| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Tampa Bay area |
| Frequency | 1380kHz |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Catholic radio |
| Network | Relevant Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Relevant Radio, Inc. |
| History | |
First air date | November 30, 1939 (85 years ago) (1939-11-30) |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 1370 kHz (1939–1941) |
Call sign meaning |
|
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 11954 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 27°52′16.1″N82°37′2.4″W / 27.871139°N 82.617333°W /27.871139; -82.617333 |
| Translator | 99.9 W260DM (St. Petersburg) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www |
WWMI (1380kHz) is anAM radio stationlicensed toSt. Petersburg, Florida, and serving theTampa Bayradio market. It is owned byRelevant Radio, a non-profitCatholic broadcasting organization based inWisconsin. WWMI carries its Relevant Radio network programming.
By day, WWMI is powered at 9,800 wattsnon-directional. But to protect other stations on1380 AM from interference, at night it reduces power to 6,500 watts and switches to adirectional antenna with a three-tower array. Thetransmitter is co-located with thetower forWTSP television, off Gandy Boulevard in St. Petersburg.[2]
On April 3, 1939, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) awarded aconstruction permit to the Pinellas Broadcasting Company. It was allowed to build a new radio station on 1370 kHz in St. Petersburg, broadcasting with 250 watts during the day and 100 at night.[3] Its initialcall sign was WBOX; before launch, it changed to WTSP ("Welcome to St. Petersburg"). The stationsigned on the air on the morning of November 30.[4] In the same year it was founded, Pinellas Broadcasting was sold to Paul andNelson Poynter, who owned theSt. Petersburg Times.[5]
On March 29, 1941, theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) was enacted. That required WTSP to move to 1380 kHz. Later that year, the station was approved for an increase to 1,000 watts day and 500 watts night.[3] It became the first Tampa Baynetwork affiliate of theMutual Broadcasting System.[4] In late 1946, construction began on a new 5,000-watt facility near the southern approach to the Gandy Bridge, which would also house an FM station.[6] By 1954, WTSP-FM 102.5, established in 1948, had been upgraded to broadcast with 77,000 watts.[7] That same year, however, the station lost in its fight to win a television station on channel 8; rival newspaperThe Tampa Tribune and itsWFLA were given the nod to buildWFLA-TV.[8]
In 1956, Ferris, Joe and Sam Rahall—natives ofBeckley, West Virginia, but whose parents were longtime winter residents of St. Petersburg—purchased WTSP AM and FM from theTimes for $200,000.[9] The Rahalls opted to dismantle the FM operation, surrendering the license in December.[10] Seeking to update the station "in the modern trend", WTSP became WLCY on July 15, 1959.[3][11] The new name gave rise to the station's new moniker, "Radio Elsie".[12]
For many years, WLCY was the Tampa Bay area's premierrock and roll station, with offices, studios, and transmitter in the previous WTSP facility on Gandy Boulevard near 4th Street North. The station later shared space with Rahall'sWLCY-TV and the newWLCY-FM at the "Rahall Color Communications Center", just east of the original Gandy site. The name of the licensee changed to WLCY, Inc., on June 20, 1963 and then to the Rahall Communications Corporation on October 3, 1969. WLCY began to identify dual city of license as "St. Petersburg-Tampa" in 1976.[3]
Rahall began to divest itself of its Tampa Bay properties, and in September 1978, Florida Radio, Inc. became the station's new owner. WLCY moved out of the TV building and back into the old WTSP studios.
The AM station was eventually sold toHarte-Hanks and was changed to WNSI (News, Sports and Information). After Edens Broadcasting bought the station, it became WRBQ, and flipped to a simulcast ofQ105. The simulcast, however, was limited due to FCC rules. As such, WRBQ AM had a distinct rhythmic and R&B playlist during certain hours of the day circa December 1982. This would eventually end, with a full simulcast that would last until January 24, 1992, when WRBQ flipped to the satellite-fedurban adult contemporary format known as "The Touch" and picked upTom Joyner to host mornings.[13][14][15] In July of that year, Edens sold WRBQ-AM-FM toClear Channel Communications.[16][17]
In February 1999,ABC Radio bought the station and it became WWMI and adopted theRadio Disneychildren's/contemporary hit radio format on May 3 of that year.[18][19][20] On August 13, 2014, Disney put WWMI and twenty-two other Radio Disney stations up for sale, to focus on digital distribution of the Radio Disney network.[21][22]
On September 15, 2015, it was announced thatSalem Media Group acquired the last five Radio Disney owned-and-operated stations for sale (including WWMI) for $2.225 million.[23] WWMI was acquired through South Texas Broadcasting, Inc., for $750.000.[24] The sale of WWMI was completed on December 11.[25] On December 14, the station became Salem's Wall Street Business Network affiliate in Tampa Bay.[26] WWMI was now one of two stations in the market airing a business news/talk format, the other beingWHFS.
On July 25, 2019, Salem Media Group agreed to sell WWMI andWLCC, as well asWKAT andWZAB in the Miami market, toImmaculate Heart Media, Inc. for more than $8.2 million.[27][28] On May 17, 2021, WWMI switched to the English-language version of Relevant Radio.