 | |
| Broadcast area | Huntsville metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 730kHz |
| Branding | SportsRadio 730 The UMP |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | Infinity Sports Network University of Alabama Atlanta Braves Tennessee Titans Nashville Predators Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WHRP,WVNN,WVNN-FM,WWFF-FM,WZYP | |
| History | |
First air date | 1983 (as WABT at 1360 kHz) |
Former call signs | WABT (1982–1985) WDKT (1985–1991) WKMW (1991–1993) WBBI (1993–1995)[1] |
Former frequencies | 1360 kHz (1983–1985) |
Call sign meaning | UMPire[2] |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 39590 |
| Class | D |
| Power | 1,000watts (day) 129 watts (night) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°41′46″N86°44′19″W / 34.69611°N 86.73861°W /34.69611; -86.73861 |
| Translator(s) | 103.9 W280BA (Madison) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live Listen Live via iHeart |
| Website | umpsports.com |
WUMP (730AM, "SportsRadio 730 The UMP") is acommercialradio stationlicensed toMadison, Alabama, and serving theHuntsville metropolitan area. It is owned byCumulus Media withstudios onU.S. Route 72 inAthens.
By day, WUMP is powered at 1,000watts. But730 AM is a Mexican andCanadianclear channel frequency. So at night, to avoid interference, WUMP must reduce power to 129 watts. Thetransmitter is on Hughes Road inMadison.[4] Programming is also heard on 99-wattFM translatorW280BA at 103.9MHz.[5]
The UMP currently is the home of TheJOX Roundtable airing from 6 to 10 a.m. Following that is3 Man Front from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The afternoon drive is anchored byLockdown Coverage with Arky Shea and Jason Marks from 2 to 6 p.m. Weekend programming includesThe Bullpen with Tony Mac and Tricky Ricky Fernandez on Saturdays from 9 to 11 a.m. Evening and most weekend programming is fromInfinity Sports Network when not preempted by live sporting events.
The UMP has an affiliation with theWestwood One network. As such, WUMP airs all prime-timeNFL games includingSunday Night Football,Monday Night Football,Thursday Night Football and the specialty prime-time games on Thanksgiving, Christmas, as well as Saturday games during December. These are in addition to the Sunday-afternoon doubleheader.
The UMP is an affiliate of theAlabama Crimson Tide network, carrying everyfootball andbasketball game, thebaseball slate againstSEC teams and in the postseason, and a selection ofwomen's basketball games.
In 2018, The UMP became an affiliate of theTennessee Titans of the NFL and of theNashville Predators of the NHL.
Part of the UMP's affiliation with Westwood One allows the UMP to carry a large package ofNCAA basketball games, theMarch Madness tournament, theNCAA Division I Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, theCollege World Series, theWomen's College World Series and selectNHL games, including theWinter Classic and the NHL Playoffs concluding with theStanley Cup.
During the spring through the early fall, the UMP is the Huntsville-area station forAtlanta Braves baseball.
The station is currently an affiliate ofCBS Sports Radio. The station was anESPN Radio affiliate in the late 1990s and early 2000s before losing it to then-rivalWTKI (1450 AM) in late 2002.[6] The affiliation returned to WUMP on February 6, 2007, after WTKI was sold and changed formats.[7]
This station received its originalconstruction permit for a 500-watt station broadcasting on 1360kHz from theFederal Communications Commission on September 13,1982.[8] The new station was assigned the call lettersWABT by the FCC. WABT received itslicense to cover from the FCC on June 19, 1983.[9] The station aired acountry music format to start with.
In June 1985, The Great American Broadcasting Corporation reached an agreement to sell WABT to Excelsior Broadcasting Corporation. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 19, 1985, and the transaction was consummated on January 22, 1986.[10]
The station had applied to the FCC in September 1983 to change frequencies from 1360 kHz to 730 kHz and increase power to 1,000 watts. In July 1985, after WJMW moved from 730 kHz to 770 kHz, the FCC issued a construction permit for the changes.[11] The new owners had the FCC change the station's callsign toWDKT on December 26, 1985.[1]
With new ownership, new call letters, a new frequency, and increased power in place, the station changed to anurban contemporary format branded as "D-73".
Facing increasing financial difficulties, in February 1989 the license for this station was involuntarily transferred from Excelsior Broadcasting Corporation to Excelsior Broadcasting Corporation, Debtor-In-Possession. The involuntary transfer was approved by the FCC on March 2, 1989.[12] In April 1989, Vascular Diagnostic Labs bought out the previous shareholders of Excelsior Broadcasting Corporation, the licensee for this station. The transfer of control was approved by the FCC on July 13, 1989.[13]
In August 1989, with the financial issues resolved and the previous shareholders bought out, Excelsior Broadcasting Corporation was dissolved and the license was involuntarily transferred to Vascular Diagnostic Labs owner Dr. Merlin Kelsick. The transfer was approved by the FCC on November 29, 1990.[14]
The call letters were changed toWBBI on August 19, 1991,[1] after Dr. Merlin Kelsick completed a deal to sell the station to Phoenix Capital Corporation. The deal was approved by the FCC on September 12, 1991, and the transaction was consummated on September 17, 1991.[15] The station then switched to anews/talk format.
The station's callsign was changed toWKMW on June 1, 1993.[1] In June 1993, Phoenix Capital Corporation reached an agreement to sell WKMW to Madison Radio Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 19, 1993, and the transaction was consummated on October 28, 1993.[16]
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In May 1995, Madison Radio Company, Inc., reached an agreement to sell the station to Tennessee Valley Radio, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on July 31, 1995, and the transaction was consummated on October 3, 1995.[17] The new owners had the FCC change the station's call letters to the currentWUMP on October 6, 1995.[1] The new call sign was chosen to match the station's newsports radio format and branding as "The Ump", an abbreviation ofumpire.
The Dunnavant family of Athens owned the station from the early 1990s until agreeing to sell it to Cumulus Broadcasting in 2003. This ended a 55-year presence in the area by Athens Broadcasting, founded in 1948 by Homer Felix "Pap" Dunnavant.[18]
On April 1, 2003, WUMP was sold by Athens Broadcasting Co. (William E. Dunnavant, president) to Cumulus Broadcasting Inc. as part of a four-station deal with a total sale price of $22 million in cash and Cumulus common stock.[19][20] The acquisition of the stations was completed in July 2003.[21] WUMP remains co-owned with former Dunnavant stationsWVNN andWZYP, in addition toWHRP andWWFF-FM.
WUMP's programming is also carried on anFM translator station for listeners who prefer the FM dial. WUMP programming first appeared on the FM signal on November 26, 2008.
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | Class | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W280BA | 103.9 FM | Madison, Alabama | 65219 | 99 | D | LMS |
Dunnavant, Homer Felix "Pap," 98, whose media career began with a part-time job in radio and ended with a chain of stations; in Athens, Ala. He had been a farmer and barber in north Alabama when he decided to buy some time on radio in the 1930s and do his own show. In 1948, the Federal Communications Commission gave him permission to open his first radio station in Athens. From that grew Athens Broadcasting, with radio stations WZYP, WVNN, WPZM and WUMP in Athens