 | |
| Broadcast area | Delaware Valley |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 98.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Power 99 FM |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Mainstream urban |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WDAS,WDAS-FM,WIOQ,WRFF,WUMR | |
| History | |
First air date | 1961 (as WPBS) |
Former call signs | WPBS (1961–1976) |
Call sign meaning | US 1,LIN Broadcasting (former branding and owner) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 20349 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | Analog: 27,000watts Digital: 270 watts |
| HAAT | 204 meters (669 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°02′37″N75°14′30″W / 40.0437°N 75.2418°W /40.0437; -75.2418 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | power99 |
WUSL (98.9FM) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. It carries amainstream urbanradio format and is owned byiHeartMedia Thestudios and offices are on Presidential Boulevard inBala Cynwyd.[2]
WUSL is aClass B station with aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 27,000watts. Itstransmitter is off Wigard Avenue near theSchuylkill River in theRoxborough section of Philadelphia.[3] WUSL broadcasts in theHD Radio hybrid format. Its HD2digital subchannel formerly playedSpanish-languagecontemporary hits.
In 1961, the 98.9 frequencysigned on as WPBS. Thecall sign represented Philadelphia Bulletin Station, under common ownership with the city's largest daily newspaper at the time,The Evening Bulletin. (The call letters pre-date the 1969, founding ofPBS, the Public Broadcasting Service.) WPBS was cross-promoted with the newspaper and featured aneasy listening format, airing quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumental cover versions of popular adult songs, as well asBroadway andHollywood showtunes. At one point, WPBS was called "Velvet Stereo".
In 1976, the newspaper sold the station toLIN Broadcasting, which at the time also ownedWFIL. WPBS's call letters were changed to WUSL, which stood for "U.S. 1", a major north-south route running through Philadelphia. (The "L" represented the number 1.) Program Director Jim Nettleton instituted asoft adult contemporary format mixed with a number ofstandards which had crossed over to the 1960s/1970s pop charts (e.g.Engelbert Humperdinck,Barbra Streisand,Andy Williams, etc.). The studios were located at 440 Domino Lane in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia, where the station'stower is still located.
On July 3, 1981, the station switched to a "3-in-a-row"country music format asContinuous Country, US-99FM. Two months later, co-owned WFIL switched to a more personality and information-leaning country station, while WUSL stuck with a more-music, limited chatter approach.
But country music's listener base in a northern city such as Philadelphia was not very large, and the station struggled in the ratings. As such, WUSL ended the country format shortly after 1 am on October 9, 1982; the final country song was "Get into Reggae Cowboy" byThe Bellamy Brothers. The station then went silent for the night before premiering its new format.[4]
LIN Broadcasting decided to target Philadelphia's growingAfrican-American community with a all brand spankin' new radio station by challenging the long established leader inR&B and laterRap musicWDAS-FM, so WUSL decided to flipped from a Country format into a newCHR/UC hybrid format (also known as both "CHUrban" and "Crossover" a forerunner to theRhythmic Contemporary format) as "KISS 99fm".
WUSL branded asKISS 99fm for a few weeks until January 1983 when they officially introduced asPOWER 99fm. Within months, the station had surpassed WDAS-FM in the ratings and because of WUSL's success stations around the country adopted thePower branding (but not always with an UC, CHUrban/Crossover, or CHR format). Later in 1983 WUSL began presenting its annual major concert event known asThe POWER 99fm's PowerHouse (not to be confused withthe PBS educational series of the same name).
EZ Communications, owner ofTop 40-formattedWIOQ, purchased WUSL in July 1994.[5] In February 1997, EZ Communications was attempting to merge withAmerican Radio Systems of Boston, and exchanged its Philadelphia stations, WIOQ and WUSL, plus $10 million, for Evergreen's four FM and two AM stations inCharlotte, North Carolina: WPEG, WBAV (AM/FM), WNKS, WRFX and WFNZ.
In 1996, Evergreen acquired WUSL's chief rival in the urban radio format, WDAS-FM, as well as WDAS AM. With former rivals WUSL and WDAS-FM now co-owned, WUSL focused its programming on younger black, Latino and white listeners, while WDAS-FM served an olderdemographic.
One of the most well-known programs to air on WUSL was amorning zoo-style show called "The Carter & Sanborn Morning Show" (or "Carter & Sanborn in the Morning"), which was hosted by Brian Carter and Dave Sanborn. The show featured a cast of off-beat characters, all voiced by Sanborn, including wise-crackinghoroscope reader "Horace, the Taurus" and fall down drunkblues singer "Lunchmeat Mumford".
During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the show was a main draw in Philadelphia among younger members of all demographics. Bill Simpson, who would later host a nighttime show on both incarnations of WJJZ (first at106.1 and later at97.5), used the alias Dave Sanborn on the show, which often created confusion with the well-known jazz saxophonistDavid Sanborn, especially among those who were not regular listeners. The show was briefly revived in 2005, on WDAS-FM after that station droppedTom Joyner from its schedule.
From 1991 to 1998, Power 99 aired the groundbreaking hip hop show "Radioactive", hosted by Colby Colb. Also on the show were DJ Ran, DJ Cosmic Kev and Robert "Laid Back" Black. Colby Colb started as an intern at the station and following the success of Radioactive went on to host nights (6–10pm), mornings withWendy Williams and Dee Lee (The Dream Team). The Dream Team would become one of the biggest urban morning shows in the country competing closely with market leaderHoward Stern whosesyndicated morning show was onWYSP at the time.
Their success was short lived as Wendy Williams left in August 2001, to go back toNew York City to do afternoons onWBLS. Colb left WUSL six months later in March 2002 to help launch sister stationWWPR-FM in New York City. From 2002 until 2011, WUSL was the only urban contemporary station in Philadelphia. At that point,Radio One'sWPHI-FM switched formats to urban contemporary from rhythmic contemporary under the direction of program director (and former Power 99 host) Colby Colb. WUSL and WPHI competed in the early/mid 2000s in one of the most closely watched radio battles in the U.S.
WUSL was also the home of the controversial Star and Buc Wild Morning Show from late 2005 to May 2006. It was also the home of Miss Jones in the Morning, Shamara – "The Midday Princess" and The Power 99FM's Hot Boyz with Poochman, Mikey Dredd and Uncle O at night.
The 2013 on air line up consisted of "The Rise N Grind Morning Show" withMina SayWhat (former DJ of Sirius/XM's The Heat), and Mikey Dredd (former member of the Hot Boyz). SayWhat left the station in December 2017.
In October 2025, “The Rise N Grind Morning Show” ended with the layoffs of Mikey Dredd and MuthaKnows as part of national cuts by iHeart Media. They were replaced by a simulcast of "The Breakfast Club" from sister-stationWWPR-FM.[6]
WUSL has won numerous awards for its news and public affairs programming, a hallmark of which was their Sunday morning programming. From its inception as Power 99, Sunday mornings featured two public affairs shows:Sunday Morning Live, hosted by longtimenews anchor Loraine Ballard Morrill[7] and laterEmpower Half Hour with Lehronda Upshur.
The station was one of 10 awarded the 2007Crystal Radio Award for public service awarded by theNational Association of Broadcasters.[8] Winners were honored at the Radio Luncheon on April 17, 2007, during the NAB Show inLas Vegas, Nevada.
WUSL is short-spaced toWAWZ inZarephath, New Jersey. They operate on first adjacent channels (98.9 and 99.1) and their transmitters are only 53 miles apart. The minimum distance between twoClass B stations operating on first adjacent channels according to currentFCC rules should be 105 miles.[9]
The two stations have operated with the short-spacing for decades. The arrangement is nowgrandfathered.