WYSF
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of license | Birmingham, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Birmingham |
| Branding | Y-94.5 |
| Slogan | Birmingham's Soft Rock |
| First air date | 1950's (?) as WAFM-FM; adopted current call letters in November 1996 |
| Frequency | 94.5 MHz |
| Format | Adult Contemporary |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| Class | C0 |
| Callsign meaning | Your Soft Favorites |
| Owner | Citadel Communications |
| Website | www.y945.com |
WYSF is an adult contemporary FM radio station licensed to Birmingham. It is the flagship station of the Rick and Bubba radio network, and it carries John Tesh’s syndicated nighttime radio show and Tesh's segments during a mid-day show. It is the Birmingham affiliate of the Auburn Tigers Football Network. Since October 2001, it has been called “Y 94.5.” The station is owned by Citadel Communications. Other stations in the market that Citadel owns include WZRR-FM (99.5), WJOX-FM (100.5), WUHT-FM (107.7), WSPZ-AM (690) and WAPI-AM (1070). Citadel also owns WTUG-FM (92.9) from Tuscaloosa, whose signal covers much of the Birmingham market.
[edit] History
The 94.5 frequency first signed on in Birmingham in the 1950’s as WAFM. It was a sister station to WAPI-TV Channel 13 (now WVTM) and WAPI-AM. All three broadcast properties were owned by Advance Publications, the parent company of The Birmingham News. In the early ‘70’s, WAPI-FM played ‘’solid gold” music (an early version of the adult contemporary format). In 1978, the station became an easy listening music station, calling itself “Beautiful 94”, moving it in competition with WQEZ (now WMJJ).
Federal Communications Commission rules enacted in the late 1970’s forced Advance Publications to sell its TV and radio properties in Birmingham. In 1980, Channel 13 and was sold to Times-Mirror Broadcasting, while the radio stations were sold to Dittman Broadcasting, owners of WABB AM and FM in Mobile. In 1981, Beautiful 94 switched formats, and became Birmingham’s second album rock station with the new name 95 Rock.
During the mid-1980’s, the Top 40 format, which had disappeared from radio dials in many cities, regained popularity. Birmingham had one Top 40 station, WKXX (now WBPT). In 1984, the album rock format was dropped in favor Top 40, first calling itself 95 FM. By the end of the year, WAPI-FM was re-launched as I-95, calling itself “Birmingham’s Hit Rock”. Within a year, I-95 had replaced WKXX as the dominant Top 40 station in Birmingham.
I-95 continued to enjoy dominant ratings throughout the remainder of the 1980’s, using the slogan “Birmingham’s All-Hit I-95” for the remainder of that decade, and as “The Station in the 90's” into the 1990’s. However, the nationwide decline in popularity of the Top 40 format affected I-95. In 1994, the station changed call letters to WMXQ (“Mix 94.5”) and became a hot adult contemporary music station. Mix 94.5 was no more successful than I-95 had been in its latter stages, so in October 1996, the station once again changed formats and became a soft adult contemporary station with the new name “Soft Rock 94.5”. The call letters were changed to its current WYSF in November of the same year. Television ads for the new station featured actress Teri Garr.
In 1999, the morning drive team of Rick and Bubba moved from crosstown station WQEN to WYSF, where they remain today. In 2001, the station renamed itself Y-94.5, with no real change in its music. It is now known as Y-94.5 the Rick and Bubba station.
[edit] External links
- Official Website of Y-94.5
- Official Website of Rick and Bubba
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WYSF
| 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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