| Broadcast area | Greater Pittsburgh |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 540kHz |
| Programming | |
| Format | Religious |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Birach Broadcasting Corporation |
| History | |
First air date | November 27, 1957; 67 years ago (1957-11-27) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 5349 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 40°17′22″N80°11′7″W / 40.28944°N 80.18528°W /40.28944; -80.18528 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | www |
WWCS (540 kHz) is a commercialAM radio station licensed toCanonsburg, Pennsylvania, and serving thePittsburgh metropolitan area. WWCS airs a religious format programmed byOvercomer Ministries. The station is owned byBirach Broadcasting Corporation through its chairman and CEO, Sima Birach Jr.
WWCS is powered at 5,000 watts by day. ButAM 540 is a Canadian andMexicanclear channel frequency. So at night, WWCS must reduce its power to 500 watts to avoid interference. It uses adirectional antenna at all times. Thetransmitter is off Angerer Road in Canonsburg.[2]
On November 27, 1957, the station firstsigned on as WCNG.[3] At first, it was adaytimer station, required to go off the air at night. Its power was only 250 watts. The original owner was R.A. Douglass.
At various times in its history, the station has airedSpanish languageTropical music,children's radio,classical music,ethnic programming,oldies andChristian talk and teaching.
The station'scall sign later switched to WARO. It was known as "Radio One" during its days as WARO.
Following ABC'sLMA of WWCS from owner Birach Broadcasting, operations for the station moved from its transmitter building at 38 Angerer Road (Strang Lane) in Canonsburg to 400 Ardmore Boulevard in Wilkinsburg, the home of WEAE (ESPN Radio 1250) andWTAE-TV. Under ABC, the station carriedRadio Disney format on February 11, 2001.
WWCS ceased to carry Radio Disney upon the expiration of ABC's lease of WWCS on December 31, 2010; the network's programming then moved to Disney-owned WEAE (renamedWDDZ), which disaffiliated from ESPN Radio.[4] From January to February 2011, the station aired amusic loop directing listeners to WDDZ.[5]
In February 2011, aSpanish languagetropical music format began airing as a simulcast ofWSDS fromDetroit. The simulcast was replaced byFox Sports Radio programming on January 1, 2012. The Fox Sports network was previously cleared in Pittsburgh onWBGG, which dropped it when it replaced WEAE as the area'sESPN Radio affiliate.[6][7]
It later switched to theHouston-based SB Nation Sports Network, which changed its name to SportsMap in 2020.
In October 2021, the station switched to a religious format carrying programming by the late R.G. Stair's Overcomer Ministries 24/7.[8]
In 2025, WWCS suffered the loss of both its main provider of programming and its owner, after Overcomer Ministries withdrew its programming from most of its stations in July[9] and Sima Birach died on October 14.[10]
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