WTPG
Encyclopedia
WYTS is a radio station
in Columbus, Ohio
owned by Clear Channel Communications
. They are the Columbus affiliate for Fox Sports Radio
, along with being Columbus' affiliate for The Jim Rome Show
. WYTS is also the Columbus radio home of the Cincinnati Reds
and Cincinnati Bengals
.
WYTS is the sixth-oldest continuously running radio station in the state of Ohio, and is best known for its Top 40 format in the 1960s and 1970s under the heritage WCOL calls. In the time period between 1998 and today, the station has undergone five different format changes with as many different call signs.
Publishing Company, headed by Edgar and Robert F. Wolfe
, whose family also owned (and still does) WBNS (AM)
and WBNS-FM
Radio. Naturally, WCOL and WBNS shared studios and offices, with WCOL eventually affiliating with both the NBC Red
and Blue networks by 1937 (retaining the Blue affiliation in 1943). The 1941 NARBA agreement moved WCOL over to the 1230 kHz dial position, where it has remained ever since.
When FCC guidelines dictated that no single owner could own two AM stations in the same market, WCOL was spun off by the Wolfe family to a partnership headed by several members of The Pixleys Incorporated, headed by family members Lloyd Pixley, Martha Pixley and Grace Pixley. Lloyd was the son of former WBAV operator Milton Pixley (today known as WTVN
), and became president of WCOL with the sale. The station soon received both a new transmitter, and an FM sister station at 92.3 MHz, which also took the WCOL calls.
The Pixleys would sell off WCOL AM/FM to Air Trails, Inc. on January 1952. Air Trails, and its successor Great Trails Broadcasting would be the primary owners of WCOL for over 52 years. Operating power for the station was increased to 1,000 watts during the daytime by July 1960, along with broadcasting 24-hours a day. WCOL, by then an independent station, then changed its format over to Top-40 that July 1, dubbing itself "The New WCOL."
WCOL was best known to Columbus area residents throughout the 1960s during this era, and was the primary Top-40 format station in the Columbus market. It held this distinction from 1960 to the early 1970s, until the rise in popularity of FM broadcasting and competition from WNCI
.
WCOL, in its Top-40 heyday was heralded as the station which "premiered" the hits. Bryan McIntyre gained national award recognition for his uncanny ability to pick hit music, in advance of other radio markets. The WCOL calls were also used in tribute as the backdrop for the 1996 Tom Hanks
movie "That Thing You Do."
in Dayton
, WIZE
in Springfield
, WGTZ
(née WJAI) in Eaton
, and WKLO
(now WKJK) and WKLO-FM
(now WDJX-FM) in Louisville during this time. WCOL-FM would also see changes, splitting away from the AM station to highlight a progressive rock format before becoming "92X" WXGT (for "X-Great Trails") where the top 40 format was moved to.
As the 1970s faded, the station changed format to a more adult-contemporary focus. WCOL was still successful in this format until a series of management and airstaff changeovers followed in the early 80's including a brief switch to middle of the road-styled adult standards
and the brief return of Columbus broadcast legend Spook Beckman. The station began broadcasting at 1,000 watts 24-hours a day, along with a format change to news/talk. After that format failed to show in the ratings, WCOL flipped back to "Top-40 Oldies" with the WXGT calls dropped reverting back to WCOL-FM.
By 1991, WCOL-AM was simulcasting WCOL-FM's oldies programming, with the AM station soon breaking off to play 1950s oldies. In short order, WCOL went back to a news/talk format, only this time assuming a mostly-syndicated lineup.
were sold off to Nationwide Communications
in 1994, the parent company of WNCI
.
WCOL became WFII on March 24, 1997, airing a syndicated conservative talk radio
format as "1230 FYI," though this time it was oriented at younger listeners. WTVN
owner Jacor Communications acquired WFII, WCOL and WNCI in August 1998, and ultimately merged with Clear Channel Communications
that next year.
WFII was not a ratings success, and in 2001 the station became WZNW, airing a sports talk
format as "1230 The Zone". However, WZNW was never able to compete effectively against the other full-time sports station in Columbus, WBNS
, which held the rights to the Ohio State Buckeyes
.
WCOL returned to 1230 in 2003, playing pre-British Invasion
pop/rock
as "Real Oldies 1230". WCOL traded in on its heritage as a Top 40 station, and the "Real Oldies" format played much of the same music. They even used some of their vintage PAMS
and TM jingles from that era. Despite some positive "buzz" from long-time radio listeners, many of whom remembered WCOL from its Top 40 heyday, the format failed to capture a significant audience in the market. The station, mostly automated using voice-tracking
, lacked the live personalities which made the original WCOL great.
At noon on September 7, 2004, WCOL became WTPG, as "Progressive Talk AM 1230." WTPG carried programming mostly from the Air America Radio
network
, as well as syndicated hosts Ed Schulz, Springer on the Radio
(via a 21-hour delay in morning drive) and Stephanie Miller
. WTPG saw mild ratings improvements, although (as was the case with WFII, WZNW and WCOL) ranked well behind counter-programmed sister station WTVN
.
On December 23, 2006, the Columbus Dispatch reported that WTPG would change again that January 8 over to a conservative-based talk format, under the WYTS calls. Bruce Collins, the local program director for WTVN and WYTS, said: "Whether it's politics or sports, financial information or general advice, central Ohio listeners will have the opportunity to talk about it on 'Talk 1230.'"
Shortly after the station announced the pending format change, a small group of people formed Ohio Majority Radio, an eventually unsuccessful grassroots attempt to save the progressive radio format on 1230 AM. Competing station WVKO
(1580 AM) eventually changed formats, and picked up much of the former WTPG schedule for a brief time before switching to a religious format.
On January 26, 2009, WYTS dropped the conservative talk format and became the Columbus affiliate for Fox Sports Radio
. WYTS will carry the full FSR schedule (with the exception of 9 a.m. - noon, when a replay of the Steve Czaban
Show will air instead of The Dan Patrick Show
, which airs on WTDA
) and will hold on to The Jim Rome Show
. After WTDA dropped its talk format and Patrick's show in late December 2009, WYTS picked Patrick's show live.
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 Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
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...
. They are the Columbus affiliate for 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...
, along with being Columbus' affiliate for The Jim Rome Show
The Jim Rome Show
The Jim Rome Show is a sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. The show is produced in Los Angeles, California, syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, and can be heard on more than 200 affiliate radio stations in the U.S...
. WYTS is also the Columbus radio home of the Cincinnati Reds
Cincinnati Reds
The Cincinnati Reds are a Major League Baseball team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the National League Central Division. The club was established in 1882 as a charter member of the American Association and joined the National League in 1890....
and Cincinnati Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional football team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. They are members of the AFC's North Division in the National Football League . The Bengals began play in 1968 as an expansion team in the American Football League , and joined the NFL in 1970 in the AFL-NFL...
.
WYTS is the sixth-oldest continuously running radio station in the state of Ohio, and is best known for its Top 40 format in the 1960s and 1970s under the heritage WCOL calls. In the time period between 1998 and today, the station has undergone five different format changes with as many different call signs.
WMAN
WYTS began in 1922 as WMAN, an offshoot of the Broad Street Baptist Church in downtown Columbus. The station's studios and transmitter were located within the church, and broadcast hours were only a few hours each Sunday as audio simulcasts of church services. Church member W. E. Heskett became the license holder of WMAN in conjunction with the church on December 1924 and had purchased the station outright by 1927. Hours of operation expanded gradually beyond Sunday services, and WMAN's studios were relocated to the Seneca Hotel.WSEN
Heskett soon leased airtime on WMAN to the Columbus Broadcasting Corporation in late 1929, with a buyout following months later. Intending to shake its previous religiously-rooted image, the stations' callsign was modified to WSEN, a reflection of the Seneca Hotel. By 1932, the station operated on a daily basis from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 midnight.WCOL
It became WCOL upon its sale to the The Columbus DispatchThe Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch is a daily newspaper based in Columbus, Ohio. Its first issue was published on July 1, 1871, and has been the only mainstream daily newspaper in the city since The Columbus Citizen-Journal stopped printing in 1985....
Publishing Company, headed by Edgar and Robert F. Wolfe
Robert F. Wolfe
According to biographies supplied by the Columbus Foundation and the Columbus Dispatch, newspaper founder Robert F. Wolfe arrived in Columbus, Ohio in 1888 and found work as a shoemaker, eventually beginning the Wolfe Brothers Shoe Company. In 1903, he bought the Ohio State Journal with his...
, whose family also owned (and still does) WBNS (AM)
WBNS (AM)
WBNS — branded 1460 ESPN — is a radio station that broadcasts from Columbus, Ohio. The station, which originally went on the air as WCAH in 1922, currently broadcasts a sports talk format and carries ESPN talk programming. WBNS is also the flagship of the Ohio State Buckeyes radio network. It is...
and WBNS-FM
WBNS-FM
WBNS-FM is a radio station in Columbus, Ohio airing a sports radio format.WBNS-FM features a combination of local programming and ESPN Radio programming, and is the flagship station for the Ohio State Buckeyes football and basketball radio networks...
Radio. Naturally, WCOL and WBNS shared studios and offices, with WCOL eventually affiliating with both the NBC Red
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
and Blue networks by 1937 (retaining the Blue affiliation in 1943). The 1941 NARBA agreement moved WCOL over to the 1230 kHz dial position, where it has remained ever since.
When FCC guidelines dictated that no single owner could own two AM stations in the same market, WCOL was spun off by the Wolfe family to a partnership headed by several members of The Pixleys Incorporated, headed by family members Lloyd Pixley, Martha Pixley and Grace Pixley. Lloyd was the son of former WBAV operator Milton Pixley (today known as WTVN
WTVN
WTVN is a full-service AM radio station in Columbus, Ohio located at 610 kHz. It has news, talk, and sports programs, is the dominant AM station in the Columbus market and is consistently rated either #1 or #2 by Arbitron...
), and became president of WCOL with the sale. The station soon received both a new transmitter, and an FM sister station at 92.3 MHz, which also took the WCOL calls.
The Pixleys would sell off WCOL AM/FM to Air Trails, Inc. on January 1952. Air Trails, and its successor Great Trails Broadcasting would be the primary owners of WCOL for over 52 years. Operating power for the station was increased to 1,000 watts during the daytime by July 1960, along with broadcasting 24-hours a day. WCOL, by then an independent station, then changed its format over to Top-40 that July 1, dubbing itself "The New WCOL."
WCOL was best known to Columbus area residents throughout the 1960s during this era, and was the primary Top-40 format station in the Columbus market. It held this distinction from 1960 to the early 1970s, until the rise in popularity of FM broadcasting and competition from WNCI
WNCI
WNCI is a radio station in Columbus, Ohio. Its official print brand identifier is WNCI 97.9 in a purple oval, while the station is known on-air as 97.9 WNCI...
.
WCOL, in its Top-40 heyday was heralded as the station which "premiered" the hits. Bryan McIntyre gained national award recognition for his uncanny ability to pick hit music, in advance of other radio markets. The WCOL calls were also used in tribute as the backdrop for the 1996 Tom Hanks
Tom Hanks
Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks is an American actor, producer, writer, and director. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies, gaining wide notice in 1988's Big, before achieving success as a dramatic actor in several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title...
movie "That Thing You Do."
Disc Jockeys
The station which called itself “The New WCOL” had a large family of personalities.- BILL FIELDS MID-6AM 1962
- BOB ALAN (Bob Wroniak) 8PM-MID 1972 6PM-10PM 1972
- BOB HARRINGTON 3PM-6PM 1963 6PM-MID 1964
- BRIAN HIGHFILL 1967
- BRYAN McINTYRE 1969
- CAREY BRUCE 1AM-5AM
- CARL HAMILTON 10PM-2AM 1972
- CHRIS JOOS WEEKENDS/OVERNIGHTS June '70 thru Sept '71 10A-2P Jun-Sep '71 WCOL STEREO ROCK 92 TOO!
- CHUCK MARTIN 6PM-10-PM 1974 1975
- CHUCK (Rock ‘N Roll) MARTIN (Leonard Harrison) 6PM-MID 1976 -1977
- DAN MORRIS 2PM-6PM 1962 1PM-3PM 1963 3PM-6PM 1963
- DAVE HAMMOND MID 6AM 1962
- DAVE REINHART WEEKENDS 1963 DECEASED
- FRANK KINSMAN
- HOYT LOCKE (Dr Bop) 1956-1959 DECEASED 1976
- JACK ARMSTRONG 3PM-6PM 1971 DECEASED
- JACK SHELDON NEWS 1967
- JERRY DEAN (Dean Gerald Schleenbaker) 1968 DECEASED (lung Cancer)
- JERRY GORDON 1968
- JIM HAZELTINE
- JIM ROACH 4PM-9PM
- JOE STAMPER NEWS 1967
- JOHNNY BUCK 1967
- JOHNNY HILL 6AM-10AM 1962 6AM-9AM 1963 2PM-6PM 1965
- KIRK BISHOP Weekends 1976 DECEASED
- LARRY CLARK 1967
- LARRY CRAWFORD 2PM-6PM 1968
- LOU HENRY 2-PM-6PM 1967 1PM-4PM 1973
- LOU NELSON 10AM-2PM 1961 NOON-3PM 1963 9AM-1PM 1963
- MIKE ADAMS (Terry Hackney) WEEKENDS-1963 MID-6AM 1963 3PM-6PM 1963 2PM-6PM 1965 NOON-3PM 1973
- MIKE MAXWELL
- MIKE NARDONE 6AM-10AM 1961
- MIKE PERKINS 9AM-1PM
- PAUL CARMEN MID-6AM 1964
- ROGER HORNUNG 6PM-MID 1969
- RON ALLEN MID-6AM 1963 10AM-2PM 1963 MID-6AM 1964
- RONNIE VEE
- ROY HARVEY NEWS 1967
- SONNY PALMER 6PM-MID 1962 7PM-MID 1964 10AM-2PM 1964
- STEVE BAYLESS 1967-1974 DECEASED 2002
- STEVE JOOS ON AIR SHIFTS VARIED/PROGRAM DIRECTOR Started in 1954 moved to WIZE in 1967 HELPED DEVELOP THE NEW WCOL FORMAT AND SOUND WITH TIP CARPENTER'S ENGINEERING GENIOUS REVERB AND SO MUCH MORE. HIRED MIKE ADAMS, LOU NELSON, JOHNNY BUCK, JOHHNY HILL, STEVE KIRK, BOB HARRINGTON, RON ALLEN, SONNY PALMER, JERRY DEAN, DAN MORRIS. Served Great Trails for over 28 years. WIZE Pres/GM 1967-1982
- STEVE KIRK 2PM-6PM 1962
- SUPER SHANNON 7PM
- TERRY TYLER (Terrence Reinsmith) 6PM-10-PM 1974 DECEASED
- TOM KENNEDY (Jim Barnes) 2PM-6PM 1974
- WES HOPKINS 6AM-10AM 1968 DECEASED
Formats
Air Trails was renamed Great Trails Broadcasting in 1969 after a corporate reorganization, but still retaining much of the management and personnel. Great Trails also would own regional stations WINGWING
WING "ESPN 1410" is a commercial AM radio station in Dayton, Ohio operating with 5,000 watts at 1410 kHz with studios, offices and transmitter located on David Road in Kettering. It is the first full-time commercial radio station in Dayton...
in Dayton
Dayton, Ohio
Dayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
, WIZE
WIZE
WIZE — branded WIZE AM 1340 — is a commercial radio station in Springfield, Ohio owned by Clear Channel Communications as part of their Dayton cluster...
in Springfield
Springfield, Ohio
Springfield is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Clark County. The municipality is located in southwestern Ohio and is situated on the Mad River, Buck Creek and Beaver Creek, approximately west of Columbus and northeast of Dayton. Springfield is home to Wittenberg...
, WGTZ
WGTZ
WGTZ "Fly 92.9" is a commercial FM station licensed in Eaton, Ohio at 92.9 MHz serving the Dayton and Springfield market area with an Adult Hits format. The previous CHR/Pop format commenced Sunday, March 15, 1984 at Noon when Dayton-based Great Trails Broadcasting owned the station at the time...
(née WJAI) in Eaton
Eaton, Ohio
Eaton is a city in and the county seat of Preble County, Ohio, United States. The population was 8,407 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, and WKLO
WKJK
WKJK is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to Louisville, Kentucky, USA, the station serves the Louisville area...
(now WKJK) and WKLO-FM
WDJX
WDJX is a Contemporary Hit Radio radio station located in Louisville, Kentucky. The station is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to broadcast on 99.7 FM with a effective radiated power of 24 kW.-Station history:...
(now WDJX-FM) in Louisville during this time. WCOL-FM would also see changes, splitting away from the AM station to highlight a progressive rock format before becoming "92X" WXGT (for "X-Great Trails") where the top 40 format was moved to.
As the 1970s faded, the station changed format to a more adult-contemporary focus. WCOL was still successful in this format until a series of management and airstaff changeovers followed in the early 80's including a brief switch to middle of the road-styled adult standards
Adult standards
Adult standards is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations.Adult standards is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly those persons over 50 years of age, but it is mostly targeted for senior citizens...
and the brief return of Columbus broadcast legend Spook Beckman. The station began broadcasting at 1,000 watts 24-hours a day, along with a format change to news/talk. After that format failed to show in the ratings, WCOL flipped back to "Top-40 Oldies" with the WXGT calls dropped reverting back to WCOL-FM.
By 1991, WCOL-AM was simulcasting WCOL-FM's oldies programming, with the AM station soon breaking off to play 1950s oldies. In short order, WCOL went back to a news/talk format, only this time assuming a mostly-syndicated lineup.
Later Years
The station and WCOL-FMWCOL-FM
WCOL-FM is a country music radio station in Columbus, Ohio owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its brand identifier is Continuous Country Favorites, 92.3 WCOL. The call sign represents the city of license...
were sold off to Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications
Nationwide Communications Inc. was a media subsidiary of the Nationwide Insurance Company, which operated from 1946 until 1997. Based in Columbus, Ohio, Nationwide Communications owned and operated a variety of radio and television stations across the United States until it sold off all its radio...
in 1994, the parent company of WNCI
WNCI
WNCI is a radio station in Columbus, Ohio. Its official print brand identifier is WNCI 97.9 in a purple oval, while the station is known on-air as 97.9 WNCI...
.
WCOL became WFII on March 24, 1997, airing a syndicated conservative talk radio
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...
format as "1230 FYI," though this time it was oriented at younger listeners. WTVN
WTVN
WTVN is a full-service AM radio station in Columbus, Ohio located at 610 kHz. It has news, talk, and sports programs, is the dominant AM station in the Columbus market and is consistently rated either #1 or #2 by Arbitron...
owner Jacor Communications acquired WFII, WCOL and WNCI in August 1998, and ultimately 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...
that next year.
WFII was not a ratings success, and in 2001 the station became WZNW, airing a sports talk
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 as "1230 The Zone". However, WZNW was never able to compete effectively against the other full-time sports station in Columbus, WBNS
WBNS (AM)
WBNS — branded 1460 ESPN — is a radio station that broadcasts from Columbus, Ohio. The station, which originally went on the air as WCAH in 1922, currently broadcasts a sports talk format and carries ESPN talk programming. WBNS is also the flagship of the Ohio State Buckeyes radio network. It is...
, which held the rights to the Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State Buckeyes
The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of The Ohio State University, named after the state tree, the Buckeye. The Buckeyes participate in the NCAA's Division I in all sports and the Big Ten Conference in most sports...
.
WCOL returned to 1230 in 2003, playing pre-British Invasion
British Invasion
The British Invasion is a term used to describe the large number of rock and roll, beat, rock, and pop performers from the United Kingdom who became popular in the United States during the time period from 1964 through 1966.- Background :...
pop/rock
Oldies
Oldies is a term commonly used to describe a radio format that concentrates on music from a period of about 15 to 55 years before the present day....
as "Real Oldies 1230". WCOL traded in on its heritage as a Top 40 station, and the "Real Oldies" format played much of the same music. They even used some of their vintage PAMS
PAMS
PAMS , based in Dallas, Texas, was the most famous jingle production company in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stations around the world, as well as some commercial music.-History:The company was founded by William B. Meeks, Jr. PAMS (an acronym for Production,...
and TM jingles from that era. Despite some positive "buzz" from long-time radio listeners, many of whom remembered WCOL from its Top 40 heyday, the format failed to capture a significant audience in the market. The station, mostly automated using voice-tracking
Voice-tracking
Voice-tracking, also called cyber jocking and referred to sometimes colloquially as a robojock, is a technique employed by some radio stations in radio broadcasting to produce the illusion of a live disc jockey or announcer sitting in the radio studios of the station when one is not actually...
, lacked the live personalities which made the original WCOL great.
At noon on September 7, 2004, WCOL became WTPG, as "Progressive Talk AM 1230." WTPG carried programming mostly from the Air America Radio
Air America Radio
Air America was an American radio network specializing in progressive talk programming...
network
Radio network
There are two types of radio networks currently in use around the world: the one-to-many broadcast type commonly used for public information and mass media entertainment; and the two-way type used more commonly for public safety and public services such as police, fire, taxicabs, and delivery...
, as well as syndicated hosts Ed Schulz, Springer on the Radio
Springer on the Radio
Springer on the Radio was an American radio program broadcast from WCKY and later WSAI in Cincinnati from January 17, 2005 to December 5, 2006 and syndicated nationally on the Air America Radio network from April 1, 2005 to September 18, 2006 when it moved to Air America syndication, meaning that...
(via a 21-hour delay in morning drive) and Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Miller
Stephanie Catherine Miller is an American comedienne and host of The Stephanie Miller Show, a progressive talk radio program produced in Los Angeles and syndicated nationally by Dial Global. Talkers magazine ranked her as the 24th most important radio talk show host in America for 2010.-Early...
. WTPG saw mild ratings improvements, although (as was the case with WFII, WZNW and WCOL) ranked well behind counter-programmed sister station WTVN
WTVN
WTVN is a full-service AM radio station in Columbus, Ohio located at 610 kHz. It has news, talk, and sports programs, is the dominant AM station in the Columbus market and is consistently rated either #1 or #2 by Arbitron...
.
On December 23, 2006, the Columbus Dispatch reported that WTPG would change again that January 8 over to a conservative-based talk format, under the WYTS calls. Bruce Collins, the local program director for WTVN and WYTS, said: "Whether it's politics or sports, financial information or general advice, central Ohio listeners will have the opportunity to talk about it on 'Talk 1230.'"
Shortly after the station announced the pending format change, a small group of people formed Ohio Majority Radio, an eventually unsuccessful grassroots attempt to save the progressive radio format on 1230 AM. Competing station WVKO
WVKO (AM)
WVKO is an American AM radio station licensed to broadcast in Columbus, Ohio.WVKO changed from a progressive talk format to Catholic radio programming, provided by Columbus-based St. Gabriel Radio....
(1580 AM) eventually changed formats, and picked up much of the former WTPG schedule for a brief time before switching to a religious format.
On January 26, 2009, WYTS dropped the conservative talk format and became the Columbus affiliate for 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...
. WYTS will carry the full FSR schedule (with the exception of 9 a.m. - noon, when a replay of the 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...
Show will air instead of The Dan Patrick Show
The Dan Patrick Show
The Dan Patrick Show is a syndicated sports talk show hosted by former ESPN personality Dan Patrick. It is currently produced by DirecTV Sports Group and is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks. The three-hour program broadcasts live every day beginning at 9 a.m. Eastern/6 a.m. Pacific time on Fox...
, which airs on WTDA
WTDA
WTDA is an FM radio station in Westerville, Ohio at 103.9 MHz. It currently broadcasts a Classic Hits format and is the Central Ohio radio broadcast home of the Pittsburgh Steelers....
) and will hold on to The Jim Rome Show
The Jim Rome Show
The Jim Rome Show is a sports radio talk show hosted by Jim Rome. It airs live for three hours each weekday from 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. The show is produced in Los Angeles, California, syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, and can be heard on more than 200 affiliate radio stations in the U.S...
. After WTDA dropped its talk format and Patrick's show in late December 2009, WYTS picked Patrick's show live.
External links
- Official Website
- Broadcast Pro-File for WCOL
- WCOL Tribute Site
- Unofficial WCOL Tribute Site
- Columbus Music History: WCOL Hit-Line Surveys
- WKLO Tribute Site (WKLO, Louisville, was sister station to WCOL, both owned by Great Trails Broadcasting. Hear talent airchecks and many of the same jingle packages used by WCOL. The WKLO tribute site does a great job conveying the sound and feel of a Top-40 AM station during this era and particularly conveys the upbeat "sound" of all Great Trails Top-40 stations.)