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| Broadcast area | Nashville metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 99.7MHz |
| Branding | SuperTalk 99.7 WTN |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Network | ABC News Radio |
| Affiliations | Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WKDF,WGFX,WSM-FM,WQQK | |
| History | |
First air date | June 20, 1962; 63 years ago (June 20, 1962) |
Former call signs | WMSR-FM (1962–1990) WQLZ (1990–1991) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 31476 |
| Class | C0 |
| ERP | 100,000watts |
| HAAT | 395 meters (1,296 ft) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | 997wtn.com |
WWTN (99.7FM) is acommercialradio station serving theNashvillemedia market. The station is owned byCumulus Media and is marketed as "SuperTalk 99.7 WTN" (the first W of its call sign is eliminated for simplicity). WWTN islicensed to the city ofHendersonville, Tennessee, which is approximately 15 miles (24 km)northeast of Nashville. The station'sstudios are in theMusic Row district of Nashville.
WWTN transmits with aneffective radiated power of 100,000watts, the maximum for most FM stations, and is aClass C0 station.[1] Its signal covers most ofMiddle Tennessee, even venturing into parts of NorthernAlabama and SouthernKentucky. Itsantenna (395 meters/1296 feet inheight above average terrain) is located approximately 25 miles (40 km) SSE of Nashville inRutherford County, Tennessee, between the cities ofMurfreesboro andFranklin.
WWTN's primary competition isWLAC1510 AM, a talk radio station owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. Talk and information programs are also heard on non-commercialNPRmember station 90.3WPLN-FM owned by Nashville Public Radio.
Weekdays on WWTN features local andnationally syndicatedconservative talk shows.[2] Local hosts are heard all morning and in afternoondrive time. In middays, Texas-basedChad Benson deals with national and Tennessee issues. The weekday evening schedule from the co-ownedWestwood One network includesThe Mark Levin Show andRed Eye Radio.
Weekends features programs on special interests, including syndicated programsThe Kim Komando Show andSunday Night with Bill Cunningham. Some weekend hours are paidbrokered programming. Most hours begin with an update fromABC News Radio.
The station firstsigned on the air on June 20, 1962. The originalcall sign was WMSR-FM, licensed to the Manchester Broadcasting Company in the city ofManchester, Tennessee.[3] In the mid-1960s, the licensee was changed to Joseph M. Carter, Trustee inbankruptcy.
In the early 1990s, the station began focusing on the Nashville market. Manchester is nearly halfway between Nashville andChattanooga, although theCumberland Plateau prevents Manchester FM signals from serving Chattanooga.
The station faced major financial difficulties in the early 1990s, until being purchased byGaylord Entertainment Company in 1995. Gaylord also owned 650WSM (AM) and 95.5WSM-FM, as well as theGrand Ole Opry concert hall andOpryland USAamusement park. During this period, WWTN broadcast a mixture of locally originated general interest talk programming,sports talk, and the Business Talk Radio Network. Within three years after the Gaylord purchase, WWTN was Nashville's highest-billing radio station.
In 1992, WWTN began airingThe Money Game, a local financial advice show withDave Ramsey, Hal Wilson, and Roy Matlock. Wilson and Matlock left the show at different points in its early history. With Ramsey hosting alone, his company assumed ownership of the program, which was renamedThe Dave Ramsey Show in 1996. It was eventually independently syndicated to over 500 stations nationwide. WWTN served as theflagship station until 2012, when Ramsey moved the show to 102.5WPRT-FM in 2013, and then toWLAC1510 AM in 2014.
In 2003, WWTN and WSM-FM were sold to Cumulus Media for $65 million.[4] The city of license changed to Hendersonville in 2008, as part of a larger project that saw four of Cumulus' five Nashville stations change cities of license in the process of allowingsister stationWNFN to move its transmitter and increase power.
WWTN served as the flagship station for a nationally syndicated weekday afternoon talk show hosted byPhil Valentine until July 2021, when his health deteriorated fromCOVID-19 and its after-effects. Valentine died on August 21, 2021.
35°49′03″N86°31′24″W / 35.817556°N 86.523333°W /35.817556; -86.523333