 | |
| Broadcast area | Huntsville metropolitan area -North Alabama |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 96.9MHz |
| Branding | Mix 96.9 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | NCA, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | November 23, 1965; 60 years ago (1965-11-23) |
Call sign meaning | Redstone Arsenal[1] |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 47907 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 308 meters (1,010 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°29′23″N86°37′38″W / 34.48972°N 86.62722°W /34.48972; -86.62722 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | mix969huntsville |
WRSA-FM (96.9FM, "Mix 96.9") is acommercialradio stationlicensed toHolly Pond, Alabama, and serving theHuntsville metropolitan area andNorth Alabama.[3] It airs anadult contemporaryradio format, switching toChristmas music for part of November and December. It is owned by NCA, Inc., with studios on Memorial Parkway SW (US 231) in Huntsville, a former bank.
WRSA-FM is aClass C0 station.[4] It has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the maximum for most FM stations. Thetransmitter is off Telephone Tower Road inUnion Hill, atopBrindlee Mountain.[5]
Before a gradual change in the late 1990s away from its longtime "Beautiful 97" image, WRSA-FM was one of the last remainingeasy listening stations in the United States. It was founded and constructed in 1964 and early 1965 byRedstone Arsenal engineer Paul R. Nielsen. (Thecall letters refer to the Redstone Arsenal, a largeU.S. Army base near Huntsville.) WRSAsigned on the air on November 23, 1965; 60 years ago (1965-11-23).[6] Its studios were originally inDecatur.
WRSA started off as "Beautiful 97," airing an easy listening format for some 36 years. It continued the genre long after it had disappeared from most U.S. radio markets by the 1980s. During the 1970s, the station was the local home of the weekly Saturday-afternoon broadcasts of theMetropolitan Opera, sponsored byTexaco. By the 1980s, that program moved to WNDA (nowWRTT-FM).
WRSA played quarter hour sweeps of soft, mostly instrumental music with limited commercials and chatter. It advertised that it "served Northern Alabama from studios overlooking the beautiful Tennessee Valley."[7]
While other stations had moved on from easy listening by the 1980s and 90s, WRSA continued to play a mix of instrumentals and soft vocals into the new century. It briefly called itself "Alabama's Big Easyl" But in 2001, the instrumentals were removed from theplaylist. WRSA had made change tosoft adult contemporary. It was rebranded as "Lite 96.9".
The soft AC sound continued for 14 years. The last song played on "Lite 96.9" was"I Will Remember You" bySarah McLachlan. At that point, the tempo was picked up.
On January 11, 2015, the station flipped to a mainstreamadult contemporary sound, under the branding "Mix 96.9". The first song played on "Mix 96.9" was "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" ByPat Benatar. WRSA plays AC songs from the 1980s through the present. Every year from November to December, "Mix 96.9" playsChristmas music until December 26.
Notable local on-air personalities on WRSA-FM include Abby Kay and Bill Taylor in morningdrive time. OtherDJs include midday host Stuart Langston and afternoon host Paul Tranquillo (Paul T).[8] WRSA carries thenationally syndicatedJohn Tesh, Intelligence for your Life show in evenings.
When the station's technician, Tommy Macpherson, and his daughter arrived at the Brindley Mountain transmitter, the two burglars fled, said Morgan County Sheriff Greg Bartlett.
My father built the WRSA radio station (Lite 96.9) in 1964," Nielsen said. "He died in October 2001, and Mom has taken over the station.
  | This article about a radio station in Alabama is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |