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| Broadcast area | Nashville metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 99.7MHz |
| Branding | SuperTalk 99.7 WTN |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Network | ABC News Radio |
| Affiliations | Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WKDF,WGFX,WSM-FM,WQQK | |
| History | |
First air date | June 20, 1962; 63 years ago (June 20, 1962) |
Former call signs | WMSR-FM (1962–1990) WQLZ (1990–1991) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 31476 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 395 meters (1,296 ft) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | 997wtn.com |
WWTN (99.7FM) is acommercialradio station serving theNashvillemedia market. The station is owned byCumulus Media and is marketed asSuperTalk 99.7 WTN (the first W is eliminated forsimplicity). WWTN transmits with aneffective radiated power of 100,000watts, the maximum for most FM stations and is aClass C0 station.[1]
WWTN islicensed to the city ofHendersonville, Tennessee, which is approximately 15 miles (24 km)northeast of Nashville. Itsantenna (395 meters/1296 feet inheight above average terrain) is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) SSE of Nashville inRutherford County, Tennessee, between the cities ofMurfreesboro andFranklin. The station'sstudios are in theMusic Row district of Nashville.
The station firstsigned on the air on June 20, 1962. The originalcall sign was WMSR-FM, licensed to the city ofManchester, Tennessee.[2] It began focusing on the Nashville market in the early 1990s. Manchester is nearly halfway between Nashville andChattanooga, but theCumberland Plateau prevents a Manchester FM signal from penetrating Chattanooga, and vice versa. Its current signal range covers most ofMiddle Tennessee, even venturing into parts of NorthernAlabama and SouthernKentucky. The city of license changed to Hendersonville in 2008, as part of a larger project that saw four of Cumulus' five Nashville stations change cities of license in the process of allowingsister stationWNFN to move its transmitter and increase power.
The station was mired in mediocrity andbankruptcy in the early 1990s until being purchased byGaylord Entertainment Company in 1995. Gaylord also owned 650WSM (AM) and 95.5WSM-FM, as well as theGrand Ole Opry concert hall andOpryland USAamusement park. During this period, WWTN broadcast a mixture of locally originated general interest talk programming,sports talk, and the Business Talk Radio Network. Within three years subsequent to the Gaylord purchase, WWTN was Nashville's highest-billing radio station. In 2003, WWTN and WSM-FM were sold to Cumulus Media for $65 million.[3]
Weekdays on WWTN features local andnationally syndicatedconservative talk shows.[4] Local hosts are heard all morning and in afternoondrive time. In middays, Texas-basedChad Benson deals with national and Tennessee issues. The weekday evening schedule from the co-ownedWestwood One network includesThe Mark Levin Show andRed Eye Radio.
Weekends features programs on special interests, including syndicated programsThe Kim Komando Show andSunday Night with Bill Cunningham. Some weekend hours are paidbrokered programming. Most hours begin with an update fromABC News Radio.
In 1992, WWTN began airingThe Money Game, a local financial advice show withDave Ramsey, Hal Wilson, and Roy Matlock. Wilson and Matlock left the show at different points in its early history. With Ramsey hosting alone, his company assumed ownership of the program, which was renamedThe Dave Ramsey Show in 1996. It was eventually independently syndicated to over 500 stations nationwide. WWTN served as theflagship station until 2012, when Ramsey moved the show to 102.5WPRT-FM in 2013, and then toWLAC1510 AM in 2014.
WWTN served as the flagship station for a nationally syndicated weekday afternoon talk show hosted byPhil Valentine until July 2021, when his health deteriorated fromCOVID-19 and its after-effects. Valentine died on August 21, 2021.
WWTN's primary competition isWLAC1510 AM, a talk radio station owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. Talk and information programs are also heard on non-commercialNPRmember station 90.3WPLN-FM owned by Nashville Public Radio.
35°49′03″N86°31′24″W / 35.817556°N 86.523333°W /35.817556; -86.523333