 | |
| Broadcast area | Upstate South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 92.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 92.5 WESC |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic country |
| Subchannels | HD2:Bluegrass music |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WESC,WGVL,WMYI,WSSL-FM,WROO | |
| History | |
First air date | March1948 |
Call sign meaning | Easley, Seneca, Clemson (original communities served) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 4679 |
| Class | C |
| ERP | 95,000watts |
| HAAT | 610 meters (2,000 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 35°08′16.4″N82°36′30.4″W / 35.137889°N 82.608444°W /35.137889; -82.608444 |
| Repeater | 660 WESC (Greenville) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live Listen Live (HD2) |
| Website | wescfm.iheart.com |
WESC-FM (92.5MHz) is acommercialradio station inGreenville, South Carolina, serving theUpstate region, including Greenville,Spartanburg andAnderson, South Carolina, as well asAsheville, North Carolina. It airs aclassic countryradio format and is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. The station goes by the name "92.5 WESC" and its slogan is "Carolina's Best Country And Your All-Time Favorites". iHeart owns three country stations in themarket:WSSL-FM 100.5 has a contemporary country format, whileWESC 660 AM and WESC-FM 92.5simulcast classic country hits.
Thestudios and offices are on North Main Street in downtown Greenville.[2] Thetransmitter is along theNorth Carolina/South Carolina border, off YMCA Camp Road, east ofCedar Mountain, North Carolina.[3] WESC-FM broadcasts usingHD Radio.
WESC-FMsigned on the air in March 1948 as the FMsister station toWESC 660,simulcasting its country music format. In the late 1960s, WESC-FM switched tobeautiful music while WESC 660 remained a country outlet. WESC-AM-FM returned to a country music simulcast in the 1980s, although there were times the AM station aired separate programming, leaning towardclassic country.
WESC-AM-FM were acquired in 1998 bySan Antonio-basedClear Channel Communications.[4] In 2014, Clear Channel changed its name toiHeartMedia.
In 2000, the simulcast was split apart. WESC-FM retained its country format, while WESC 660 was leased to the Radio Training Network, which programmed aChristian talk and teaching format in conjunction with 89.3WLFJ-FM. Thelocal marketing agreement (LMA) ended in August 2019, after which the two stations returned to their prior simulcast.[5]
In 2001, WESC-FM adjusted its format toclassic-leaning country, in a move to separate itself from co-owned 100.5WSSL-FM, which has a more youthful country sound. Although there is overlap with WSSL-FM, WESC distinguished itself by playing more 'genuine/raw' current selections along with hits from the early 1990s and before, sometimes going back to the 1970s.
In the late 2010s, the station abandoned all current or recurrent hits and now strictly plays country music from the 1980s through the 2000s, with an occasional 1970s or earlier and song from the early 2010s played.
WESC is the area'snetwork affiliate forClemson Tigers athletics as well asNASCAR, often calling itself "Your Racin' Station".
WESC-FM has a half-century heritage as a country music station. In the 1980s and 90s, it was sometimes #1 in the Greenville-SpartanburgArbitron ratings.
WESC-FM was the home station for thesyndicated radio show "Country Heartlines", hosted by John Crenshaw. A nationalized version of Crenshaw’s Cryin’ Lovin’ Laugin’ or Leavin’ show, the program was popular in the 1990s and at one time was carried on over 80 FM stations across the country. The show consisted of a format of country songs played in between callers calling in with a mix of relationship and love related problems, of which Crenshaw and other listeners would give advice and a lending ear. The syndicated show fully ended in 2011.
WESC-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the highest power permitted for most FM stations.[6] Thetower has aheight above average terrain (HAAT) of 610 meters (2,001 ft). The transmitter is located nearCaesars Head State Park in northernGreenville County, near theNorth Carolina state line.
WESC-FM can be heard across most of Northwestern orUpstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina, as well as part of NortheasternGeorgia and a small portion of EasternTennessee. The signal comes close to other nearbyradio markets, includingCharlotte,Atlanta,Columbia,Knoxville and theTri-Cities. The station also has an auxiliary transmitter that operates at 100,000 watts ERP which is shared with the main WESC AM tower.