Another Carolina call-letter tongue twister...many years ago, Durham had a station on 1580--later 1590--with the call letters WHHT (put on the air by regional station owner Harold H. Toms. The station only lasted for five years, from 1946 until 1951 when it merged with WSSB 1490 (now WDUR).
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Call letters that changed, for better or worse
- Thread starter jd
- Start date
RadioDaze said:
As I recall, Mr. Thoms owned several stations in Virginia (WEAM/Arlington) and in North Carolina (WAYS/Charlotte - later sold to the Kaplans, WCOG/Greensboro, WISE/Asheville - later sold to Ric Jorgenson, and WKLM/Wilmington).
M
MsMusicRadio
Guest
Richmond Va has had some long running calls going back to the Seventies or beyond: WTVR-FM, WRVQ-FM, WRXL-FM, WKHK-FM, and WCDX-FM.
Also WRVA-AM seems to last forever. WRNL -AM too. The WLEE calls have moved 3 or 4 times, but are still there. WFLO in Farmville is consistant too. WBBC near Farmville has had those calls through at least 2 formats
Gone are WTVR-AM,WENZ-AM, WANT-AM, WMXB-FM and WGOE-AM----seemingly for good, although those were big in their time and were around for seemingly a long run and had success.
Also WRVA-AM seems to last forever. WRNL -AM too. The WLEE calls have moved 3 or 4 times, but are still there. WFLO in Farmville is consistant too. WBBC near Farmville has had those calls through at least 2 formats
Gone are WTVR-AM,WENZ-AM, WANT-AM, WMXB-FM and WGOE-AM----seemingly for good, although those were big in their time and were around for seemingly a long run and had success.
MsMusicRadio said:
IIRC, the WCDX calls debuted in February 1987. They were to emphasize that the station's music was from CDs, which had become commonplace only by 1986. Prior to the change to WCDX, the call letters were WZZR and the on-air slogan was 93 Lazer.
The business manager there told me that when Sinclair Telecable first signed the station on at 92.7 during the 80s, the station was to be WPUF - "Puff", a reference to Richmond's heritage of tobacco. The morning team was to be called Benson and Hedges. Other announcers were to be Virginia Slim and Phillip Morris. A station vehicle had the license plate WPUF.
When 3-letter calls go away
I think it has been unfortunate to see some of the classic 3-letter calls discarded.
WOW 590 Omaha
WJW 850 Cleveland
KHJ 930 Los Angeles
WIS 560 Columbia (WIS now on Channel 10 there)
KOL 1300 Seattle
KOB 770 Albuquerque (KOB calls belong to a TV station there I think)
St. Louis has lost three of its four 3-letter calls on AM. KSD 550, KWK 1380, and WIL 1430. Although WIL and KSD have survived on the FM band there. At least WEW 770 is still there.
That's off the top of my head. I know there are others. Should any more of the really classic 3-letter calls goes away, I'm calling it a day: WLW, WLS, WGN, WSM, WSB, WWL, WOR, WJR, KOA, KFI.
I think it has been unfortunate to see some of the classic 3-letter calls discarded.
WOW 590 Omaha
WJW 850 Cleveland
KHJ 930 Los Angeles
WIS 560 Columbia (WIS now on Channel 10 there)
KOL 1300 Seattle
KOB 770 Albuquerque (KOB calls belong to a TV station there I think)
St. Louis has lost three of its four 3-letter calls on AM. KSD 550, KWK 1380, and WIL 1430. Although WIL and KSD have survived on the FM band there. At least WEW 770 is still there.
That's off the top of my head. I know there are others. Should any more of the really classic 3-letter calls goes away, I'm calling it a day: WLW, WLS, WGN, WSM, WSB, WWL, WOR, WJR, KOA, KFI.
Re: When 3-letter calls go away
WJW is still around. No longer on radio, but on TV. It's been that way from 1956 to 1977, and again from 1985 to present. When Storer Broadcasting sold WJW Radio in 1977, the call letters stayed on the radio side, while Channel 8 became WJKW. When WJW Radio was sold in 1985 and the call letters changed to WRMR, Storer picked up the WJW calls for Channel 8 again.
keys2 said:
WJW is still around. No longer on radio, but on TV. It's been that way from 1956 to 1977, and again from 1985 to present. When Storer Broadcasting sold WJW Radio in 1977, the call letters stayed on the radio side, while Channel 8 became WJKW. When WJW Radio was sold in 1985 and the call letters changed to WRMR, Storer picked up the WJW calls for Channel 8 again.
jd said:
My bad. I was still thinking it was KKHJ, but I do remember now that the original KHJ calls are back on the 930 frequency.
And I remember when WJW-TV became WJKW and then back to WJW. Somehow though, once-classic call letters now on TV just don't do it for me. I know I'm old school, but I like them on radio better. WXYZ-TV Detroit.....Those calls should be back on 1270 AM while the WXYT calls should be on Channel 7. KOB-TV and KKOB radio. Many other examples, but you get the idea.
chrish said:
Generally, when the classic radio calls have been given up, it has been due to a sale where co-owned TV and radio end up with different owners. Usually the heritage calls are kept by TV, since the station values are higher.
KOB became KKOB because the TV kept the three letter calls. KKOB is doing just fine, too. Of course in radio, particularly in the PPM markets, call letters are pretty much irrelevant save on the very few stations that actually use them as an identifier... the rest use names, slogans and dial position.
DavidEduardo said:
That pretty much goes without saying. But back to my original post, the heritage stations with the 3-letter calls typically do in fact use the call letters and not some silly FM style handle. So brand names like WLW, WLS, WGN, etc., remain pretty relevant....as long as their ratings and revenues are solid of course.
chrish said:
What a long, sordid. twisted MESS that was......
In 1990, KING-TV was sold to the Providence Journal. However, as a condition of the sale, the radio stations (KING AM/FM) were allowed to keep their KING call letters. And all was well until 1994.
KING Radio's owners, the Bullitt sisters decided to get out of the radio business. However, that would essentially nullify anything in the 1990 PJ contract regarding the KING call letters on the radio. KING-FM was donated to the Seattle Symphony. And KING-AM was sold to Bonneville, which owned KIRO Radio and TV at the time.
Immediately, PJ pounced on it's clause for the radio stations and threatened to have KING removed from both the AM and FM stations. However, this caused a massive uproar in Seattle's classical community and PJ backed down with their threat to KING-FM. However this was not extended to KING-AM, being sold to a former rival and under commercial ownership and a shaky future.
So, thus began a ridiculous identity crisis for the former KING-AM.
In 10 years, 1090 kHz became:
(1994) KKNG - This still did not satisfy PJ, as the station still IDed itself as "King"
(1994-95) KINF - This was acceptable to PJ, but the calls were pretty wimpy for a powerhouse news station.
(1995) KNWX - A much stronger set of calls. But a brand new wrench got tossed in the works. The station swapped frequencies with KRPM 770 (a simulcast of country KCIN 106.1), moving KRPM to 1090 and KNWX to 770.
(1995-99) KRPM - The KRPM calls were secure on 1090....for a while. However KRPM/KCIN were in for a WILD ride. The owners of crosstown rivals KMPS AM/FM bought KRPM/KCIN in early 1996. They simulcasted KMPS on ALL FOUR FREQUENCIES, breaking up the 4 way simulcast with newly acquired THIRD country competitor KYCW-FM. A week later, 106.1/1090 stunted towards a new Rhythmic AC format called "Kiss 106". The KRPM calls remained on 1090. Kiss would evolve into a rock oriented CHR format, with 1090 still simulcasting (except for breaking with brokered Seattle Thunderbirds hockey games.)
1999 - Calls were changed to KMPS (AM), with a syndicated classic country format.
1999 - Calls were changed again to KYCW, the format remained classic country, but a locally automated/voicetracked classic country format.
2001 - The calls remained KYCW, but the format changed to "Extreme Talk 1090", specializing in shock talk.
2002 - Still KYCW, but the automated/voicetracked classic country format returned after abysmal ratings in their talk incarnation.
2004 - Calls were changed to KPTK with a new Progressive Talk format, where they've been since.......
I think I got this somewhat straight.....Somewhat.......
In the mid-90's, WTAC, 600, Flint, MI changed to WSNL. WTAC then got picked up by a small God-squad station on FM. I still think of 600 WTAC and I doubt that'll change.
WBBC was the original calls on 1330 kHz in Flint, which became WTRX in the sixties. They were WDLZ for a few years in the late 80's/early 90's as a Z-Rock affiliate, then the station went dark for a couple years and reverted back to WTRX again.
WBBC was the original calls on 1330 kHz in Flint, which became WTRX in the sixties. They were WDLZ for a few years in the late 80's/early 90's as a Z-Rock affiliate, then the station went dark for a couple years and reverted back to WTRX again.
michael hagerty said:
The story may be apocryphl, but I've read that the FCC did not want to let Spanish language KKHJ drop one "K" and return to the 3 letter calls, but were convinced by the owners because "K-K" in Spanish is pronounced "Ca-Ca" which is Spanish for...well...caca.
Lkeller said:
The Hispanic owners of KKHJ changed to that call when they bought it in order to capitalize on the advertiser recognition of the KHJ calls. They knew that "K K" in Spanish was pronounced "Caca."
But the station never used the calls in Spanish on the air. Never. The legal ID, in English, was as fast as possible. The rest of the time the station used names, such as Radio Alegría, Noticias 9-30 and La Ranchera.
So, at some point they decided to use the Caca device to try to get the heritage calls, and the FCC, 2500 miles away, bought it.
(I only expand on w9wi's accurate post to validate his point since I was OM and PD of KKHJ for a number of years.)
How many sets of great call letters did Radio Disney take away? I am sure many. 1260 AM in St. Louis was WIBV from its sign on in the 40s until sold to Disney several years ago. 630 AM in St. Louis will always to me be KXOK, although it has been KJSL since it was bought by Crawford Broadcasting in 1993. The call letters survived at the time on the FM at 97.1 through both an Urban AC and a Classic Rock format, however when Sinclair sold the station to Emmis, they changed the call letters to KFTK, even though talk radio was one of the many formats that had been associated with the KXOK call letters, thus erasing a historic call letter from the St. Louis dial forever. The calls now belong to a LPTV station in Enid, OK.
Also in dumb moves, 1490 AM in East St. Louis had been WESL for decades, when Simmons Media bought the station and switched it to WFFX, and later on, after someone else picked up the call letters, they actually went back to calling themselves WESL, but were IDing as WFFX at the TOH Legal. Now that station is WQQX.
Another one is 1510 AM in Highland, IL - for some reason, Larry Rice moved the stations longtime WINU Call letters to his station in Shelbyville, IL while he owned it, now 1510 is off the air, but the calls are WQQW.
Eliminating the KWK call letters from St. Louis in favor of KGLD never made much sense to me either, although the FM kept the calls for a few more years before it dropped KWK in favor or WKBQ (now WARH).
Also in dumb moves, 1490 AM in East St. Louis had been WESL for decades, when Simmons Media bought the station and switched it to WFFX, and later on, after someone else picked up the call letters, they actually went back to calling themselves WESL, but were IDing as WFFX at the TOH Legal. Now that station is WQQX.
Another one is 1510 AM in Highland, IL - for some reason, Larry Rice moved the stations longtime WINU Call letters to his station in Shelbyville, IL while he owned it, now 1510 is off the air, but the calls are WQQW.
Eliminating the KWK call letters from St. Louis in favor of KGLD never made much sense to me either, although the FM kept the calls for a few more years before it dropped KWK in favor or WKBQ (now WARH).
Radio Disney in Pittsburgh is WDDZ-1250. Listen closely and you still get the feel of the original WCAE. Which later was WRYT, WTAE (to go along with a TV sibling) and WEAE (its callsign during the days when Disney's parent company ran ESPN Radio programming there).
Heritage callsigns still exist for many of Pittsburgh's stations. KDKA on AM and again FM, WWSW on FM (though it's been called "3WS" for a long, long time; its AM now is WBGG), WJAS and KQV on AM.
WHJB was a heritage callsign in Greensburg, PA, 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. When the original WHJB on AM 620 was sold to Robert Stevens, he wanted WKHB instead (and calls the station "620KHB"). He also acquired WBCW in Jeannette, moved it from AM 1530 to AM 770 and called it WKFB ("770KFB"). Both sets of call signs seemed to indicate an affection for the "K" still found at KDKA and KQV.
As for WHJB, Renda now uses it on a classic rock FM at 107.1 in Greensburg.
Heritage callsigns still exist for many of Pittsburgh's stations. KDKA on AM and again FM, WWSW on FM (though it's been called "3WS" for a long, long time; its AM now is WBGG), WJAS and KQV on AM.
WHJB was a heritage callsign in Greensburg, PA, 30 miles east of Pittsburgh. When the original WHJB on AM 620 was sold to Robert Stevens, he wanted WKHB instead (and calls the station "620KHB"). He also acquired WBCW in Jeannette, moved it from AM 1530 to AM 770 and called it WKFB ("770KFB"). Both sets of call signs seemed to indicate an affection for the "K" still found at KDKA and KQV.
As for WHJB, Renda now uses it on a classic rock FM at 107.1 in Greensburg.
Re: When 3-letter calls go away
KVI Seattle
KJR Seattle
KGY Olympia
KGA Spokane
KIT Yakima
KUJ Walla Walla
KPQ Wenatchee
(Washington State must hold some kind of record on 3-Letter stations)
KXO El Centro, CA
KLZ Denver, CO
WDZ Decatur, IL
KID Idaho Falls, ID
KMJ Fresno, CA
KOY Phoenix, AZ
KMA Shenandoah, IA
WHO Des Moines, IA
KGO San Fransisco
KGB San Diego, CA
KDB Santa Barbara
KHJ Los Angeles is back, but by proxy as infamously noted.....
KUT, Austin, TX should count, though they signed on in 1958
...and of course
WWV Fort Collins, CO
Others we've lost in the last 30 years
KXA Seattle
KMO Tacoma
Others?
keys2 said:
KVI Seattle
KJR Seattle
KGY Olympia
KGA Spokane
KIT Yakima
KUJ Walla Walla
KPQ Wenatchee
(Washington State must hold some kind of record on 3-Letter stations)
KXO El Centro, CA
KLZ Denver, CO
WDZ Decatur, IL
KID Idaho Falls, ID
KMJ Fresno, CA
KOY Phoenix, AZ
KMA Shenandoah, IA
WHO Des Moines, IA
KGO San Fransisco
KGB San Diego, CA
KDB Santa Barbara
KHJ Los Angeles is back, but by proxy as infamously noted.....
KUT, Austin, TX should count, though they signed on in 1958
...and of course
WWV Fort Collins, CO
Others we've lost in the last 30 years
KXA Seattle
KMO Tacoma
Others?
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