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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 Tennessee Titans Radio Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WJOX,WJQX,WUHT,WZRR | |
| History | |
First air date | December 1, 1947; 77 years ago (1947-12-01) (as WAFM-FM at 93.3) |
Former call signs | WAFM (1947–1958) WAPI-FM (1958–1994) WMXQ (1994–1996) WYSF (1996–2008) |
Former frequencies | 93.3 MHz (1947–1949) 99.5 MHz (1949–1963) |
Call sign meaning | Jocks (slang for athletes) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 16901 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 309 meters (1,014 ft) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live Listen Live via iHeart |
| Website | joxfm.com |
WJOX-FM (94.5MHz) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toBirmingham, Alabama, airing asports radioformat.Cumulus Media owns three sports stations in the Birminghamradio market,WJQX100.5 FM,WJOX690 AM and WJOX-FM. They have studios on Goodwin Crest Drive nearInterstate 65 inHomewood.
WJOX-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the maximum for most FM stations. Thetransmitter is atop the west ridge ofRed Mountain, amid thetowers for other Birmingham-area FM and TV station.[2]
On weekdays, WJOX-FM has local sports hosts during the day and carriesInfinity Sports Network programming late nights and weekends. It had also been the Birmingham areaflagship station forUniversity of Alabama sports. WJOX-FM carriesAtlanta Bravesbaseball andTennessee Titansfootball.[3]
In 2007, WJOX-FM became the flagship station of thePaul Finebaum Show. Finebaum is a noted radio host and expert on college sports in theSouth. Finebaum's show issyndicated throughout Alabama and adjoining states. In 2013, Finebaum moved toESPN Radio to hostThe Paul Finebaum Show for theSEC Network, with WJOX continuing to carry the show.[4][5] His show, now based inCharlotte, is heard in afternoondrive time on WJOX-FM.
The forerunner of WJOX-FMsigned on the air on December 1, 1947; 77 years ago (December 1, 1947).[6] Its originalcall sign was WAFM.[7] By 1949, the station was broadcasting on 99.5 FM. It was powered at 540,000 watts, much more powerful than nearly all FM stations today. It was asister station toWAPI 1070 AM. A television station was launched, also in 1949, as WAFM-TV (nowWVTM).
WAFM changed its call sign in 1958 to WAPI-FM to match the call letters of WAPI 1070. All three broadcast properties were owned byAdvance Publications, the parent company ofThe Birmingham News. Through the 1950s and 60s, WAPI and WAPI-FM largelysimulcast their programming. In 1963, WAPI-FM moved to its current dial position at 94.5 MHz. In the early 1970s, WAPI-FM separated from the simulcast. It had a format it called "Solid Gold", an early version ofadult contemporary. In 1978, the station flipped toeasy listening music, calling itself "Beautiful 94." It was later branded as "FM 94 WAPI, A Pleasure To Be Around". It played quarter hour sweeps of soft, instrumental music, putting it in competition with 96.5 WQEZ (nowWMJJ).[8]
Advance Publications owned Birmingham's popular daily newspaper, as well as highly-rated TV, AM and FM stations, at a time when theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) was discouraging such concentration of media outlets under common ownership. FCC rules enacted in the late 1970s forced Advance Publications to sell its TV and radio properties in Birmingham. In 1980, WAFM-TV was sold toTimes-Mirror Broadcasting, while the radio stations were sold to Dittman Broadcasting, owners ofWABB andWABB-FM inMobile.
In August 1981, 94.5 switched its format. It became Birmingham's secondalbum oriented rock (AOR) station with the new name "95 Rock".[9] Popular artists on 95 Rock includedThe Rolling Stones,Bruce Springsteen,Fleetwood Mac,The Eagles,Tom Petty andThe Who.
During the mid-1980s, theTop 40 format, which had disappeared from radio dials in some cities, was regaining popularity. Birmingham had one FM Top 40 station, 106.9 WKXX (nowWBPT). In 1984, the album rock format was dropped in favor of Top 40. WAPI-FM first called 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 notableDJs on I-95 wereMark Thompson and Brian Phelps, who first teamed at I-95 before moving toKLOS inLos Angeles in 1987. The pair became one of LA's most popular morning radio shows for two decades.
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. It began calling itself "The Station in the '90s" through the 1990s. However, the nationwide decline in the 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". It became ahot adult contemporary music station. "Mix" was no more successful than I-95 had been in its latter stages. On September 25, 1996, the station once again changed formats and became asoft adult contemporary station with the new name "Soft Rock 94.5".[10] The call letters were changed to WYSF in November of the same year. Television ads for the new station featured actressTeri Garr, telling viewers that WYSF was a great station to have on your office radio.
In 1999, the morningdrive time team ofRick and Bubba moved from crosstown station 103.7WQEN to WYSF. They remained at WYSF until December 2006, when they departed forcountry music station 104.7WZZK-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, WYSF changed its format. At 5:00 p.m. on May 25, 2007,[11] it dropped itssoft adult contemporary format and returned tohot adult contemporary, changing the station's moniker to "The New 94-5 FM".
On July 4, 2008, the station dropped its hot AC music and beganstunting in anticipation of a new format.[12] The station began playingcountry music at approximately 9:25 p.m. and continued doing so for the next two days. The station then begansimulcasting co-ownedsports radio stationWJOX 690 AM as a temporary measure until the format change was completed.[13]
WJOX-FM made 94.5 its permanent home on July 22, 2008. It had moved to 94.5 from its former dial position of 100.5 FM, now home ofWJQX. WJOX-FM 94.5 and WJOX 690 simulcast their programming, beginning in February 2010. Ironically, 690 AM was the original home of the WJOX sports format when it 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. 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