 | |
| Broadcast area | Oklahoma City metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 640kHz |
| Branding | ESPN Radio 640 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | ESPN Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| KATT-FM,KKWD,KYIS,WKY,WWLS-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | September 16,1922 (as WNAD,Norman, Oklahoma) |
Former call signs | WNAD (September 16, 1922-December 7, 1981) WWLS (1981-April 2, 2012) |
Former frequencies | 1010 kHz (1929–1941) |
Call sign meaning | "ESPN" |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 22190 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000watts day 1,000 watts night |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
KWPN (640kHz, "ESPN Radio 640") is acommercialAMradio stationlicensed toMoore, Oklahoma, and serving theOklahoma City metropolitan area. It is owned byCumulus Media and airs asportsformat. While Cumulus owns three sports stations in Oklahoma City,WWLS-FM andWKY have mostly local shows on weekdays, while KWPN carries mostlysyndicated programming fromESPN Radio. Thestudios and offices are on NW 64th Street in Northwest Oklahoma City.[2]
KWPN'stransmitter is off West Indian Hills Road inNorman.[3] It broadcasts with a power of 5,000watts by day; becauseAM 640 is aclear channel frequency, reserved forClass AKFI inLos Angeles, KWPN must reduce power to 1,000 watts at night to avoid interference. Adirectional antenna is used at all times.
On September 26, 1922, the stationsigned on as sequentially assignedWNAD inNorman. It was owned by theUniversity of Oklahoma, with its studios located in Science Hall.[4] In the early days of broadcasting, several universities putnon-commercial radio stations on the air as a service to students, faculty and the local community. From 1929 to 1941, WNAD broadcast on 1010kilocycles and was required togo off the air at sunset.
In 1941, when theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) was enacted, the station moved to 640 kHz. Being lower on the dial gave WNAD a wider coverage area, though the station was still required to be off the air at night, to protect 50,000-watt clear channelKFI in Los Angeles (as AM radio waves travel further at night).
In 1973, after the university put an FM stationKGOU on the air, it decided to sell the AM station. WNAD was acquired by Oklahoma Communications, Inc., and became aMutual Broadcasting Systemnetwork affiliate.[5]
The station was acquired by Norman Broadcasting in 1981.[6] It switched itscall sign toWWLS, named after Norman Broadcasting's owner, Larry Steckline. It is unusual for stations in Oklahoma to have call letters beginning with a "W", as nearly all start with a "K." However, since the station traces its history back to 1922, when Oklahoma was in W territory, the station was granted new call letters beginning with a W from theFederal Communications Commission.
In 1989, WWLS was acquired by Fox Broadcasting. It was not associated with theFox Television Network, but owned by local businessman John Fox.[7] Asports radio format was started. The new management changed the station'scity of license with the FCC toMoore. This was coupled with permission to broadcast around the clock at 1,000 watts. A few years later, daytime power was boosted to 5,000 watts.
In 1999, WWLS was acquired byCitadel Broadcasting, the forerunner to today's Cumulus Broadcasting.[8] It flipped to asports radio format, calling itself "The Sports Animal." It later received an FMsimulcast on 98.1, which became WWLS-FM. On April 2, 2012, WWLS AM split from its "Sports Animal" simulcast with WWLS-FM and switched to mostly programming fromESPN Radio under new call lettersKWPN. WWLS-FM continued with mostly local sports programming on weekdays, and later began simulcasting on co-ownedWKY. On nights and weekends, all three stations often carry the same ESPN Radio programming.
35°17′21″N97°30′08″W / 35.28917°N 97.50222°W /35.28917; -97.50222