 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Memphis metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 790kHz |
| Branding | The Bet Memphis |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Sports gambling |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | January 20, 1923 (1923-01-20) |
Call sign meaning | Memphis Commercial Appeal (former sister newspaper) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 19185 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°10′7.3″N89°53′6.3″W / 35.168694°N 89.885083°W /35.168694; -89.885083 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
WMC (790kHz) is a commercialAM radio station inMemphis, Tennessee, broadcasting asports gamblingformat. It is one of the city's oldest radio stations, and still uses its originalthree-letter call sign. WMC maintains studios in theAudacy, Inc. complex in Southeast Memphis, and has itstransmitter towers (a four-tower array) in Northeast Memphis.
The station runs direct satellite feeds ofBetMGM Network andWestwood One Sports. In addition to sports talk shows, WMC features longtime Memphis disc jockeyGeorge Klein's weekly tribute program toElvis Presley. Klein and Presley were close friends and confidantes during the latter's lifetime and the former's long stint onWHBQ.
The station is owned by Audacy, Inc., which (asEntercom) it purchased fromCBS Radio in September 2006.[2] WMC and sister WMC-FM (nowWLFP) were for many years owned and operated byScripps Howard Broadcasting, along with its one-time co-owned TV sisterWMC-TV Channel 5, before SHB sold the stations in 1993. WMC is one of five radio properties in the Memphis market held by Audacy; the others are WLFP,WMFS,WMFS-FM andWRVR.[citation needed] WMFS and WMFS-FM, like WMC, are sports stations. All three formerly shared feeds fromESPN Radio (which remains on the WMFS stations), although WMFS and WMFS-FM also have local hosts, while WMC sometimes carries Infinity Sports Network.
WMC was first licensed in January 1923 to theMemphis Commercial Appeal, and the call letters reflected the M and C from its owner's initials. The station was initially authorized to transmit on both the "Class B" high-power "entertainment" wavelength of 400 meters (750 kHz) as well as the "market and weather forecasts" wavelength of 485 meters (619 kHz).[4]
The newspaper reported that it received WMC's initial authorization via a telegram from the government, and it began test transmissions on the evening of January 17, 1923,[5] in preparation for the station's formal debut on the evening of January 20, 1923.[3] Among the station's unique features were late night concerts fromblues singers. Although Memphis was racially segregated,Bessie Smith performed at WMC on October 5, 1923.[6] The station's signal was wide-ranging, and in the summer of 1924 it reported that it had been heard as far south as off the coast of Chile, in addition to having been one of the stations previously heard during anArctic expedition led byDonald Baxter MacMillan.[7]
In the 1930s, WMC carried theNBC Red Network, while rivalWMPS, owned by theMemphisPress-Scimitar, aired the NBCBlue Network.[8] Starting in the 1930s, the station used ariverboat whistle as its sounder, a nod to Memphis' location on theMississippi River—a practice that continued well into the 1990s.
WMC added an FM sister station, WMCF (later WMC-FM; nowWLFP), in 1947 and a TV station, WMCT (nowWMC-TV), in 1948.[9] WMC had been anNBC Radio affiliate since 1927, so WMC-TV also affiliated with theNBC TV Network, which it still carries to this day.
During the 1960s, WMC had amiddle of the road format of popular adult singers (known in the industry as MOR). In 1973, WMC became the first 24-hour full-timecountry music station in Memphis and was often #1 in the ratings. By the 1980s, music listening was shifting from AM radio to FM and in 1983, 105.9WGKX (KIX 106) went country as WMC's first full signal FM country competition. By 1989, WMC switched tonews/talk.
After 67 years with NBC Radio, WMC switched toCBS Radio News in 1994.[10]
In 1997, "News/Talk 790" gave upRush Limbaugh to rival 600WREC as well as its morning news show.[11]
In July 2001, WMC made the switch to all-sports as "Sportsplus 790". TheGood Times Show, with news aboutcasino gambling inTunica, Mississippi, made its debut on the station at that time.[12]
In December 2005,CBS Radio changed WMC to aclassic country format, because the Memphis radio market had many competing sports stations.[13] Most programming was provided byJones Radio Networks' Classic Hit Country network, which subsequently becameDial Global'sClassic Country network. The station returned to an all-sports format on October 17, 2011, taking theFox Sports Radio affiliation from 730KQPN.[14]
On May 1, 2014, WMC picked up theESPN Radio affiliation (rebranding as "ESPN 790") in addition to itsCBS Sports Radio affiliation.[15]
On December 9, 2021, WMC rebranded asThe Bet, addingsports betting-related programming from Audacy'sBetQL Network alongside CBS Sports Radio.[16]