WNIO
Encyclopedia
WNIO — branded 1390 WNIO — is an AM
radio station
in Youngstown, Ohio
, USA broadcasting at 1390 kHz with an Sports talk radio
format dubbed "The Sports Animal." WNIO also carries Ohio State University
football
and basketball
, Cleveland Cavaliers
basketball, and Pittsburgh Steelers
football.
. It was originally at 1420 kHz, and moved to 1450 kHz during the NARBA
frequency shift on March 29, 1941. It moved to its present location 1390 kHz during the mid 1940s. During the 1940s and early 1950s WFMJ was an affiliate of the Blue Network and its successor ABC.
In 1948, Maag launched WFMJ-FM at 105.1 MHz; the FM station is now WQXK
. On March 8, 1953, Maag started Youngstown's second television station WFMJ-TV on channel 73. The television station moved to its present location, channel 21, on August 7, 1954.
The AM station changed its callsign to WHOT on April 23, 1990, when it sold by its original owners to the owner of WHOT-FM
, and it used the historic call sign from the former Top 40 AM station the originally broadcast daytime only on 1570 kHz and later full time on 1330 kHz. Four years later, it was sold to Connoisseur Communications, and it changed to WRTK on February 15, 1995, assuming a talk radio format as "Real Talk 1390."
In order to obtain Justice Department approval to purchase WQXK
(FM) and WSOM
(AM),
Connoisseur was forced to sell WRTK as well as WBBG
(FM). The stations were sold on February 23, 1998 to a subsidiary of Bain Gocom, the Boston venture capital company that was a major investor in WKBN-TV's former parent company. In a few months, Jacor Communications entered into a LMA
with Bain Gocom for all of their radio stations in Youngstown and New Castle, including WRTK and WBBG. Combined with Jacor's existing station holdings in the area - and a merger with Clear Channel months later - ten stations were under the same operational and management control in the New Castle/Youngstown region.
The station became WNIO on November 1, 1999, after Clear Channel relocated WNIO's adult standards format and callsign from the daytime-only 1540 kHz facility in Niles, Ohio
(that station would assume the WRTK
calls and would be spun off to different owners in early 2001).
Clear Channel Communications purchased WNIO along with WNCD
(which switched dial positions with WBBG in late 2000) and WAKZ
from Bain in 2005, after it had dropped its petition on January 14, 2004 to purchase those three stations along with WICT
due to FCC objections, and also included Clear Channel selling off their station clusters in New Castle and Johnstown
to Forever Broadcasting, LLC.
From 2000 until 2010, WNIO also served as the flagship station for Mahoning Valley Scrappers
minor league baseball
.
In November 2010, Clear Channel announced that WNIO would drop its standards format in favor of Fox Sports Radio
on December 27. The move will coincide with the displacement of the network from crosstown WANR 1570 AM in Warren
, which switched back to its former classic hits
format under the moniker "The Blizzard." This is one of two Standards stations changing their format in the Youngstown region. Cumulus owned WSOM AM 600 has flipped to News Talk on December 13 of 2010.
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
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...
in Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, USA broadcasting at 1390 kHz with an Sports talk 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...
format dubbed "The Sports Animal." WNIO also carries Ohio State University
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly referred to as Ohio State, is a public research university located in Columbus, Ohio. It was originally founded in 1870 as a land-grant university and is currently the third largest university campus in the United States...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
and basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers are a professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They began playing in the National Basketball Association in 1970 as an expansion team...
basketball, and Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
football.
History
The station was founded in 1939 as WFMJ by William F. Maag, Jr. from whose initials the call letters were derived. Maag was also publisher of the The Youngstown VindicatorThe Vindicator
The Vindicator, also known at times as The Youngstown Vindicator, is a daily newspaper serving Youngstown, Ohio and the Mahoning County Region as well as southern Trumbull County and northern Columbiana County. Founded in 1869, the newspaper currently has a circulation of 62,100 daily and 87,000...
. It was originally at 1420 kHz, and moved to 1450 kHz during the NARBA
North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement
The North American Radio Broadcasting Agreement, usually referred to as NARBA, is a treaty that took effect in March 1941 and set out the bandplan and interference rules for mediumwave AM broadcasting in North America. Although mostly replaced by other agreements in the 1980s, the basic bandplan...
frequency shift on March 29, 1941. It moved to its present location 1390 kHz during the mid 1940s. During the 1940s and early 1950s WFMJ was an affiliate of the Blue Network and its successor ABC.
In 1948, Maag launched WFMJ-FM at 105.1 MHz; the FM station is now WQXK
WQXK
WQXK is a commercial radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, USA, serving the Mahoning Valley market broadcasting at 105.1 MHz with a country music format. It is one of seven radio stations in the Youngstown market owned by Cumulus Media with studios in "The Radio Center" in Youngstown.-History:The...
. On March 8, 1953, Maag started Youngstown's second television station WFMJ-TV on channel 73. The television station moved to its present location, channel 21, on August 7, 1954.
The AM station changed its callsign to WHOT on April 23, 1990, when it sold by its original owners to the owner of WHOT-FM
WHOT-FM
WHOT-FM is a commercial radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, USA, broadcasting at 101.1 MHz with a Top 40 format. It is one of seven radio stations in the Youngstown market owned by Cumulus Broadcasting. Its transmitter is located in Youngstown...
, and it used the historic call sign from the former Top 40 AM station the originally broadcast daytime only on 1570 kHz and later full time on 1330 kHz. Four years later, it was sold to Connoisseur Communications, and it changed to WRTK on February 15, 1995, assuming a talk radio format as "Real Talk 1390."
In order to obtain Justice Department approval to purchase WQXK
WQXK
WQXK is a commercial radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, USA, serving the Mahoning Valley market broadcasting at 105.1 MHz with a country music format. It is one of seven radio stations in the Youngstown market owned by Cumulus Media with studios in "The Radio Center" in Youngstown.-History:The...
(FM) and WSOM
WSOM
WSOM is a radio station in Salem, Ohio, USA, serving the Youngstown, Ohio market broadcasting at 600 kHz with a Talk format. The station flipped from Adult standards on December 13, 2010. It is one of seven radio stations in the Youngstown market owned by Cumulus Broadcasting with studios in "The...
(AM),
Connoisseur was forced to sell WRTK as well as WBBG
WBBG
WBBG is a commercial FM radio station in Youngstown, Ohio market broadcasting at 106.1 MHz with an oldies format. The station is licensed to Niles, Ohio, with programming similar to fellow Clear Channel stations WWSW-FM in Pittsburgh and WMJI in Cleveland....
(FM). The stations were sold on February 23, 1998 to a subsidiary of Bain Gocom, the Boston venture capital company that was a major investor in WKBN-TV's former parent company. In a few months, Jacor Communications entered into a LMA
LMA
LMA may refer to:* Laryngeal mask airway, a mask used in anaesthesia and emergency medicine.* Leaf Mass per Area* League Managers Association, an organization representing managers of English football clubs....
with Bain Gocom for all of their radio stations in Youngstown and New Castle, including WRTK and WBBG. Combined with Jacor's existing station holdings in the area - and a merger with Clear Channel months later - ten stations were under the same operational and management control in the New Castle/Youngstown region.
The station became WNIO on November 1, 1999, after Clear Channel relocated WNIO's adult standards format and callsign from the daytime-only 1540 kHz facility in Niles, Ohio
Niles, Ohio
Niles is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The city's population was 20,932 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, OH-PA Metropolitan Statistical Area....
(that station would assume the WRTK
WRTK
WYCL — branded 1540 WYCL — is a news/talk radio station licensed to Niles, Ohio, and serving the Youngstown-Warren area from its studio/transmitter facility in Mineral Ridge. The station is only allowed to broadcast with 500 watts during the daytime hours...
calls and would be spun off to different owners in early 2001).
Clear Channel Communications purchased WNIO along with WNCD
WNCD
WNCD is a commercial radio station serving Youngstown, Ohio, owned by Clear Channel and broadcasting a mainstream rock format at 93.3 MHz. Its signal covers Youngstown, Warren, and New Castle, PA, and at times even reaches Erie and New Kensington, Pennsylvania. However, as one approaches Meadville...
(which switched dial positions with WBBG in late 2000) and WAKZ
WAKZ
WAKZ is a radio station licensed to Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, and serving Youngstown, Ohio. The station is owned by Clear Channel. It airs a Rhythmic music format, competing with WDJQ Q92, WHOT-FM "Hot 101", WHBC-FM "Mix 94.1", WRBP, "Jamz 101.9",and WENZ "Z 1079"...
from Bain in 2005, after it had dropped its petition on January 14, 2004 to purchase those three stations along with WICT
WWGY
WWGY, branded as Froggy 95, is a country music formatted radio station in Grove City, Pennsylvania. It is not a simulcast affiliation with Froggy 100.3 in Meadville, Pennsylvania, but the two stations are owned by Forever Broadcasting, LLC. WWGY is a station in the Pittsburgh Steelers radio...
due to FCC objections, and also included Clear Channel selling off their station clusters in New Castle and Johnstown
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
to Forever Broadcasting, LLC.
From 2000 until 2010, WNIO also served as the flagship station for Mahoning Valley Scrappers
Mahoning Valley Scrappers
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are a minor league baseball club based in Niles, Ohio, a city in the valley of the Mahoning River. The Scrappers play in the Pinckney Division of the Short-Season A classification New York - Penn League and are affiliated with the Cleveland Indians Major League...
minor league baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
.
In November 2010, Clear Channel announced that WNIO would drop its standards format in favor of Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio, abbreviated FSR, is an international radio network consisting of sports talk programming. The network is a service of Premiere Networks...
on December 27. The move will coincide with the displacement of the network from crosstown WANR 1570 AM in Warren
Warren, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...
, which switched back to its former classic hits
Classic hits
Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes rock and pop music from 1964 to 1989. The term is sometimes erroneously used as a synonym for the adult hits format, but is more accurately characterized as a contemporary style of the oldies format...
format under the moniker "The Blizzard." This is one of two Standards stations changing their format in the Youngstown region. Cumulus owned WSOM AM 600 has flipped to News Talk on December 13 of 2010.