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| Broadcast area | Piedmont Triad |
| Frequency | 99.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Mix 99.5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WPTI,WMKS,WTQR,WVBZ | |
| History | |
First air date | 1946; 79 years ago (1946) (as WMFR-FM at 97.7) |
Former call signs | WMFR-FM (1946–1982) |
Former frequencies | 97.7 MHz (1946–1947) |
Call sign meaning | "Magic" (former branding) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 73258 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 456 meters (1,496 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°52′13.5″N79°50′24.1″W / 35.870417°N 79.840028°W /35.870417; -79.840028 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | mix995triad |
WMAG (99.5FM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toHigh Point, North Carolina, and serving thePiedmont Triad, includingGreensboro andWinston-Salem. It is owned byiHeartMedia and it broadcasts anadult contemporaryradio format, switching toChristmas music for much of November and December. In the evening, WMAG carries thenationally syndicatedDelilah call-in and dedication show. The studios and offices are on Pai Park in Greensboro.
WMAG is aClass C station. It has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the maximum for most stations. Thetransmittertower is off Davis County Road inRandleman.[2] The signal provides at least secondary coverage as far east asRaleigh, as far north asMartinsville and as far south as theCharlotte suburbs.
The stationsigned on the air in 1946 as WMFR-FM. It broadcast at 97.7 MHz as asister station ofWMFR 1230 AM. In 1947, WMFR-FM moved to 99.5 MHz;[3] by the 1960s, it had increased its power to 8,000 watts.[4]
The two stationssimulcast their programming until the late 1960s. By that time, theFederal Communications Commission was encouraging FM stations in larger communities to offer separate programming from their co-owned AM counterparts. WMFR-FM switched tobeautiful music.[5] It playedautomated quarter-hour sweeps of instrumental music. Theplaylist was mostly softcover versions of popular adult songs, along withBroadway andHollywoodshow tunes.
In 1982, WMFR-FM was purchased by Voyager Communications. The facilities were upgraded and the station became WMAG "Magic 99.5" with an adult contemporary format.[6] During the 1980s and early 90s the station's competitors in the adult contemporary format wereWWWB andWMQX.[6][7] In later years, "Magic 99.5" began describing its music as "soft rock" and dropped the "Magic" handle in favor of just thecall sign.
Voyager Broadcasting sold WMAG in the early 1990s to what would become AMFM Broadcasting. In 1999,San Antonio-basedClear Channel Communications acquired AMFM Broadcasting, including WMAG. Its original transmitter site, still used by 1230 WMFR, is visible atop The Radio Building on Main St. in downtown High Point.
At the end of 2009, Bill Flynn ended a 26-year career as WMAG morning host when he moved to 94.5WPTI.[8] After the localclassic hits stationWTHZ "Majic 94.1" switched to acontemporary Christian format, WMAG added more 1970s and 1980s music in effort to gain some of the former WTHZ listeners.
Another local radio personality, Rod Davis, lost his job as the co-host on WMAG's morning show, on Wednesday October 26, 2011. As a cost-cutting move, Clear Channel Communications announced that it had dismissed some on-air and off-air staff, within that same week, throughout the United States.[9]
On December 18, 2020, WMAG rebranded as "Mix 99.5".[10] In November and December, Mix 99.5 calls itself "The Triad's Christmas Station" playing all Christmas music throughChristmas Day.[11]