WPGP explained

WPGP
City:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Area:Pittsburgh metropolitan area
Branding:AM 1250 The Answer
Frequency:1250 kHz
Language:English
Format:Conservative talk radio
Class:B
Licensing Authority:FCC
Facility Id:65691
Coordinates:40.3972°N -79.9619°W
Callsign Meaning:Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Owner:Salem Media Group
Licensee:Salem Communications Holding Corporation
Webcast:

WPGP (1250 AM) is a radio station in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, broadcasting with a power output of 5,000 watts. The station is owned and operated by the Salem Media Group.

History

The station is one of the five original Pittsburgh stations, signing on May 4, 1922, as WCAE.[1] It was originally owned by the Pittsburgh department store Kaufmann & Baer's, and operated at 833 kHz (as all stations did at that time);[2] it moved to 750 kHz in December[3] and to 650 in May 1923.[4] Kaufmann and Baer's was purchased in 1925 by Gimbels; this made WCAE the company's third radio station, after WIP in Philadelphia and WGBS in New York City.[5] The station became an affiliate of the NBC Red Network in January 1927.[6] It moved to 560 kHz on June 15, 1927,[7] but in November returned to 650;[8] a year later, WCAE moved to 1220 kHz[9]

WCAE was acquired by Hearst Corporation in 1931.[2] The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement moved the station to 1250 kHz on March 29, 1941;[10] on November 1, it became a full-time affiliate of the Mutual Broadcasting System (which previously aired on both WCAE and KQV), with NBC Red moving to KDKA.[11] Another affiliation change took place on June 15, 1945, when WCAE swapped affiliations with KQV and joined the Blue Network,[12] which changed its name to the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) that same day. An FM sister station at 96.1 MHz was started in 1948;[13] WCAE-FM was shut down in 1953,[14] but was restarted August 8, 1960.[15] WCAE lost the ABC affiliation to WJAS on May 21, 1955.[16] The station expanded into television three years later, with the debut of WTAE (channel 4) on September 4, 1958, initially as a joint venture of Hearst and the former owners of KQV;[17] this arrangement had led to the sale of KQV to ABC in 1957 to avoid duopoly concerns.[18]

WCAE began stunting on May 27, 1961, promoting a new format to begin two days later; at that time, the station changed its call letters to WRYT and began playing beautiful music.[19] Another call letter change occurred five years later, when the station became WTAE to match its television sister station (which had become wholly owned by Hearst by this time);[20] soon afterward, the station shifted to a middle-of-the-road format.[6]

WTAE shifted its format again in 1973, this time to an oldies-heavy adult contemporary format under general manager Ted Atkins, who used programming techniques he had learned from Bill Drake at KHJ in Los Angeles.[21] The widely popular morning show, O'Brien & Garry, featured Larry O'Brien and John Garry doing comedy skits, playing music, and other general morning fare. The format proved successful – by 1980, WTAE had become the number-two station in Pittsburgh, trailing only KDKA.[21] The station also had a heavy sports commitment; it became the flagship station of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1969,[2] and around the same time became the home of the Pittsburgh Panthers.[22] WTAE also aired a nightly sports show, hosted for many years by Myron Cope.[21] The station also added an affiliation with ABC's Entertainment Network by 1976.[23] In 1987, as at many AM radio stations, music was abandoned, and WTAE became a talk radio station.[24] Hosts included Jack Bogut, Lynn Cullen, Doug Hoerth and Phil Musick.

After 66 years of ownership, Hearst sold WTAE, along with what had become WVTY (now WKST-FM), to SFX Broadcasting in 1997.[25] That December 1, SFX relaunched WTAE as an sports radio station.[26] Chancellor Media bought SFX's Pittsburgh stations a year later,[27] and then traded WTAE to Jacor in exchange for WKNR in Cleveland, Ohio in August 1998.[28] Jacor changed the call letters to WEAE to disassociate the station from WTAE-TV, which remained owned by Hearst-Argyle.[2] Soon afterward, Jacor put the station up for sale, and in 1999, WEAE was acquired by ABC,[29] which affiliated the station with its ESPN Radio network on March 15 of that year.[2] ESPN programming such as Mike and Mike in the Morning was supplemented by local sports talkers Scott Paulsen,[30] Mike Logan, Chris Mack,[31] Guy Junker,[30] Stan Savran,[30] and Stillers 365 (with Ken Laird).[31] Mark Madden was a host on the station from 1998[29] until his firing in May 2008 for making an on-air remark that he wished that Sen. Edward Kennedy be assassinated.[32] Madden returned to the Pittsburgh airwaves on October 13, 2008, with an afternoon drive show on competitor WXDX, which is otherwise a modern rock station.[33]

Soon after the sale to ABC, WEAE lost the Steelers rights to WDVE (itself formerly owned by ABC) and WWSW (now WBGG) after nearly thirty years;[34] a year earlier, WTAE had lost the Pittsburgh Panthers to KQV. The station subsequently picked up the Penn State Nittany Lions.[35]

Although WEAE was generally the top-rated sports station in Pittsburgh, ahead of WBGG, it was a financial failure (at one point losing as much as $2 million)—a problem that only worsened when KDKA-FM was launched as an FM sports station and wooed away some of WEAE's advertisers.[31] After attempts to sell the station ended without a buyer, ABC decided to not renew its lease of WWCS, which it had run as Pittsburgh's Radio Disney affiliate, upon its expiration on December 31, 2010, and move Radio Disney to WEAE,[31] with WBGG assuming the ESPN Radio affiliation[36] and Penn State men's basketball moving to KQV.[37] Local programming was largely canceled on September 25, 2010.[38] When the format change occurred on January 1, 2011, the call letters were changed to WDDZ (which were transferred from a former Radio Disney affiliate in Providence, Rhode Island and Zion, Illinois).[39]

On August 13, 2014, Disney put WDDZ and twenty-two other Radio Disney stations up for sale, to focus on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network.[40] [41] Disney originally planned to temporarily shut down the station on September 26, 2014.[42] However, Disney changed its plans at the last minute, and all stations remained on the air and continued carrying Radio Disney programming until they were sold.[43]

thumb|175px|Original logo after taking "The Answer" brandingOn February 25, 2015, Sports Radio Group (the Disney subsidiary that held the station's license) filed to sell WDDZ to the Pennsylvania Media Associates, Inc.,[44] a subsidiary of the Salem Media Group.[45] Salem bought the station for $1 million.[46] Following the sale's completion, Salem introduced its "Answer" conservative talk format on the station on May 13.[47] [48] [49] The FCC granted the sale on April 13, 2015.[50] The sale was consummated on May 12, 2015,[51] and the call sign was changed to WPGP.[52]

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: A Chronology of AM Radio Broadcasting 1900-1960. History of American Broadcasting. December 24, 2010. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120210170300/http://jeff560.tripod.com/chrono1.html. February 10, 2012.
  2. Web site: Roteman. Jeff. From 833 to 1250.... Jeff Roteman's WTAE Radio Page. December 24, 2010. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20101009013957/http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/taehist.html. October 9, 2010.
  3. Web site: Radio Service Bulletin. https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20160304133847/http://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Databases/documents_collection/radio_service_bulletins/2301.html. dead. March 4, 2016. Bureau of Navigation, Department of Commerce. December 24, 2010. 6. January 2, 1923.
  4. Web site: Radio Service Bulletin. https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20160304134036/http://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Databases/documents_collection/radio_service_bulletins/2306.html. dead. March 4, 2016. Department of Commerce Bureau of Navigation. December 24, 2010. 10. June 1, 1923.
  5. News: Gimbel Growth. December 25, 2010. Time. December 14, 1925. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120219121942/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,786583,00.html. February 19, 2012.
  6. Book: Salamon, Ed. Pittsburgh's Golden Age of Radio. 2010. Arcadia Publishing. 978-0-7385-7223-9. 8–9.
  7. Web site: Radio Service Bulletin. United States Department of Commerce Radio Division. December 25, 2010. 9. May 31, 1927. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20061125094933/http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Databases/documents_collection/radio_service_bulletins/2705.html. November 25, 2006.
  8. Web site: Radio Service Bulletin. https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20160304115020/http://transition.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Databases/documents_collection/radio_service_bulletins/2711.html. dead. March 4, 2016. United States Department of Commerce Radio Division. December 25, 2010. 8. November 30, 1927.
  9. Web site: Radio Service Bulletin. https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20160304140255/http://www.fcc.gov/ftp/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Databases/documents_collection/radio_service_bulletins/281130.pdf. dead. March 4, 2016. United States Department of Commerce Radio Division. December 25, 2010. 9. November 30, 1928.
  10. News: Log of U. S. Broadcast Stations Effective March 29, 1941. 3. December 25, 2010. Supplement to Broadcasting. September 15, 1940. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324062403/http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201941/BC%201941%2003%2017.pdf. March 24, 2012.
  11. News: KQV, Pittsburgh, and WCBM, Baltimore, Will Transfer to Blue Network in Fall. 9. December 25, 2010. Broadcasting. March 17, 1941. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324062403/http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201941/BC%201941%2003%2017.pdf. March 24, 2012.
  12. News: WCAE, KQV Switch Networks June 15. 49. December 25, 2010. Broadcasting. January 22, 1945. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324062451/http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201945/BC%201945%2001%2022.pdf. March 24, 2012.
  13. Book: Broadcasting-Telecasting Yearbook 1950. 1950. 260. December 25, 2010.
  14. News: For The Record. 85. December 25, 2010. Broadcasting-Telecasting. June 8, 1953. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324062603/http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201953/BC%201953%2006%2008.pdf. March 24, 2012.
  15. Book: Broadcasting Yearbook 1961-62. 1961. B-111. December 25, 2010.
  16. News: WJAS Switches to ABC. 9. December 25, 2010. Broadcasting-Telecasting. April 25, 1955. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324062636/http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201955/BC%201955%2004%2025.pdf. March 24, 2012.
  17. News: Closed Circuit. 5. December 25, 2010. Broadcasting-Telecasting. July 22, 1957. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324062708/http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201957/BC%201957%2007%2022.pdf. March 24, 2012.
  18. News: AB-PT Confirms Buy Of KQV for $700,000. 74. December 25, 2010. Broadcasting-Telecasting. September 2, 1957. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120324062752/http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201957/BC%201957%2009%2002.pdf. March 24, 2012.
  19. News: Pitt. Station's Catchy Promotions a Catch-All. December 25, 2010. Billboard. March 27, 1965.
  20. News: For The Record. 87. December 25, 2010. Broadcasting. June 6, 1966. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120406071700/http://www.davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC/BC%201966/BC%201966%2006%2006.pdf. April 6, 2012.
  21. News: Mehno. John. Stumbling WTAE-AM Soars To Deuce Spot. December 25, 2010. Billboard. November 8, 1980. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110728170856/http://user.pa.net/~ejjeff/stumblingtae.jpg. July 28, 2011.
  22. News: The Pederson Years. December 27, 2010. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 21, 2002. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20041206152020/http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/pitt/20021221pedersonP9.asp. December 6, 2004.
  23. Book: Broadcasting Yearbook 1977. 1977. C-182. December 25, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20101008175325/http://davidgleason.com/Archive%20BC-YB/1977/C-2%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201977.pdf. October 8, 2010.
  24. Book: Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1988. 1988. B-242. December 25, 2010.
  25. Hearst To Acquire WPBF-TV, West Palm Beach, Florida. March 25, 1997. December 25, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110717190754/http://www.hearst.com/press-room/pr-19970325a.php. July 17, 2011.
  26. News: Tascarella. Patty. Live from Green Tree. December 25, 2010. Pittsburgh Business Times. February 23, 1998. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026062453/http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/1998/02/23/focus1.html. October 26, 2012.
  27. News: Station breakup. December 25, 2010. Pittsburgh Business Times. March 2, 1998. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026062501/http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/1998/03/02/tidbits.html. October 26, 2012.
  28. News: Changing stations. December 25, 2010. Pittsburgh Business Times. June 29, 1998. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026062529/http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/1998/06/29/tidbits.html. October 26, 2012.
  29. News: ABC closes in on acquisition of WEAE-AM. Murray. Coleman. December 25, 2010. Pittsburgh Business Times. February 8, 1999. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20121026062536/http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/1999/02/08/story2.html. October 26, 2012.
  30. News: Smizik. Bob. Paulsen, Savran additions highlight changes at 1250 ESPN. December 27, 2010. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. July 28, 2008. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110522080340/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08210/900032-194.stm. May 22, 2011.
  31. News: Smizik. Bob. Major changes next week at 1250 ESPN. September 24, 2010. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 24, 2010. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100927032029/http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/bob-smiziks-blog/23799-rumors-none-of-the-good-swirl-around-1250-espn. September 27, 2010.
  32. "Madden removed from air by ESPN," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 28, 2008
  33. Web site: 105.9 The X - Mark Madden page. wxdx.com. April 24, 2018. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20081103013743/http://www.wxdx.com/pages/markmadden.html. November 3, 2008.
  34. News: Finder. Chuck. WDVE-FM secures rights as Steelers flagship station. December 25, 2010. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. February 18, 1999. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20120203180545/http://www.post-gazette.com/sports_headlines/19990218wdve3.asp. February 3, 2012.
  35. Web site: PSU Advertisement (1998 affiliate list). Turnpike Traveller. Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. December 27, 2010. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120308111320/http://www.paturnpike.com/newsletters/fall98/page05.htm. March 8, 2012.
  36. News: McCoy. Adrian. WBGG to gain some ESPN sports talk. December 27, 2010. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 3, 2010. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20101107073856/http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10307/1100077-67.stm. November 7, 2010.
  37. News: Smizik. Bob. Penn State basketball to KQV. December 27, 2010. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 17, 2010. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100929223705/http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/bob-smiziks-blog/23831-1250-espn-starts-shutdown. September 29, 2010.
  38. News: Smizik. Bob. Shutdown begins at 1250 ESPN. September 27, 2010. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. September 26, 2010. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20100929223705/http://communityvoices.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/sports/bob-smiziks-blog/23831-1250-espn-starts-shutdown. September 29, 2010.
  39. News: Fybush. Scott. New Year Dawns with Format Changes. January 3, 2011. NorthEast Radio Watch. January 3, 2011. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20110123014330/http://www.fybush.com/NERW/2011/110103/nerw.html. January 23, 2011.
  40. News: Lafayette. Jon. Exclusive: Radio Disney Moving Off Air to Digital. August 13, 2014. August 13, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140816060648/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/news/currency/exclusive-radio-disney-moving-air-digital/133166 . August 16, 2014.
  41. Radio Disney to Sell the Majority of Its Stations. Billboard. August 13, 2014. August 13, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140816061946/http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/6214509/radio-disney-to-sell-the-majority-of-its-stations. August 16, 2014.
  42. Web site: Radio Disney To Sell All But One Station . August 13, 2014 . August 13, 2014 . Venta . Lance . Radio Insight . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20140814040245/http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/89717/radio-disney-to-sell-all-but-one-station/ . August 14, 2014.
  43. Web site: NERW Extra: No Signoffs for Disney AMs. Northeast Radio Watch. September 26, 2014 . September 27, 2014. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20140929013954/http://www.fybush.com/nerw-20140926/. September 29, 2014.
  44. Web site: Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License. CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. February 25, 2015. February 25, 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150226055636/http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1671793&Service=AM&Form_id=314&Facility_id=65691. February 26, 2015.
  45. Web site: Parties to the Application - FCC. fcc.gov. April 24, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304094420/https://licensing.fcc.gov/cdbs/CDBS_Attachment/getattachment.jsp?appn=101671793&qnum=5130&copynum=1&exhcnum=1. March 4, 2016.
  46. Web site: Salem Acquires Disney Properties In Atlanta & Pittsburgh . February 25, 2015 . February 25, 2015 . Venta . Lance . Radio Insight . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20150226004351/http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/92099/salem-acquires-disney-properties-in-atlanta-pittsburgh/ . February 26, 2015.
  47. Fybush, Scott (February 25, 2015). Disney sells in Pittsburgh . NorthEast Radio Watch. Retrieved February 27, 2015.
  48. News: The Salem Plan For Disney Stations. March 11, 2015. Radio Ink. March 10, 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150313104732/http://www.radioink.com/Article.asp?id=2904124&spid=24698. March 13, 2015.
  49. News: Venta. Lance. Salem Reveals Pending Formats For Disney Acquisitions. March 11, 2015. RadioInsight. March 11, 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20150313065943/http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/92300/salem-reveals-pending-formats-for-disney-acquisitions/. March 13, 2015.
  50. Web site: Application Search Details. CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. April 27, 2015. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304101456/http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/app_det.pl?Application_id=1671793. March 4, 2016.
  51. Web site: Application View ... Redirecting. FCC Internet Services. Staff. licensing.fcc.gov. April 24, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304080620/http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/prefill_and_display.pl?Application_id=1677272&Service=AM&Form_id=905&Facility_id=65691. March 4, 2016.
  52. Web site: Call Sign History - FCC. fcc.gov. April 24, 2018. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20161022152256/https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=65691&Callsign=WPGP. October 22, 2016.

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