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| Broadcast area | Central Alabama |
| Frequency | 94.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | JOX 94.5 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | Infinity Sports Network Atlanta Braves Radio Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WAPI,WJOX,WJQX,WUHT,WZRR | |
| History | |
First air date | January 1, 1947 (78 years ago) (1947-01-01) (as WAFM-FM at 93.3); adopted current call letters in July 2008 |
Former call signs | WAFM (1947–1958) WAPI-FM (1958–1994) WMXQ (1994–1996) WYSF (1996–2008)[1] |
Former frequencies | 93.3 MHz (1947–1949) 99.5 MHz (1949–1963) |
Call sign meaning | Jock straps |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 16901 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 309 meters |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live Listen Live via iHeart |
| Website | joxfm.com |
WJOX-FM (94.5MHz) is aradio station licensed toBirmingham, Alabama. The station airs asportsformat. WJOX-FM is owned byCumulus Media (the parent of radio networkWestwood One). The station was assigned the WJOX-FMcall sign by theFederal Communications Commission on February 8, 2010.[1] The station has studios inHomewood and its transmitter is in West Birmingham along the west ridge of Red Mountain.
The station is an affiliate ofInfinity Sports Network, and was the Birmingham area flagship affiliate for University of Alabama sports. WJOX-FM became the flagship station of thePaul Finebaum Radio Network, which was syndicated throughout Alabama and adjoining states, in 2007. WJOX-FM is an affiliate of theTennessee Titans football radio network[3] and theAtlanta Braves radio network. In 2013, Finebaum moved toESPN Radio to hostThe Paul Finebaum Show forSEC Network, with WJOX continuing to carry the show.[4][5]
The forerunner of WJOX debuted December 1, 1947 as WAFM on 93.3 FM.[6] At least by 1949, the station was broadcasting on 99.5 FM, where it remained until 1963, when it moved to its current frequency. It was a sister station to WAPI; WAFM-TV (nowWVTM), was launched in 1949. WAFM changed its call sign in 1958 to WAPI-FM to match the call letters ofits AM sister station. All three broadcast properties were owned byAdvance Publications, the parent company ofThe Birmingham News. In the early 1970s, WAPI-FM played "solid gold" music (an early version of theadult contemporary format). In 1978, the station became an easy listening music station, calling itself "Beautiful 94" (later branded as "FM 94 WAPI, A Pleasure To Be Around"), moving it in competition with WQEZ (nowWMJJ).
Federal Communications Commission rules enacted in the late 1970s forced Advance Publications to sell its TV and radio properties in Birmingham. In 1980, WAFM-TV was sold to Times-Mirror Broadcasting, while the radio stations were sold to Dittman Broadcasting, owners ofWABB andWABB-FM inMobile. In August 1981, 94.5 switched formats, and became Birmingham's second album rock station with the new name "95 Rock".[7]
During the mid-1980s, theTop 40 format, which had disappeared from radio dials in many cities, regained popularity. Birmingham had one Top 40 station, WKXX (nowWBPT). In 1984, the album rock format was dropped in favor of Top 40, first calling itself "95 FM". By the end of the year, WAPI-FM was re-launched as "I-95", calling itself "Birmingham's Hit Rock". Within a year, I-95 had replaced WKXX as the dominant Top 40 station in Birmingham. The most notable announcers on I-95 wereMark Thompson and Brian Phelps, who first teamed at I-95 before moving toKLOS inLos Angeles in 1987.
I-95 continued to enjoy dominant ratings throughout the remainder of the 1980s, using the slogan "Birmingham’s All-Hit I-95" for the remainder of that decade, and as "The Station in the '90s" into the 1990s. However, the nationwide decline in popularity of the Top 40 format affected I-95. On April 22, 1994, at 5 p.m., the station changed call letters to WMXQ ("Mix 94.5") and became ahot adult contemporary music station. "Mix" was no more successful than I-95 had been in its latter stages, so on September 25, 1996, the station once again changed formats and became asoft adult contemporary station with the new name "Soft Rock 94.5".[8] The call letters were changed to WYSF in November of the same year. Television ads for the new station featured actressTeri Garr.
In 1999, the morning drive team ofRick and Bubba moved from crosstown stationWQEN to WYSF, where they remained until December 2006, when they departed forcountry music stationWZZK-FM. In 2001, the station renamed itself "Y-94.5", with no real change in its music. In reaction to a steep drop in ratings after the departure of Rick and Bubba, the station changed formats at 5:00 p.m. on May 25, 2007.[9] The station dropped itssoft adult contemporary format and replaced it with ahot adult contemporary format, changing the on-air name of the station to "The New 94-5 FM".
On July 4, 2008, the station dropped itshot adult contemporary format and began stunting in anticipation of a new format.[10] The station began playing country music at approximately 9:25 p.m. and continued doing so for the next two days. The station then begansimulcasting co-ownedsports radio stationWJOX as a temporary measure until the format change was completed.[11]
WJOX-FM made 94.5 its permanent home on July 22, 2008, moving from its former dial position of100.5 FM. The station began being simulcast on the formerWSPZ (690 AM) in February 2010. Ironically, 690 AM was the original home of the WJOX sports format when the format was introduced to the Birmingham market in 1992.
The WJOX call letters were previously assigned to 106.1 FM inJackson, Michigan from 1976 to 1981. This incarnation of WJOX programmed the automated "Stereo Rock" format from TM Programming, using the moniker "Rock 106". The WJOX call letters were dropped by 106.1 FM on March 11, 1981, when the station adopted its current call lettersWJXQ ("Q106").
33°27′47″N86°51′00″W / 33.463°N 86.850°W /33.463; -86.850