Westport, Connecticut and led by Jeff Warshaw. As of May 2024, Connoisseur operates 13 radio stations and digital assets in four U.S. markets: Frederick, MD, Nassau-Suffolk, NY, Ne ...

via Qantum. According to FCC records, the transaction was consummated on September 9, 2014.

References

External links

* * {{IHeartMedia

WXM Wuxi Metro is the public rapid transit system of the city Wuxi in Jiangsu, China. Line 1 began operations on 1 July 2014, and Line 2 on 28 December 2014. Line 3 opened on 28 October 2020. Line 4 opened on 17 December 2021. Wuxi Metro (Wuxi Metro ...

Contemporary hit radio stations in the United States Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Radio stations established in 1971 1971 establishments in South Carolina IHeartMedia radio stations