WSPZ
Encyclopedia
WSPZ — branded SportsTalk 570 — is a sports radio station
licensed to Bethesda, Maryland
and serving the Washington metro area
. It has a daytime power of 5,000 watts.
WSPZ's current programming is sports radio, chiefly as an all-network complement to sister station WTEM
. It is the flagship for Sporting News Radio
's morning show hosted by WTEM afternoon personality Steve Czaban
, and carries the ESPN Radio
programming lineup throughout the rest of the day, while WTEM has an all-local lineup. WSPZ also airs Virginia Cavaliers
football and select Baltimore Orioles
games not aired on WTEM.
WSPZ and WTEM are owned by Red Zebra Broadcasting
, a broadcasting firm owned by Daniel Snyder
, owner of the Washington Redskins
.
WGMS was sold to Washington, D.C.
venture capitalists Steven and Mitchell Rales, which converted the music station into WTEM
, a sports-talk station, in 1992. Chancellor Broadcasting purchased the station in August 1996. Chancellor Broadcasting restructured and became known as AMFM Inc. in 1999. In 2000, AMFM Inc. merged with Clear Channel Communications
.
As Chancellor gained ownership of more stations in the area, WTEM
moved to 980 kHz and WWRC
was reassigned to 570 kHz on March 9, 1998. On April 9, 2001, WWRC
moved to 1260 kHz and the callsign of 570 kHz was replaced by WTNT
. The original slogan was "Dynamite Talk" (which was dropped in 2005) and since their launch has aired a variety of conservative-leaning syndicated programming. These past programs included local hosts Michael Graham and Paul Berry
, and syndicated shows hosted by G. Gordon Liddy
, Don Imus
, Bill Bennett
, Monica Crowley
, Mike Gallagher
, Mancow, Glenn Beck
and Jim Bohannon
, in addition to Coast to Coast AM
.
On September 15, 2008, WTNT was branded as "McCain 570" while maintaining its conservative talk
plus news coverage from Fox News. (WWRC was likewise dubbed "Obama 1260.") The temporary branding lasted throughout the 2008 Presidential Election
. On November 10, 2008, WTNT was renamed "Freedom 570," and eventually retook the "570 WTNT" brand early in 2010.
For several months in 2009, Ed Schultz
aired in middays in a dramatic contrast to the rest of the schedule. Schultz was the most successful show that aired on then-sister station WWRC, which had dropped their progressive talk format for business news programming. Schultz was eventually replaced by Kuhner, and after WWRC was sold to Salem Communications
to become an outlet for that chain's conservative talk radio format
, the highest-rated host on WWRC's business lineup, Ray Lucia, moved into Kuhner's slot, displacing him to late afternoons.
The final programming lineup for WTNT's talk radio lineup included Talk Radio Network
products "America's Morning News" (which, until late August 2010, was produced in conjunction with the Washington Times), Laura Ingraham
, Jerry Doyle, Michael Savage
and Phil Hendrie
. (In the case of "America's Morning News" and Laura Ingraham, WTNT served as the flagship station for both shows.) Frank Gaffney
and Lars Larson
(the latter distributed by Compass Media Networks
) were also carried, in addition to a live and local midday show hosted by Jeff Kuhner. Tony Kornheiser
's midday talk show on WTEM
was replayed in the overnight hours.
In late summer 2010, WTNT changed to an all-sports format, and was rebranded as "SportsTalk 570," a partial throwback to WTEM's former "SportsTalk 980" nickname and logo. The station changed callsigns to WSPZ that October 18, after Red Zebra sold off the 730 kHz facility to Metro Radio
, which picked up WTNT's call letters and previous conservative talk format.
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 Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
and serving the Washington metro area
Washington Metropolitan Area
The Washington Metropolitan Area is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The area includes all of the federal district and parts of the U.S...
. It has a daytime power of 5,000 watts.
WSPZ's current programming is sports radio, chiefly as an all-network complement to sister station WTEM
WTEM
WTEM — branded ESPN 980 — is a sports radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It is the flagship of a sports talk trimulcast with WWXT in Prince Frederick, Maryland and WWXX in Buckland, Virginia, all affiliated with ESPN Radio and owned by Red Zebra...
. It is the flagship for Sporting News Radio
Sporting News Radio
Yahoo! Sports Radio, formerly Sporting News Radio is a United States sports radio network that broadcasts sports news, talk, scores, and highlights 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On August 1, 2011, it was announced the network would change its name to Yahoo! Sports Radio, effective...
's morning show hosted by WTEM afternoon personality Steve Czaban
Steve Czaban
Steve Czaban is an American sports radio personality. Czaban hosts The Steve Czaban Show on Yahoo! Sports Radio weekday mornings from 6 to 10 a.m., and co-hosts The Sports Reporters with Andy Pollin on "ESPN 980" WTEM weekday afternoons from 4 to 7 p.m...
, and carries the ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio is an American sports radio network. It was launched on January 1, 1992 under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN." ESPN Radio is located at ESPN headquarters in Bristol, Connecticut...
programming lineup throughout the rest of the day, while WTEM has an all-local lineup. WSPZ also airs Virginia Cavaliers
Virginia Cavaliers
The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as Wahoos or Hoos, are the athletic teams officially representing the University of Virginia in college sports. The Cavaliers compete in 25 NCAA Division I varsity sports and are members of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
football and select Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
games not aired on WTEM.
WSPZ and WTEM are owned by Red Zebra Broadcasting
Red Zebra Broadcasting
Red Zebra Broadcasting is a media company based in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The primary investors in Red Zebra are Daniel Snyder, better known as the owner of the Washington Redskins football franchise, and Dwight Schar, a minority owner of the team. Both are members of the...
, a broadcasting firm owned by Daniel Snyder
Daniel Snyder
Daniel M. Snyder is the current owner of the Washington Redskins American football team, owner of the Dick Clark Productions television production company, and primary investor in Red Zebra Broadcasting, which is home to the Redskins Radio Network. Snyder has a net worth of $1.05 billion...
, owner of the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
.
History
In the 1960s through the early 1990s, WSPZ was WGMS, broadcasting classical music. A proposal in the 1970s to convert WGMS to a Top-40 station upset many of its influential listeners; WGMS received an exception from the then-existing rule to simulcast its programming with its sister station, WGMS-FM.WGMS was sold to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
venture capitalists Steven and Mitchell Rales, which converted the music station into WTEM
WTEM
WTEM — branded ESPN 980 — is a sports radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It is the flagship of a sports talk trimulcast with WWXT in Prince Frederick, Maryland and WWXX in Buckland, Virginia, all affiliated with ESPN Radio and owned by Red Zebra...
, a sports-talk station, in 1992. Chancellor Broadcasting purchased the station in August 1996. Chancellor Broadcasting restructured and became known as AMFM Inc. in 1999. In 2000, AMFM Inc. merged with 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...
.
As Chancellor gained ownership of more stations in the area, WTEM
WTEM
WTEM — branded ESPN 980 — is a sports radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It is the flagship of a sports talk trimulcast with WWXT in Prince Frederick, Maryland and WWXX in Buckland, Virginia, all affiliated with ESPN Radio and owned by Red Zebra...
moved to 980 kHz and WWRC
WWRC
WWRC —branded 1260 WRC—is a news/talk radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It operates with 5,000 watts on an unlimited basis with studios and transmitters both located in the city proper...
was reassigned to 570 kHz on March 9, 1998. On April 9, 2001, WWRC
WWRC
WWRC —branded 1260 WRC—is a news/talk radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It operates with 5,000 watts on an unlimited basis with studios and transmitters both located in the city proper...
moved to 1260 kHz and the callsign of 570 kHz was replaced by WTNT
WTNT (AM)
WTNT —branded AM 730 WTNT—is a news/talk radio station licensed to Alexandria, Virginia and serving the Washington metro area. It operates with unlimited hours, with 8,000 watts during the daytime, and 25 watts in the evening hours...
. The original slogan was "Dynamite Talk" (which was dropped in 2005) and since their launch has aired a variety of conservative-leaning syndicated programming. These past programs included local hosts Michael Graham and Paul Berry
Paul Berry (television)
Paul Berry is an award-winning producer, reporter, and news anchor who covered news in Washington, D.C. and Detroit, U.S...
, and syndicated shows hosted by G. Gordon Liddy
G. Gordon Liddy
George Gordon Liddy was the chief operative for the White House Plumbers unit that existed from July–September 1971, during Richard Nixon's presidency. Separately, along with E. Howard Hunt, Liddy organized and directed the Watergate burglaries of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in...
, Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
, Bill Bennett
Bill Bennett
William Richards Bennett, PC, OBC , commonly known as Bill Bennett, was the 27th Premier of the Canadian province of British Columbia 1975–1986. He is a son of the former Premier, W. A. C. Bennett. He was a 3rd cousin, twice removed, of R.B...
, Monica Crowley
Monica Crowley
Monica Crowley is an American conservative radio and television commentator, and author based in New York City. She has her own radio show and is a regular commentator on The McLaughlin Group, a Fox News contributor, and Washington Times columnist.-Education:Crowley holds a B.A. in Political...
, Mike Gallagher
Mike Gallagher
Mike Gallagheris an American radio host and conservative political commentator. He is the host of The Mike Gallagher Show, a nationally-syndicated radio program that airs throughout the United States on Salem Radio Network and is also a FOX News Channel Contributor and guest host...
, Mancow, Glenn Beck
Glenn Beck
Glenn Edward Lee Beck is an American conservative radio host, vlogger, author, entrepreneur, political commentator and former television host. He hosts the Glenn Beck Program, a nationally syndicated talk-radio show that airs throughout the United States on Premiere Radio Networks...
and Jim Bohannon
Jim Bohannon
James E. "Jim" Bohannon is an American broadcaster who has worked in both television and radio.During the 1980s he was a fill-in for Larry King when King had his popular nighttime national radio program. He also does much work with the Smithsonian Associates...
, in addition to 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...
.
On September 15, 2008, WTNT was branded as "McCain 570" while maintaining its conservative talk
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...
plus news coverage from Fox News. (WWRC was likewise dubbed "Obama 1260.") The temporary branding lasted throughout the 2008 Presidential Election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
. On November 10, 2008, WTNT was renamed "Freedom 570," and eventually retook the "570 WTNT" brand early in 2010.
For several months in 2009, Ed Schultz
Ed Schultz
Edward Andrew "Ed" Schultz Is an American television and radio host and a liberal political commentator . He is the host of The Ed Show, a daily news talk program on MSNBC, and The Ed Schultz Show, a talk radio show, nationally syndicated by Dial Global, promising "straight talk."-Early...
aired in middays in a dramatic contrast to the rest of the schedule. Schultz was the most successful show that aired on then-sister station WWRC, which had dropped their progressive talk format for business news programming. Schultz was eventually replaced by Kuhner, and after WWRC was sold to Salem Communications
Salem Communications
Salem Communications is a U.S. radio broadcaster, Internet content provider, and magazine and book publisher specializing in evangelical Christian and conservative political talk radio. It owns 99 commercial radio stations, 65 of which are in the top 25 markets. Salem is the fifth largest U.S....
to become an outlet for that chain's conservative talk radio format
Salem Radio Network
Salem Radio Network is a United States-based radio network that specializes in syndicated Christian talk, music, and secular news/talk programming...
, the highest-rated host on WWRC's business lineup, Ray Lucia, moved into Kuhner's slot, displacing him to late afternoons.
The final programming lineup for WTNT's talk radio lineup included Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network
Talk Radio Network is an American radio network providing talk radio programming, with an emphasis on conservative talk on weekdays and variety/general interest talk radio on weekends. Some of the most recognizable personalities in American radio, such as Laura Ingraham and Michael Savage, are...
products "America's Morning News" (which, until late August 2010, was produced in conjunction with the Washington Times), Laura Ingraham
Laura Ingraham
Laura Anne Ingraham is an American radio host, author, and conservative political commentator. Her nationally syndicated talk show, The Laura Ingraham Show, airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
, Jerry Doyle, Michael Savage
Michael Savage (commentator)
Michael Savage is a conservative American radio host, author, and political commentator. He is the host of The Savage Nation, a nationally syndicated talk show that airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
and Phil Hendrie
Phil Hendrie
Philip Stephen Hendrie is an American radio personality. He is best known as the host of The Phil Hendrie Show, a comedy talk radio program that is syndicated throughout North America on Talk Radio Network...
. (In the case of "America's Morning News" and Laura Ingraham, WTNT served as the flagship station for both shows.) Frank Gaffney
Frank Gaffney
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr. is the founder and president of the American Center for Security Policy, columnist at the Washington Times, blogger at Big Peace and radio host on Secure Freedom Radio....
and Lars Larson
Lars Larson
Lars Larson is a conservative U.S. talk radio show host based in Oregon. Larson hosts a national talk radio show, which as of 2009 is syndicated by Compass Media Networks...
(the latter distributed by Compass Media Networks
Compass Media Networks
Compass Media Networks is an American radio network.The company launched in January 2009. It is owned by former Westwood One CEO and former COO of Connoisseur Media, Peter Kosann...
) were also carried, in addition to a live and local midday show hosted by Jeff Kuhner. Tony Kornheiser
Tony Kornheiser
Anthony Irwin "Tony" Kornheiser is an American sportswriter and former columnist for The Washington Post, as well as a radio and television talk show host...
's midday talk show on WTEM
WTEM
WTEM — branded ESPN 980 — is a sports radio station licensed to Washington, D.C. and serving the Washington metro area. It is the flagship of a sports talk trimulcast with WWXT in Prince Frederick, Maryland and WWXX in Buckland, Virginia, all affiliated with ESPN Radio and owned by Red Zebra...
was replayed in the overnight hours.
In late summer 2010, WTNT changed to an all-sports format, and was rebranded as "SportsTalk 570," a partial throwback to WTEM's former "SportsTalk 980" nickname and logo. The station changed callsigns to WSPZ that October 18, after Red Zebra sold off the 730 kHz facility to Metro Radio
Metro Radio
Metro Radio is an independent local radio station based in Newcastle upon Tyne and broadcasting to Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland. The station's output is principally contemporary pop and dance music...
, which picked up WTNT's call letters and previous conservative talk format.