History WDCH-FM

1 history

1.1 el zol 99.1 fm
1.2 news 99.1
1.3 99.1 wnew
1.4 bloomberg 99-1

history

the 99.1 mhz frequency wnav-fm, licensed annapolis, maryland , featuring beautiful music format. competed similar stations in both baltimore , washington markets. in 1983, station changed calls wlom-fm.

in 1983 owners of whfs, licensed bethesda @ 102.3 fm, sold station $2 million , used money purchase wlom along , sister station wnav (1430 am). whfs format , call letters moved 99.1 fm, licensed operate 50,000 watts (class b fm) higher power 102.3 facility, broadcasts 3,000 watts (class a) @ time; class fm lowest coverage area opposed class greatest coverage area. whfs on 99.1 heard in baltimore, washington, , of eastern shore of maryland. einstein s group sold whfs. when station switched formats, located @ infinity broadcasting center in lanham, maryland. 102.3 frequency occupied urban ac station in washington, using call letters wmmj , nicknamed majic 102.3 .

since 1990, whfs has hosted event called hfstival, annual (sometimes semi-annual) day-long (sometimes two-day-long) outdoor concert. concert, held @ washington s rfk stadium, features variety local , national acts; example, 2004 lineup included cure, jay-z, modest mouse, yeah yeah yeahs, , cypress hill. robert benjamin, bob waugh , bill glasser took hfstival small yearly concert in fairfax, virginia, large festival in washington, d.c. headlined major acts , surrounded culturally significant booths, games, food, , rides, outdoor second stage. amongst others, billy 0 instrumental in growing hfstival locals stage bands charlotte , jimmie s chicken shack got big break. term locals stuck , still used today , locals stage copied modern rock stations across country.

in mid-1990s, liberty broadcasting published quarterly magazine titled whfs press mailed listeners , available in local music outlets.

though becoming famous cutting-edge station playing latest underground music (and beating mainstream punch months , years), under infinity broadcasting s ownership, station became local modern alternative rock station in mid 90s. no longer playing rather obscure progressive rock, nor classic , hard rock of baltimore competitor wiyy, hfs formatted more towards younger set of fans more apt listen green day , fuel less mainstream artists such fugazi or lou reed. station played of alternative hits touted mainstream press , mtv, turning off many old-school hfs listeners, in turn gaining many listeners in 18-24 age demographic.

during period, whfs featured specialty show called hear , hosted dave marsh, highlighted indie , local music. station never reverted prior all-indie status, did begin combine more underground programming modern rock format.

in 1999, whfs released new music new video compilation volume 1 on vhs distributed free @ washington area tower records outlets. featured tracks cyclefly, fuel, fastball, elliott smith, kid rock, eve 6, 3 colours red, puya, , joydrop.

el zol 99.1 fm

at noon on january 12, 2005, 99.1 switched tropical latin music format. call letters changed wzll on january 28, 2005, , again wlzl on february 5, 2005, , station rebranded el zol 99.1 fm . aol, had partnership infinity broadcasting , recognized many people miss old whfs format, launched internet-only streaming radio station playlist of whfs. due numerous complaints format change, attracted media attention, then-owner infinity brought whfs format month later on 105.7 fm frequency (now wjz-fm). whfs call letters have since relocated first talk station on 1580 (now wjfk), sister station in west palm beach, florida. wlzl cbs radio s first spanish radio station, , company s spanish station outside southern united states.

a wnew chevrolet equinox news vehicle

on november 16, 2011, cbs radio announced plans acquire wfsi (107.9 mhz) religious broadcaster family radio, intention of moving wlzl s spanish tropical format , el zol branding 99.1 107.9, new all-news format launched on 99.1 fm compete directly region s leading all-news format station, long-time powerhouse wtop-fm. 99.1 mhz frequency adopt wnew-fm call sign. format change occurred on december 1, when 99.1 , 107.9 both began simulcasting el zol. el zol moved 107.9 on december 12, 2011, , 99.1 began stunting christmas music, wnew-fm call letters in place on 99.1. on december 27, 2011, wnew-fm ended christmas music stunting , began stunting 1981 silver anniversary edition of history of rock , roll.

all news 99.1

logo news 99.1, 2012-15

the all-news format launched @ noon on january 22, 2012; station planned launch @ 5 a.m. on january 19, postponed due technical problems. station broadcasts simultaneously in hd radio on 94.7 fm - hd2 , 105.7 fm - hd2.

wnew-fm regularly programmed traffic reports , weather every 5 minutes between 5 , 7 pm on ones , sixes weekdays, , every ten minutes on ones (six times hour) rest of week (both cbs local affiliate television station wusa, channel 9), sports updates twice hour at :25 and :55 sister all-sports station wjfk-fm, entertainment news once hour, , business news bloomberg news twice hour at :15 and :45. when breaking news warranted, wnew-fm break format provide continuous coverage of event. when station began, had traffic reports every ten minutes, , had weather reports every 4 minutes. @ beginning, focused on washington area news, traffic, , weather. in 2014, station expanded coverage of baltimore metropolitan area providing news, traffic , weather reports, , coordinated on-air personalities in news, sports , weather departments long-time market-leading station wjz-tv; change promoted , advertised @ time. thought opportune time, since competitor wtop had switched long-time wide-ranging signal @ 1500, several fm repeaters curtailed traditionally strong signal across 2 states , district. wnew-fm station provide coverage both washington , baltimore, unlike wtop, had, since 1970s, focused on washington area , carried baltimore news events, sports or different weather , temperature readings.

as done other cbs-owned all-news stations, wnew-fm provided audio feed of such network news programming daily cbs evening news each weeknight @ 7 pm, sunday s face nation interview/discussion program, , weekly sunday news magazine, 60 minutes; latter s simulcast promoted wjz-tv, radio broadcast paused every 10 minutes traffic , weather updates, , result, wnew-fm simulcast few minutes behind cbs television broadcast. in addition, similar other cbs-owned all-news stations, 60 minutes broadcast @ 7 pm on sundays each , every week, regardless of whether or not televised version (usually nfl football game) delayed on cbs.

99.1 wnew

on february 23, 2015, wnew-fm began airing talk programs, including syndicated dave ramsey show in evenings, business , personal finance call-in program , overnight america, syndicated nationwide late-night broadcast.

on first weekend in march 2015, media insider local internet news website dcrtv.com reported cbs radio moving dc-area radio stations studios , offices closer nationals park of local baseball team, washington nationals. wnew-fm first station move. on march 8, 2015, wnew-fm claimed renovating studios , not continue broadcasting ordinary news programming, promising return regular programming later night. came weeks after hosts on sister station wjfk-fm, 106.7, fan had similar problems.

bloomberg 99-1

on december 18, 2015, @ 10 a.m., wnew-fm began simulcasting bloomberg radio bloomberg 99.1 & 105.7-hd2 after cbs began leasing station bloomberg earlier day. wiad-hd2 drop wnew simulcast , flip classic hits couple months later in february.

on march 15, 2016, wnew-fm changed calls wdch-fm.

on february 2, 2017, cbs radio announced merge entercom. merger approved on november 9, 2017, , consummated on 17th. despite merger, bloomberg continue lease station via time brokerage agreement.