 | This article needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2010) |
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| Broadcast area | Piedmont Triad |
| Frequency | 94.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 94.5 WPTI |
| Programming | |
| Format | Talk radio |
| Network | Fox News Radio |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WMAG,WMKS,WTQR,WVBZ | |
| History | |
First air date | March 20, 1949 (1949-03-20) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Piedmont Triad (region served) International (IATA airport code) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 55754 |
| Class | C1 |
| ERP | 100,000 watts |
| HAAT | 299 meters (981 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 36°20′48″N79°54′30″W / 36.34667°N 79.90833°W /36.34667; -79.90833 |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | 945wpti.iheart.com |
WPTI (94.5FM) is a commercialradio station, owned byiHeartMedia,licensed toEden, North Carolina, and serving thePiedmont Triad, including theGreensboro–Winston-Salem–High Pointmedia market. The station broadcasts atalk radio format; its studios and offices are located on Pai Park nearInterstate 40 in Greensboro.
WPTI has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the current maximum for FM stations. The signal provides at least secondary coverage from the southern suburbs ofRoanoke to the western suburbs ofRaleigh-Durham. The transmitter is located further north than most of the major Triad stations, allowing much ofSouthside Virginia (Martinsville,Danville) to get a city-grade signal. The tower is on Lowe Road inMadison. WPTI also broadcasts usingHD Radio technology.
On March 20, 1949, the station first signed on the air. The original call sign was WLOE-FM, simulcast with its sister stationWLOE. In 1968 the station switched call letters to WEAF as abeautiful music outlet, programmed separately from the AM station. WEAF played quarter hour sweeps of mostly instrumentalcover versions of popular songs as well asBroadway andHollywood show tunes. It later took the call letters WSRQ.
In 1984, the station increased power to 100,000 watts, relocated its studios to Greensboro, and switched tocountry music as WWWI "I-95," competing against the market's entrenched and top-rated country outlet,WTQR. Later the name was changed to "I-94.5"[citation needed] to help listeners more easily find the station during the time that digital tuners were replacing traditional analog receivers.
In 1986 the call letters were switched to WKLM "Classy 94.5" when the station returned to beautiful music.[1] Later the name changed to WWMY "My 94.5", though the format remained the same.[2]
WWMY switched toSoft Adult Contemporary music in 1990, later changing to the new call letters WMKG and the name "Magic Lite" whenWMAG began providing the station's programming.
In 1992, WMKG became WNEU "New Country 94.5", later changing its name to "Cat Country".[3][4]
The purchase of WNEU by Radio Equity Partners was announced in July 1994 and it was believed the station would become the "rocking country cousin" toWTQR.[5] On September 22, 1994, the station became WXRA "94.5 the Rock Alternative", playingmodern rock[6][7] from the 80s and 90s for listeners 18 to 34.[5] Later in the 90s, the station began playing a mix of old and new rock and called itself "The Rock Station". AroundNew Year's Day, 2001, WXRA's format moved to100.3 FM, with 94.5 FM becoming WWCC, a classic-leaningcountry music station. Ratings for this format were poor. On February 24, 2003, WWCC became WGBT, and flipped to aRhythmic Top 40 format as "94.5 The Beat."[8]
On February 16, 2006, at 5 p.m., after playing "Don't Forget About Us" byMariah Carey, WGBT switched to a Spanish-language classic hits format as "La Preciosa."[9] The station playedRegional Mexican music from the 70s, 80s and 90s. As such, WGBT became The Triad's first FM Spanish-language radio station (and the second in North Carolina). This made the fourth distinctly different radio format in five years to be broadcast on the 94.5 frequency in the Greensboro market.
At the end of 2009, theCurtis Media Group announced that itsWSJS/WSML news talk simulcast would no longer carryThe Rush Limbaugh Show.[10][11] On December 31, 2009, WGBT ended its Regional Mexican format, becoming talk station "Rush Radio 94.5" under the new call sign WPTI. The station aired weekend-long continuous replays ofThe Rush Limbaugh Week in Review through New Year's weekend. TheGlenn Beck Program and a local show calledThe Morning Rush hosted by Bill Flynn and Pamela Furr debuted January 4.[12] On July 26, 2010, WPTI added theSean Hannity Show to its schedule.
Followingcontroversial comments made by Rush Limbaugh regarding Sandra Fluke, WPTI was asked by the university not to promote the Tar Heel Sports Network duringThe Rush Limbaugh Show.[13]
In November 2010, the station canceledThe Morning Rush with Flynn and Pamela Furr (although Furr continued anchoring news for both WPTI andWRDU). After Christmas 2010, Dmitri Vassilaros began hosting the morning show.[14] In 2011, WPTI replaced Vassilaros with K.C. O'Dea.[15]
On May 24, 2013, WPTI dropped its "Rush Radio 94.5" branding, switching to "94.5 WPTI".[16]
K.C. O'Dea hosts WPTI's morning show; the remainder of the schedule is nationally syndicated talk shows, most of them fromPremiere Networks. WPTI is the Triad's FM affiliate of theTar Heel Sports Network, which broadcastsNorth Carolina Tar Heels football andbasketball games.