WERC-FM
Encyclopedia
WERC-FM — branded News Radio 105.5 WERC — is an news/talk
radio station
licensed to Hoover, Alabama
and serving the Birmingham
market. It operates at an effective radiated power of 29.5 kilowatts. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications
.
From 1997 until 2008, the 105.5 FM frequency was home to the WENN call letters, which for many years were synonymous to many listeners from Birmingham
and most of Central
and North Alabama
as a legendary urban
station with a wide reaching signal. The station's current format originated in 1982 at 960 AM, and is the oldest news/talk format in Birmingham; as a result, WERC-FM is an indirect descendant of Birmingham's first radio station, WBRC. After the talk format and WERC calls migrated to the 105.5 facility, the 960 facility adopted the WVVB call letters and "Vulcan" branding - which were both originally used at the 105.5 frequency between the discontinuation of WENN (of which "The Vulcan" was its last format before the call change to WVVB) and the conversion to WERC-FM. Today, however, WVVB has resumed a simulcast of WERC-FM's talk format and switched its call sign back to WERC.
Like most Clear Channel talk stations, WERC-FM airs several local programs, as well as nationally syndicated programs such as The Glenn Beck Program, The Rush Limbaugh Show
and The Mutual Fund Show
with Adam Bold
. In addition, WERC simulcasts the audio feed of WBRC-TV's early morning and late night newscasts, along with breaking news/weather coverage (in effect continuing the linkage between WERC and its' onetime sister TV station). Overnight, the station broadcasts the syndicated Coast to Coast AM
hosted by George Noory
. The station also broadcasts the syndicated Saturday night program Somewhere In Time, which consists of reruns of Art Bell
-hosted editions of Coast to Coast AM.
was Trussville
, broadcasting at 3,000 watts power. For a brief time, WWIV served as a simulcast of then co-owned WYDE (850 AM, now WXJC
), which at the time was a news-talk station. That October, WWIV changed its call sign to WWBR and became album rock station "105.9 the Bear". Though the station filled a niche in the market, signal limitations and a less than desirable tower location prevented it from making a significant dent in the local ratings.
In February 1996, the music focus was shifted to modern rock
and alternative music. The station changed its on-air name to 106X and took on the new call sign WRAX. The station remained with this format until it swapped dial positions with WENN in December 1997.
, and gospel
, but by the end of the 1970s its sister station migrated to a primarily gospel-oriented playlist. Both WENN-FM and AM were purchased in 1976 by Dr. A.G. Gaston, one of the leaders of the black business community in Birmingham. Throughout its time as an urban station, WENN created strong local ties to the community through on-air personalities such as Tall Paul, Shelly Stewart,Jimmy Lawson, Stan Granger, Michael Starr, Roe Bonner, Chris Talley and Dave Donnell. During this time, the station used the slogan "WENN's gonna make me a WENNER!"; soon afterward, it shot to number 1 in the Arbitron
ratings and became one of the most popular stations of any format in the nation.
The late 1980s and early 1990s brought major changes to the on-air presentation of the station. WENN began to shift from a R&B/soul-based urban contemporary to a more mainstream Urban
with the introduction of hip-hop
and rap
to its playlist, and moved the slower R&B and soul songs to its quiet storm
program at night. It also adopted the station moniker and slogan 107.7 WENN, The People's Station, to reiterate that it still sought to be the station for the people, regardless of the shift in music focus. The station maintained a strong position in the Birmingham radio market in the top 5 in ratings throughout this time.
In 1997, the station owner, A.G. Gaston, died at age 101. Dr. Gaston's death brought a sense of uncertainty to WENN; the station's heirs' had lack of focus, and wanted to sell their media properties. At about the same time, WENN faced direct competition on FM for the first time, as both WBHJ
(95.7 FM) and WBHK
(98.7 FM) adopted formats that challenged WENN for listeners. The ratings for WENN faltered.
In the wake of the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
, WENN-FM and its AM sister station (which had become WAGG
, now at 610 AM) were sold to Cox Radio
, owner of WBHJ and WBHK. A few weeks later, the FM station was sold again, this time to Dick Broadcasting, who already owned and operated five other stations in Birmingham: WYSF (94.5 FM), WZRR
(99.5 FM), WRAX (105.9 FM), WJOX (690 AM), and WAPI (1070 AM). The purchase of WENN by an out of town based company, as well as the sudden and steep decline in the station's ratings, furthered the uncertainty surrounding its future. In December 1997, Dick Broadcasting swapped the broadcast frequencies of WENN and WRAX because their belief was that the only alternative-rock formatted station in the market would be more profitable on the stronger signal than that of what had become the third choice for listeners of urban music. The switch occurred, and WENN became known as "Rhythm 105.9". However, the 105.9 signal remained a hindrance to ratings because of its lower power and tower location on the eastern side of Birmingham. By the end of 1998, the legendary WENN fell victim to the poor signal and the competition from WBHJ and WBHK, and briefly went off the air. Dick Broadcasting had no experience with urban formats and felt that it would bring down the value of its cluster. Although still profitable, its sale was planned well in advance.
In 1999, WENN was purchased by Clear Channel
, and came back on the air as an urban oldies station with the nickname, "Jammin' Oldies 105.9". Meanwhile, WRAX, known as "107.7 the X", became a rating success after it moved to WENN's former signal. (Citadel Broadcasting
, the current owners of the former Dick Broadcasting properties in Birmingham, would return urban adult contemporary
music to the 107.7 frequency in 2005 with the launch of WUHT
.)
Jammin' Oldies 105.9 seemed to be only popular in areas where its less powerful signal could be received. In January 2000, WENN switched to an urban adult contemporary
format with a new name, "V-105.9" (even though there was no "V" in the call letters: the "V" stood for "Variety"), attempting to compete against 98.7 Kiss FM. The station subsequently tweaked the format, adding more new rap and hip hop in an attempt to make it competitive with 95.7 Jamz, but met with limited success. In September 2002, it again changed its name, this time to "Power 105.9", focusing even more on hip hop, rap and R&B. None of these formats worked, so it switched to gospel music
, "Hallelujah 105.9 FM" on February 1, 2003, copying a format Clear Channel had introduced in Memphis, Tennessee
the previous year. This format proved more successful, consistently ranking in the top 10 stations in Birmingham's Arbitron ratings.
In order to increase the station's broadcast power and improve its coverage area, WENN moved to 105.5 and changed the station's city of license
from Trussville to Hoover
, becoming "105.5 Hallelujah FM" on September 1, 2005, swapping dial positions with WRTR
in Tuscaloosa
.
. This came less than one week after WRAX, by then at 100.5 FM, dropped modern rock to become the market's first FM sports radio
station. The WENN call letters were retired on September 18, 2008 in favor of WVVB. WVVB's branding, "105.5 The Vulcan", was a tribute to a well-known landmark in Birmingham: The Vulcan Statue
.
WVVB changed formats on July 6, 2009, dropping the rock music format to become a simulcast of the news-talk format of WERC, then at 960 AM. This is the second incarnation of WERC-FM in Birmingham; from 1972 until 1977, the WERC-FM call letters were assigned to 106.9 FM
. The simulcast with 960 AM ended in January 2011, when that frequency changed formats and became an active rock
station, reviving the "Vulcan" branding and, on February 15, the WVVB call letters; the talk format aired solely on WERC-FM. On June 23, 2011, WERC-FM resumed simulcasting on 960 AM. The AM station resumed the WERC call sign on July 14, 2011.
Talk radio
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often feature interviews with a number of different guests. Talk radio typically includes an element of listener participation, usually by broadcasting live...
radio station
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
licensed to Hoover, Alabama
Hoover, Alabama
Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. The largest suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 62,742 as of the 2000 census and 81,619 in the 2010 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA and is also included in the...
and serving the Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
market. It operates at an effective radiated power of 29.5 kilowatts. It is owned by Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
.
From 1997 until 2008, the 105.5 FM frequency was home to the WENN call letters, which for many years were synonymous to many listeners from Birmingham
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
and most of Central
Central Alabama
Central Alabama is the region in the state of Alabama that stretches approximately 170 miles from the western border with Mississippi to eastern border with Georgia and 136 miles from the northern border of Cullman County to the Alabama River in southern Autauga County. With a...
and North Alabama
North Alabama
North Alabama is a region of the U.S. state of Alabama, generally considered to include 12 counties: Cherokee, Colbert, DeKalb, Franklin, Jackson, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Madison, Marshall, Morgan, and Winston, with a combined population of 958,247, or 20.84% of the state's population as...
as a legendary urban
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
station with a wide reaching signal. The station's current format originated in 1982 at 960 AM, and is the oldest news/talk format in Birmingham; as a result, WERC-FM is an indirect descendant of Birmingham's first radio station, WBRC. After the talk format and WERC calls migrated to the 105.5 facility, the 960 facility adopted the WVVB call letters and "Vulcan" branding - which were both originally used at the 105.5 frequency between the discontinuation of WENN (of which "The Vulcan" was its last format before the call change to WVVB) and the conversion to WERC-FM. Today, however, WVVB has resumed a simulcast of WERC-FM's talk format and switched its call sign back to WERC.
Like most Clear Channel talk stations, WERC-FM airs several local programs, as well as nationally syndicated programs such as The Glenn Beck Program, The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show
The Rush Limbaugh Show is an American talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh on Premiere Radio Networks...
and The Mutual Fund Show
The Mutual Fund Show
The Mutual Fund Show is an American talk radio program and is the first national program covering primarily mutual fund investments. The show started in 1998 on KMBZ 980 AM in Kansas City, MO, and now airs in multiple markets nationwide. The Mutual Fund Show is an hour-long show with Adam Bold...
with Adam Bold
Adam Bold
Adam Bold is an American author and businessman. He is the founder and minority shareholder of The Mutual Fund Store, and host of The Mutual Fund Show, a national weekly talk radio show focused on actively managed mutual fund investments...
. In addition, WERC simulcasts the audio feed of WBRC-TV's early morning and late night newscasts, along with breaking news/weather coverage (in effect continuing the linkage between WERC and its' onetime sister TV station). Overnight, the station broadcasts the syndicated Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM
Coast to Coast AM is a North American late-night syndicated radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics, but most frequently ones that relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was created by Art Bell and is distributed by Premiere Radio Networks. The program currently...
hosted by George Noory
George Noory
George Ralph Noory is a Lebanese-American radio talk show host.As of 2010, he is the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show Coast to Coast AM. He is heard across the United States and Canada on many AM and FM stations as well as on XM Satellite Radio. His show is one of the most listened...
. The station also broadcasts the syndicated Saturday night program Somewhere In Time, which consists of reruns of Art Bell
Art Bell
Arthur W. "Art" Bell, III is an American broadcaster and author, known primarily as one of the founders and the original host of the paranormal-themed radio program Coast to Coast AM. He also created and formerly hosted its companion show, Dreamland...
-hosted editions of Coast to Coast AM.
Origin of the license
The WERC-FM license debuted in 1993 as WWIV, and originally operated at 105.9 FM. The original city of licenseCity of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
was Trussville
Trussville, Alabama
Trussville is a city in Jefferson and St. Clair counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 19,933 at the 2010 census. Trussville was ranked as number 56 out of 100 in Money Magazines Best Places to Live 2005.-Geography:...
, broadcasting at 3,000 watts power. For a brief time, WWIV served as a simulcast of then co-owned WYDE (850 AM, now WXJC
WXJC (AM)
WXJC is a radio station licensed to serve Birmingham, Alabama. The station is licensed to Kimtron, Inc. and owned by Crawford Broadcasting Company...
), which at the time was a news-talk station. That October, WWIV changed its call sign to WWBR and became album rock station "105.9 the Bear". Though the station filled a niche in the market, signal limitations and a less than desirable tower location prevented it from making a significant dent in the local ratings.
In February 1996, the music focus was shifted to modern rock
Modern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
and alternative music. The station changed its on-air name to 106X and took on the new call sign WRAX. The station remained with this format until it swapped dial positions with WENN in December 1997.
WENN
WENN-FM came on the air at 107.7 FM in 1969 as the sister station of WENN (1320 AM). The station began as an FM simulcast of the AM's urban contemporary format, primarily playing R&B, soulSoul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, and gospel
Urban contemporary gospel
Traditional black gospel is music that is written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music...
, but by the end of the 1970s its sister station migrated to a primarily gospel-oriented playlist. Both WENN-FM and AM were purchased in 1976 by Dr. A.G. Gaston, one of the leaders of the black business community in Birmingham. Throughout its time as an urban station, WENN created strong local ties to the community through on-air personalities such as Tall Paul, Shelly Stewart,Jimmy Lawson, Stan Granger, Michael Starr, Roe Bonner, Chris Talley and Dave Donnell. During this time, the station used the slogan "WENN's gonna make me a WENNER!"; soon afterward, it shot to number 1 in the Arbitron
Arbitron
Arbitron is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio audiences. It was founded as American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by merging with L.A. based Coffin, Cooper and Clay in the early 1950s...
ratings and became one of the most popular stations of any format in the nation.
The late 1980s and early 1990s brought major changes to the on-air presentation of the station. WENN began to shift from a R&B/soul-based urban contemporary to a more mainstream Urban
Mainstream Urban
Mainstream Urban is a term used to describe a radio format similar to an Urban Contemporary format. The format differentiates itself due to two factors: playlist composition and target demographic...
with the introduction of hip-hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
to its playlist, and moved the slower R&B and soul songs to its quiet storm
Quiet storm
Quiet storm is a late-night radio format, featuring soulful slow jams, pioneered in the mid-1970s by then-station-intern Melvin Lindsey at WHUR-FM, in Washington, D.C. Smokey Robinson's like-titled hit single, released in 1975 as the title track to his third solo album, lent its name to the format...
program at night. It also adopted the station moniker and slogan 107.7 WENN, The People's Station, to reiterate that it still sought to be the station for the people, regardless of the shift in music focus. The station maintained a strong position in the Birmingham radio market in the top 5 in ratings throughout this time.
In 1997, the station owner, A.G. Gaston, died at age 101. Dr. Gaston's death brought a sense of uncertainty to WENN; the station's heirs' had lack of focus, and wanted to sell their media properties. At about the same time, WENN faced direct competition on FM for the first time, as both WBHJ
WBHJ
WBHJ is a urban-leaning rhythmic-formatted radio station that serves Birmingham, Alabama. In 2005, it also began broadcasting in IBOC digital radio, using the HD Radio system from iBiquity. It is owned by Cox Radio Holdings along with six other stations in the market...
(95.7 FM) and WBHK
WBHK
WBHK is an urban adult contemporary music formatted radio station owned by Cox Broadcasting that serves Birmingham, Alabama. It is currently ranked by the Arbitron rating system as the nation's highest rated urban adult contemporary station...
(98.7 FM) adopted formats that challenged WENN for listeners. The ratings for WENN faltered.
In the wake of the passing of the Telecommunications Act of 1996
Telecommunications Act of 1996
The Telecommunications Act of 1996 was the first major overhaul of United States telecommunications law in nearly 62 years, amending the Communications Act of 1934. This Act, signed by President Bill Clinton, was a major stepping stone towards the future of telecommunications, since this was the...
, WENN-FM and its AM sister station (which had become WAGG
WAGG
WAGG is a radio station licensed to Birmingham, Alabama. It broadcasts at a daytime power 5,000 watts, and at nighttime, it broadcasts at 1,000 watts. WAGG is a gospel music station that targets Birmingham's African-American population. It is owned by Cox Radio, which also owns six other...
, now at 610 AM) were sold to Cox Radio
Cox Radio
Cox Radio, Inc. is a division of Cox Enterprises that holds a number of radio stations. Cox Radio is headquartered at 6205 Peachtree Dunwoody Road in Sandy Springs, Georgia....
, owner of WBHJ and WBHK. A few weeks later, the FM station was sold again, this time to Dick Broadcasting, who already owned and operated five other stations in Birmingham: WYSF (94.5 FM), WZRR
WZRR
WZRR is a classic rock FM radio station licensed to Birmingham in the U.S. state of Alabama. Its on-air name is "Rock 99". The station is owned by Cumulus Media. Other stations in the market that Cumulus owns include WJOX-FM , WAPI-FM , WUHT-FM , WJOX-AM and WAPI-AM...
(99.5 FM), WRAX (105.9 FM), WJOX (690 AM), and WAPI (1070 AM). The purchase of WENN by an out of town based company, as well as the sudden and steep decline in the station's ratings, furthered the uncertainty surrounding its future. In December 1997, Dick Broadcasting swapped the broadcast frequencies of WENN and WRAX because their belief was that the only alternative-rock formatted station in the market would be more profitable on the stronger signal than that of what had become the third choice for listeners of urban music. The switch occurred, and WENN became known as "Rhythm 105.9". However, the 105.9 signal remained a hindrance to ratings because of its lower power and tower location on the eastern side of Birmingham. By the end of 1998, the legendary WENN fell victim to the poor signal and the competition from WBHJ and WBHK, and briefly went off the air. Dick Broadcasting had no experience with urban formats and felt that it would bring down the value of its cluster. Although still profitable, its sale was planned well in advance.
In 1999, WENN was purchased by Clear Channel
Clear channel
A clear-channel station is an AM band Radio station in North America that has the highest protection from interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. Usually known as class A stations since 1982, they are occasionally still referred to by their former...
, and came back on the air as an urban oldies station with the nickname, "Jammin' Oldies 105.9". Meanwhile, WRAX, known as "107.7 the X", became a rating success after it moved to WENN's former signal. (Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting
Citadel Broadcasting Corporation was a Las Vegas, Nevada-based broadcast holding company. Citadel owned 243 radio stations across the United States and was the third-largest radio station owner in the country...
, the current owners of the former Dick Broadcasting properties in Birmingham, would return urban adult contemporary
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
music to the 107.7 frequency in 2005 with the launch of WUHT
WUHT
-External links:*...
.)
Jammin' Oldies 105.9 seemed to be only popular in areas where its less powerful signal could be received. In January 2000, WENN switched to an urban adult contemporary
Urban Adult Contemporary
Urban adult contemporary is the name for a format of radio music, similar to an urban contemporary format. Radio stations using this format usually would not have rap music on their playlists. The format was designed by Barry Mayo when he, Lee S. Simonson and Bill Pearson organized Broadcast...
format with a new name, "V-105.9" (even though there was no "V" in the call letters: the "V" stood for "Variety"), attempting to compete against 98.7 Kiss FM. The station subsequently tweaked the format, adding more new rap and hip hop in an attempt to make it competitive with 95.7 Jamz, but met with limited success. In September 2002, it again changed its name, this time to "Power 105.9", focusing even more on hip hop, rap and R&B. None of these formats worked, so it switched to gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
, "Hallelujah 105.9 FM" on February 1, 2003, copying a format Clear Channel had introduced in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
the previous year. This format proved more successful, consistently ranking in the top 10 stations in Birmingham's Arbitron ratings.
In order to increase the station's broadcast power and improve its coverage area, WENN moved to 105.5 and changed the station's city of license
City of license
A city of license or community of license, in American and Canadian broadcasting, is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator....
from Trussville to Hoover
Hoover, Alabama
Hoover is a city in Jefferson and Shelby Counties in north central Alabama, in the United States. The largest suburb of Birmingham, the population of the city was 62,742 as of the 2000 census and 81,619 in the 2010 census. Hoover is part of the Birmingham-Hoover, AL MSA and is also included in the...
, becoming "105.5 Hallelujah FM" on September 1, 2005, swapping dial positions with WRTR
WRTR
WRTR is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. Licensed to Brookwood, Alabama, USA, the station serves the Tuscaloosa area...
in Tuscaloosa
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
.
Switching to rock and talk
In December 2006, WENN surprised Birmingham area radio listeners by dropping gospel music for modern rockModern rock
Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre...
. This came less than one week after WRAX, by then at 100.5 FM, dropped modern rock to become the market's first FM sports radio
Sports radio
Sports radio is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A popular format with an almost exclusively male demographic in most areas, sports radio is characterized by an often-boisterous on-air style and extensive debate and analysis by both hosts and...
station. The WENN call letters were retired on September 18, 2008 in favor of WVVB. WVVB's branding, "105.5 The Vulcan", was a tribute to a well-known landmark in Birmingham: The Vulcan Statue
Vulcan statue
The Vulcan statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world, and is the city symbol of Birmingham, Alabama, reflecting its roots in the iron and steel industry. The tall statue depicts the Roman god Vulcan, god of the fire and forge. It was created as Birmingham's entry for the Louisiana...
.
WVVB changed formats on July 6, 2009, dropping the rock music format to become a simulcast of the news-talk format of WERC, then at 960 AM. This is the second incarnation of WERC-FM in Birmingham; from 1972 until 1977, the WERC-FM call letters were assigned to 106.9 FM
WBPT
WBPT is a classic hits music-formatted radio station licensed to Homewood, Alabama, that serves the Birmingham and central Alabama area. The station was assigned the WBPT call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on October 17, 2001. Since October 2005, it has used the branding "106.9...
. The simulcast with 960 AM ended in January 2011, when that frequency changed formats and became an active rock
Active rock
Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:...
station, reviving the "Vulcan" branding and, on February 15, the WVVB call letters; the talk format aired solely on WERC-FM. On June 23, 2011, WERC-FM resumed simulcasting on 960 AM. The AM station resumed the WERC call sign on July 14, 2011.