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| Silent; former simulcast ofWZRR, Birmingham | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Broadcast area | Central Alabama |
| Frequency | 1070kHz |
| Branding | Talk 99.5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Silent (formerlyTalk) |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | October 3, 1922 (as WMAV) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | Alabama Polytechnic Institute[1] (official name ofAuburn University when the university acquired the station) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 16900 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | |
| Website | www |
WAPI (1070kHz, "Talk 99-5, Birmingham's Real Talk") is asilentAM radio station inBirmingham, Alabama, owned byCumulus Media. Until going dark in 2025, it carried atalk radioformat,simulcast withFMsister station 99.5WZRR.[3] The studios and offices are on Goodwin Crest Drive inHomewood.[4]
WAPI'stransmitter site is inForestdale. It had a daytime power of 50,000watts, the maximum for AM stations permitted by theFederal Communications Commission, using a singlenon-directional tower.[5] Although it boasted the most powerful daytime signal in Alabama, WAPI did not travel as far as most other 50,000-watt stations due to the region's poor ground conductivity. It did, however, cover all of central Alabama during the day, and could be heard as far away as theAtlanta suburbs. At night, becauseAM 1070 is aclear channel frequency reserved forClass AKNX inLos Angeles, as well as the Canadian allocation for a 1070 kHz station atMoncton, New Brunswick (formerly occupied byCBA), WAPI would cut back power to 5,000 watts, using a directional two-tower array.
WAPI had broadcast usingHD Radio technology.[6]
WAPI and WZRR carried local talk shows during the day, but at night they rannationally syndicated programs from co-ownedWestwood One includingThe Mark Levin Show, America at Night with Rich Valdés andRed Eye Radio. Most hours began an update fromABC News Radio. The stations were alsoCentral Alabama's radio home ofAuburn Tigers athletics.
The Department of Commerce regulated radio stations in the United States from 1912 until the 1927 formation of theFederal Radio Commission. Originally there were no restrictions on which radio stations could make broadcasts intended for the general public. However, effective December 1, 1921, a regulation was adopted limiting broadcasting to stations operating under a Limited Commercial license that authorized operation on designated wavelengths of 360 meters (833 kHz) for "entertainment", and 485 meters (619 kHz) for "market and weather reports".[7]
The station was first licensed, as WMAV, on October 3, 1922,[8][9] to the Alabama Polytechnic Institute (API) in Auburn (nowAuburn University), for operation on both wavelengths. The call sign was randomly assigned from a sequential list. WMAV was the fourth broadcasting station licensed in Alabama.
WSY was a station first licensed on March 29, 1922 to theAlabama Power Company in Birmingham,[10] as the state's second radio station. The call letters were randomly assigned, and the station adopted the slogan "We Serve You". Alabama Power decided to exit the radio business, and WSY was deleted on October 30, 1924.[11]
WSY's former equipment was donated to API.[12] In November 1924, the call sign for WMAV in Auburn was changed to WSY.[13] The call letters were changed again in August 1925 to WAPI, standing for Alabama Polytechnic Institute.[14]
On November 11, 1928, with the implementation of theFederal Radio Commission'sGeneral Order 40, WAPI was assigned to 1140 kHz, sharing this frequency withKVOO inTulsa, Oklahoma. In 1928, WAPI returned to Birmingham, in part due to theNBC Red Network's interest inaffiliating with a station in Alabama's largest city. In 1929, ownership of the station was split among API, theUniversity of Alabama, and the Alabama College for Women (now theUniversity of Montevallo). The broadcast power was increased to 5,000 watts. In 1932, the colleges sold the station to a group of investors, doing business as "The Voice of Alabama". WAPI remained affiliated with NBC until 1940, when it became an affiliate ofCBS Radio.
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In March 1941, with the implementation of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement, WAPI moved to 1170 kHz. The next year it moved to its present frequency, 1070 kHz. On December 1, 1947, it launched an FM sister station, WAFM.[16] In 1949, WAPI launched the first television station in Alabama, WAFM-TV.
The Birmingham News purchased WAPI and its FM and television sister stations in 1953, switching WAFM-TV's call letters to WABT and changing that station's affiliation toNBC the following year. TheNewhouse chain boughtThe Birmingham News in 1956; two years later, it renamed WAFM and WABT as WAPI-FM and WAPI-TV to match the AM station. Newhouse sold off the broadcast outlets to separate owners in 1980, at which time the TV station acquired its currentWVTM-TV call sign. WAPI-FM would eventually becomeWJOX-FM.
In the 1950s, as network radio programming began to lose its importance due to television's popularity, WAPI evolved. It became afull service,middle-of-the-road station of popular music, news and sports, featuring several local call-in shows at night. By the mid-1970s, it was the only Birmingham AMadult contemporary radio station.
In July 1983, WAPI changed to anadult standards format under the branding "Hit Parade". In January 1985, the station returned to its previous adult contemporary format. However, three months later, WAPI immediately returned to adult standards programming when crosstown rival WSGN (now WAGG) dropped that format. On January 1, 1996, WAPI became anall-news radio station. Over time, the station evolved into a mostlytalk radio station.
On February 22, 2010,WWMM-FM (100.5) changed its call sign to WAPI-FM and dropped its formeradult album alternative music format. The two stations begansimulcasting for most of the day, with the FM side branded as the main station, calling itself "100 WAPI". However, on July 24, 2013, WAPI-FM changed its call letters toWJQX and flipped to asports radio format, carryingESPN Radio programs, as a sister station toWJOX and WJOX-FM. This left the news/talk format solely on the AM side once again for three years.
On May 23, 2016, co-owned 99.5WZRR dropped itscountry music format and began simulcasting talk programs with WAPI. WZRR was quickly branded as the main station. Both stations began calling themselves "Talk 99.5", with WAPI's existence only acknowledged for legally mandatedstation identifications.[17]
On March 10, 2025, WAPI went silent.[18] It was one of six Cumulus stations to shut down on the weekend of March 7, as part of a larger silencing of underperforming Cumulus stations.[19] WAPI's programming continues on WZRR 99.5 FM.
33°33′7.4″N86°54′40″W / 33.552056°N 86.91111°W /33.552056; -86.91111