 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Greater Philadelphia |
| Frequency | 104.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Alt 104-5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Alternative rock |
| Subchannels | HD2:Simulcast ofWDAS "The Gambler" (sports) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WDAS,WDAS-FM,WIOQ,WUMR,WUSL | |
| History | |
First air date | February 1965; 60 years ago (1965-02) (as WRCP-FM) |
Former call signs |
|
Call sign meaning | "Radio 104.5" (previous branding); could also sound like "riff" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 53969 |
| Class | B |
| ERP |
|
| HAAT | 308 meters (1,010 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°2′30.4″N75°14′22.6″W / 40.041778°N 75.239611°W /40.041778; -75.239611 (WRFF) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | alt1045philly |
WRFF (104.5FM, "ALT 104-5") is acommercialFM radio station inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned byiHeartMedia, and broadcasts analternative rockradio format. The studios are inBala Cynwyd.
WRFF has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 11,500 watts. Thetransmittertower is in theRoxborough section of Philadelphia at (40°2′30.9″N75°14′21.9″W / 40.041917°N 75.239417°W /40.041917; -75.239417).[3] WRFF broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. The HD-2digital subchannel carries thesports radio format ofsister stationWDAS 1480 AM "The Gambler".[4]
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The station firstsigned on in February 1965. The originalcall sign was WRCP-FM,simulcasting co-ownedWRCP (1540 AM) and itsmiddle of the road (MOR) format. The stations were owned by Associated Communications, a subsidiary of theRust Craft Greeting Card Company.
In 1967, the stations switched to acountry music format. Because the AM station was adaytimer, required to go off the air at sunset, WRCP-FM was able to continue the format into the evening. TightenedFederal Communications Commission (FCC) restrictions on AM-FM simulcasting led to a new format for the FM in 1977.
WRCP-FM broke away from WRCP (AM) in 1977 and became WSNI. WSNI initially had a soft country/easy listening hybrid format. Over time, the country music was largely discontinued and the station evolved into a standard easy listening sound.
On January 1, 1980, WSNI became known asSunny 104 at first, then laterSunny 104 1/2, and eventuallySunny 104.5, a name which was reused later in the station's history. Eventually "Sunny" ended easy listening in favor of anadult contemporary format playing the Top 40 hits of the 1960s, Top 40/Adult contemporary crossovers of the 1970s, and the Adult Contemporary hits of the 1980s, including current product.
Six years later, the stations were sold to Pyramid Broadcasting. The AM sister station, which still had the WRCP call sign, was eventually spun off and got a new call sign. In 1988, singerTeddy Pendergrass, a Philadelphia native, was hired to perform some of WSNI'sjingles.
On December 10, 1990, WSNI's call sign was changed to WYXR and the format switched tohot AC. The new station rebranded asStar 104.5.
In a group deal, WYXR was acquired by Evergreen by 1993. The station experimented and leaned towardAdult Top 40 in 1996, but kept the "Star" branding. The station quietly evolved back to hot AC in 1997. WYXR played morerhythmic cuts than most hot AC stations. In 1997, WYXR was acquired by Chancellor Media as a result of a merger.
In April 1999, Chancellor (known then as AMFM, Inc.) was going to switch the station to aJammin' Oldies format. But the flip did not happen because another station,WXXM, owned byGreater Media, beat them to it.
The Hot AC format remained until November 4, 1999, at noon. After playingMadonna's "Who's That Girl", the station beganstunting with the sound of a heartbeat for the next three hours.At 3 p.m. that same day, the station flipped to a gold-based "rock AC" format, branded asAlice 104.5, WLCE. The first song on "Alice" wasThe Cars' "Let's Go".[5][6] The new format was described as "Rockin' Hits" of the 70s, 80s, and 90s.
The "Rockin' Hits" format was designed to compete against Greater Media'sWMGK. WMGK was Greater Media's most successful station in Philadelphia at the time, and this was viewed as "punishment" against Greater Media after it flipped WXXM to "Jammin' Gold". Initially, only a couple of current songs were played, but by 2001, the station was playing a larger number. By late 2001, the station evolved to more of a rock-based hot AC format. Also in 2001, as a result of a merger, WLCE came under the ownership of Clear Channel Communications (nowiHeartMedia).
On August 1, 2002, at 6 a.m., after a 24-hour loop ofThe Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun", 104.5 flipped tosoft adult contemporary, reverting to theSunny 104.5 branding with a plan to compete for some of "B101"WBEB's listeners. The first song on Sunny was "Build Me Up Buttercup" byThe Foundations.[7][8]
This incarnation of WSNI is noted for completely abandoning the format in the first week in November to play allChristmas music until December 26. The idea was very successful and starting the very next year, B101—-which in years past played only 36 hours of continuous Christmas music on Christmas Eve and Day-—copied it and has done it every year since.
Nearly all air personalities on "Sunny" werevoicetracked, meaning the "DJ banter" heard between songs had been recorded in advance in another city and was being played from ahard drive just like the music. The low operating costs helped the station be successful even with only middling ratings. "Sunny 104.5" continued for just over four years.
At noon on August 10, 2006, Sunny's sister stationWJJZ (106.1 FM) was switched to arhythmic AC format, and began identifying itself as "Philly's 106.1". At the same time, Clear Channel dumped WSNI's soft AC format and started "shadowcasting" the new station at 106.1. The two stations were playing the same songs, but 104.5 was delayed by several seconds from what was heard on 106.1. The last song heard on "Sunny" was "Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me" byElton John. This was followed by a short pause and slow fade in of "Let's Get It Started" byThe Black Eyed Peas. There was a short announcement from a female ("This feels like my own radio station") and an awkwardsegue into "Get Ready For This" by2 Unlimited, thenMichael Jackson's "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".[9]
As for the lucrative all-Christmas format Sunny brought to Philadelphia, B101 had it all to themselves. Without having to worry about beating the competition to the punch, they tended to make the switch to all-Christmas much later in the season, typically one day to one week prior to Thanksgiving. In 2007, during Arbitron's "holiday period", the lack of competition provided B101 enormous rating success. In 2008,three other stations joined in, giving Philadelphia four all-Christmas stations and forcing B101 to share.
On August 23, 2006, at noon, after 13 days of shadowcasting the 106.1 FM signal, 104.5 FM became a Spanish-language radio station branded asRumba 104.5.[10] The first song on "Rumba" was "Puerto Rico" byFrankie Ruiz.
The new format focused primarily ontropical and Spanish dance music, similar toWCAA andWSKQ-FM in New York City. On August 29, WSNI changed call letters to WUBA to match the "Rumba" branding.[a] Despite being the first Spanish-language station on FM radio in Philadelphia, "Rumba" would only last nine months.
On May 16, 2007, Clear Channel flipped the station tomodern rock asRadio 104-5 with the new call letters WRFF, returning the format to Philadelphia after the 2005 flip ofWPLY. TheRumba format moved to co-ownedWDAS (1480 AM). WRFF solicited suggestions from listeners on artists to be featured in the new format, and theRadio branding and format would be adopted by several other Clear Channel-owned stations.[11][12]
On May 26, 2020, the station rebranded asAlt 104-5 with no change in format, aligned with the current standardizedAlt branding used by iHeartMedia modern rock stations.[13]
Starting in 2017, the station has hosted an annual birthday show one-day music festival, featuring artists frequently played on 104.5 FM.[14]
Between 2007 and 2019, the festival has hosted artists likeHozier,Death Cab for Cutie,Florence and the Machine,Passion Pit and others.[15] The festival is usually held in eitherCamden, New Jersey or Philadelphia.[16]