WJOX-FM
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| City of license | Northport, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Central Alabama |
| Branding | Jox 690 |
| Slogan | The Sports Monster |
| First air date | 100.5 FM: 1991, as WLXY (orginally on 100.7 FM); WJOX: 1993, as WWIV |
| Frequency | 100.5 (MHz) |
| Format | Sports Radio |
| ERP | 93,000 watts |
| Class | C1 |
| Callsign meaning | JOX: nickname for jocks (athletes) |
| Owner | Citadel Communications |
| Website | http://www.wjox690.com/ |
WJOX-FM is an FM sports talk radio station licensed to Northport, Alabama, which serves Birmingham and central Alabama. Until Novemeber 29, 2006, the station was an alternative rock station with the call letters WRAX and its on-air name was "The X @ 100.5". The station is owned by Citadel Communications. Currently WJOX-FM is the FM simulcast partner of WSPZ, a sports talk station in Birmingham. Other stations in the market that Citadel owns include WYSF-FM (94.5), WZRR-FM (99.5), WUHT-FM (107.7), and WAPI-AM (1070). Citadel also owns WTUG-FM (92.9) from Tuscaloosa, whose signal covers much of the Birmingham market.
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[edit] History of 100.5 FM
The station first signed on at 100.7 FM in 1991 as WLXY-FM. WLXY was originally licensed to Northport, served only the Tuscaloosa area and was known on the air as Arrow 100.7, playing classic rock. Despite being less than 60 miles from Birmingham, the signal of Arrow 100.7 didn't cover any of the Birmingham metropolitan area. This was due in part to WHMA-FM broadcasting from Anniston at 100.5 and covering a significant part of the Birmingham area.
In 2001, WHMA changed its city of license from Anniston to College Park, Georgia and became a part of the Atlanta radio market as WWWQ, leaving an open broadcasting channel for central Alabama. The ownership for WLXY petitioned to changes the station's dial position from 100.7 to 100.5 in order to move its transmission tower closer to Birmingham and to boost its broadcast power, and in 2003, this petition was approved. In anticipation of its move into the Birmingham market, WLXY changed formats and call letters in early 2003. Looking to challenge Birmingham’s alternative music station WRAX, the station adopted a similar format with the new call letters WANZ. The station’s on-air name was Z-100.7. In April 2003, WANZ changed its dial position to 100.5 and began broadcasting from a taller tower near Vance, enabling its signal to cover both the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa markets. With the new dial position, the station changed its name to Z-100.5.
In 2004, Apex Broadcasting, the owners of WANZ and several Tuscaloosa-area stations, sold their radio properties to Citadel Communications, owners of five stations in the Birmingham market including WRAX (107-7 the X), a station with a format that was virtually identical to that of WANZ. Not wanting to have two stations competing in the same format, the call letters and other intellectual property of WRAX was transferred to 100.5 FM in March, 2005.
[edit] History of WRAX
The forerunner of WRAX signed on at 105.9 FM in the summer of 1993 as WWIV, licensed to Trussville, Alabama, a suburb east of Birmingham. Originally, WWIV was a simulcast of WYDE-AM, which at the time was a talk radio station. After a few months, WWIV became WWBR and was known on the air as “105-9 the Bear”. WWBR was an album rock/active rock station. While the format of the station was relatively well-received by its listeners, a weak broadcast signal (3 Kw) and less than ideal transmission tower location on Birmingham’s eastern side hampered its ratings success.
In 1996, the format of WWBR was changed to alternative music, the call letters were changed to WRAX, and the on-air name of the station was changed to “106 the X”. In 1998, WRAX swapped dial positions with newly-acquired sister station WENN-FM, the former leading urban contemporary music station in Birmingham, and became known on the air as “107-7 the X”. The acquisition of WANZ by Citadel Broadcasting caused WRAX to change dial positions once again, and in March, 2005, WRAX moved again. Its on-air name was changed to “The X @ 100.5”. During its time on the air as "107.7 the X", the station released seven charity albums featuring live performances under the name Live in the X Lounge which benefited United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham.
[edit] Switch to Sports Talk
At 3:00 pm Central Standard Time on Wednesday November 29, 2006, 100.5 became the FM home frequency of WJOX, beginning a simulcast of the AM sports talk station. The move came suddenly and unannounced on November 28, with the firing of the entire WRAX staff. On December 1, WRAX changed its call letters to WJOX-FM, and WJOX-AM changed its call letters to WSPZ. Reacting to the change in format at WRAX, Clear Channel Communications changed the format of its WENN-FM on December 2, thus returning alternative rock to the airwaves of Birmingham.
[edit] External links
- Official Website of WJOX
- Birmingham News article on format change
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WJOX
| FM Radio stations serving the Birmingham / Tuscaloosa / Anniston/ Gadsden area (Arbitron #56 and 234) | |
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WBRC 87.7¹ | WLJR 88.5 | WBFR 89.5 | WBHM 90.3 | WJSR 91.1 (covers the northern half of the city) | WVSU 91.1 (covers the southern half of the city) | WGIB 91.9/101.5 | WPHC 92.5 | WDJC 93.7 | WYSF 94.5 | WBHJ 95.7 | WMJJ 96.5 | WNCB 97.3 | WKLD 97.7 (Oneonta: covers northern suburbs) | WHPH 97.7 (Jemison: covers southern suburbs) | WBHK 98.7 | WZRR 99.5 | WJOX 100.5 | WYDE 101.1 | WDXB 102.5 | WQEN 103.7 | WZZK 104.7 | WENN 105.5 | WBPT 106.9 | WUHT 107.7 ¹ Audio for TV channel 6 (Fox) |
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WMFT 88.9 | WVUA 90.7 | WUAL 91.5 | WTUG 92.9 | WZBQ 94.1 | WFFN 95.3 | WTXT 98.1 | WDGM 99.1 | WBEI 101.7 | WNPT 102.9 | WQZZ 104.3/97.3/100.1 | WRTR 105.9 |
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WJCK 88.3 | WKNG 89.1 | WGRW 90.7 | WTBJ 91.3 | WPIL 91.7 | WLJS 91.9 | WTDR 92.7 | WHMA 95.5 | WVOK 97.9 | WTRB 98.3 | WRHY 105.9 | |
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WTBB 89.9 | WSGN 91.5 | WGMZ 93.1 | WKXX 102.9 | WQSB 105.1 | |
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