 | |
| Broadcast area | Saginaw-Bay City-Midland |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1440kHz |
| Branding | Ave Maria Radio |
| Programming | |
| Format | Religious;Catholic based talk/sermons |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| History | |
First air date | April 23, 1925 |
Former call signs | WUNI (7/30/91-7/30/92) WRDD (1977–1979) WBCM (1930-1977 and 1979-1991) WSKC (1925–1930) |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000watts (Daytime) 2,500watts (Nighttime) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°21′27″N83°57′58″W / 43.35750°N 83.96611°W /43.35750; -83.96611 |
| Translator(s) | 105.9MHz W290DM (Midland) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Website | Official website |
WMAX (1440 AM) is aradio station broadcasting aCatholicreligious format. It is co-owned withWDEO 990 AM inYpsilanti, Michigan, and features the same programming from theEWTN Global Catholic Radio network.
Licensed toBay City, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1925 asWSKC at 1150 kHz, with its call sign reflecting its ownership by the World's Star Knitting Co. It was the first radio station in theTri-Cities and first Michigan radio station north of Flint. In 1930, the call sign changed toWBCM, followed by a shift in frequency in 1941 to 1440 kHz. WBCM served the Bay City area as a local station for many years with a variety of formats includingMOR andcountry music.[1]
WBCM began experimenting withFM radio in 1947, one of the first in the region. WBCM-FM was located at 96.1 mHz and broadcast from an over 300 foot (90m)Blaw-Knox tower at the station's Bay City east side studio on Tuscola Rd, initially signing on in 1947. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, 96.1 FM broadcast abeautiful music format. Purchased byLiggett Communications earlier in 1973, on August 27, 1973 the FM calls were changed toWHNN and the station adopted aTop 40 format as "Super Win". Later, Liggett built a new FM tower location inQuanicassee to alleviate a short spaced situation with WHTC-FM Holland, and the power was upped to a legal maximum of 100,000 watts.
In February 1978, Liggett changed the AM format to country, and the call letters toWRDD (Big Red Radio),[2] and also built a new 5 KW AM directional transmitter site for the station along M-84 in southernFrankenlust Township, Michigan. Upon license approval of the new AM facility, he sold WRDD to a local broadcast concern who returned the call letters toWBCM. The station would go through another ownership change and change of call letters briefly toWUNI (You and I) toWMAX in 1992 and simulcast sports-talk stationWTRX of Flint. WMAX is of no relation toWMAX-FM 96.1, anIHeartMedia-owned radio station inHolland, Michigan. The simulcast only lasted about ten years when it was then sold to the current Catholic radio operator.
WMAX is also the former call sign of an AM station at 1480 kHz inGrand Rapids, Michigan (nowWSLI).
Until April 2018, WMAX's programming was simulcast onWHHQ AM 1250, a station based inBridgeport that covered much of the same broadcasting area as WMAX.
43°31′27″N83°57′58″W / 43.52417°N 83.96611°W /43.52417; -83.96611
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