 | |
| Broadcast area | Madison metropolitan area |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 96.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 96–3 Star Country |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country music |
| Subchannels | HD2:Acoustic rock "Coffee Shop Radio" |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WIBA (AM),WIBA-FM,WTSO,WXXM,WZEE | |
| History | |
Former call signs | WVLR WSEY (1987) WMLI (1987–1994 and 1996–2002) WMXF (1994–1996) WCJZ (2002–2003) |
Call sign meaning | Station servesMADison |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 50055 |
| Class | B1 |
| ERP | 5,100watts |
| HAAT | 213 meters (699 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°12′43″N89°36′00″W / 43.212°N 89.600°W /43.212; -89.600 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live Listen Live (HD2) |
| Website | 963starcountry.iheart.com |
WMAD (96.3FM "96-3 Star Country") is acommercialradio stationlicensed toCross Plains, Wisconsin, and serving theMadison metropolitan area. It broadcasts acountry musicradio format and is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. WMAD carries twonationally syndicated radio shows from co-ownedPremiere Networks:The Bobby Bones Show on weekday mornings andCMT Nights with Cody Alan heard overnight. Theradio studios and offices are on South Fish Hatchery Road in Madison.[2]
WMAD has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 5,100watts. Thetransmitter is on Simpson Road atU.S. Route 12 inDane, Wisconsin.[3] In addition to the analog signal, WMAD also broadcasts anHD Radio signal. The HD-2digital subchannel carries anacoustic rock format, known as "Coffee Shop Radio."
Thecall lettersWMAD originally were onAM 1550 and latersimulcast on 106.3 WMAD-FMMiddleton (nowWWQM-FM). That version of WMAD started as a country format and remained country until 1977 when the call letters on 1550 were dropped (WWQM "15Q" oldies replaced country).
WMAD-FM continued until early 1978 when the call sign was dropped from 106.3. The WMAD call letters resurfaced in 1979 on the station at 92.1 FM (licensed toSun Prairie, Wisconsin and current home toWXXM).
The 96.3 FM frequency in the Madisonradio market has had a varied format history. In the 1970s the station was WVLR. In the mid-1990s the station played 1970s music as Mix96.3 WMXF. Following this format, the station returned to asoft rock format asWMLI, which eventually morphed intoadult contemporary "Star 96.3."
In March 2002, the station shifted to asmooth jazz format as "Smooth Jazz 96.3WCJZ," filling a niche in the Madison market filled only by the "Magic Sunday Morning" smooth jazz program onWMGN (Magic 98).
WCJZ and its smooth jazz format failed to show ratings growth, which led management to make another change in format. At 12 Noon on December 31, 2003, WCJZ began a 6-hourstunt with a ticking clock and synthesized voice announcing station ID and jokes.[4] At 6:00 PM that night, an announcement heralded the return of thealternative rock-formatted "MAD Radio".[5]
Fourteen months earlier,iHeartMedia (then known as Clear Channel Communications) replacedalternative rock on 92.1 WMAD in favor of aHot AC station, "Mix 92.1." Fans of that "MAD Radio" incarnation were left disappointed by the change. Acknowledging the outcry, management resurrected "MAD Radio" at the 96.3 frequency. With this change, the WMADcall letters were moved to 96.3, while 92.1 changed their call letters toWXXM.
Despite an early peak in interest from Madison radio listeners, the new "MAD Radio" did not build as strong a following as the old version had. An increase of older alternative hits in the playlist (highlighted by the "Sunday Morning Resurrection" program) and the addition of the syndicatedRover's Morning Glory failed to bump up the station's fortunes. With WMAD'sArbitron ratings near the bottom of the Madison market, Clear Channel would make yet another change on the frequency, ending "MAD Radio 96.3" on the night of December 22, 2005,[6] after 2 hours of songs with a "goodbye" or "end" theme, ending with "Last Goodbye" byJeff Buckley and theJimi Hendrix version of "The Star-Spangled Banner." "MAD Radio" would resurface once again in 2007, airing a commercial-free alternative format on aHD Radio subchannel of sister stationWIBA-FM.
At 12AM on December 23, 2005, WMAD launched a new contemporary country format under the branding, "96.3 Star Country," beginning with a montage of its liners and jingles followed byGretchen Wilson's "All Jacked Up," the first of 10,000 songs played without interruption for commercials or DJs on "Star Country."[7]
Originally using the tag line "Now you have a choice,"Clear Channel took an aggressive approach in promoting "Star Country" and in targeting the long-time country station in Madison, WWQM-FM. The aggressiveness included luring away the WWQM-FM morning team of John Flint and Tammy Lee, who would helm "Star Country's" morning shift from November 2006 until June 2011, when they departed forSan Diego'sKSON.[8] The following September, WMAD tapped Tracy Dixon and Mike Heller as their new morning team; Dixon came from Clear Channel-ownedKMFX-FM inRochester, Minnesota, Heller from sister sports stationWTSO (where he continued as afternoon host). "Tracy & Mike" remained paired in mornings until they were replaced by thePremiere Networks-syndicatedBobby Bones Show in February 2013.[9]
WMAD broadcasts a multiplexedHD Radio signal. The station's HD2digital subchannel originally aired aclassic country format ("Star Country Classics") to complement the contemporary country music heard on WMAD's main channel. "Star Country Classics" was dropped in Fall 2013 in favor of a rotating succession of streams from Clear Channel'sIHeartRadio platform. The channels included "Global Citizen Radio" (variety hits) and "Nashville" (modern country).
As of November 2014, "Coffee Shop Radio" (acoustic rock) is heard on WMAD-HD2.[10]