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| Broadcast area | New Orleans metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 870kHz |
| Branding | The Big 870 |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | News/talk–sports radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | March 31, 1922; 103 years ago (1922-03-31) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 34377 |
| Class | A (clear channel station) |
| Power | 50,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | |
| Repeater(s) | 105.3 WWL-FM (Kenner) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via Audacy) |
| Website | www |
WWL (870kHz) is anAM radio station inNew Orleans, Louisiana, owned byAudacy, Inc. WWL and 105.3WWL-FM simulcast anews/talk radio format withsports talk at night. The station's studios are in the400 Poydras Tower in theNew Orleans Central Business District. On January 7, 2025, it filed a chapter 11 plan for bankruptcy with almost $2 billion of debt.[2]
WWL is aclear-channel,Class A station. Its transmitter power output is 50,000 watts, the maximum for commercial AM stations in the U.S. It uses adirectional antenna with a two-tower array.[3] Thetransmitter is in theJean Lafitte National Historical Park inEstelle, Louisiana. The daytime signal provides at least secondary coverage to large parts of theGulf Coast, with city-grade coverage reaching as far east asPensacola, Florida, and as far west asLafayette, Louisiana. At night it can be heard across much of the central and southern United States.
WWL is the Louisiana Primary Entry Point for theEmergency Alert System (EAS). With sister station 101.9WLMG, it is responsible for activation of the Southeast Louisiana EAS plan.[4]
The weekday schedule features news and talk programming mornings and early afternoons, shifting to sports talk and live play-by-play after 4 pm. All weekday programming from 5 am to 8 pm is hosted by local WWL personalities and reporters. The only nationallysyndicated programs areInfinity Sports Network shows at 8 pm, family finances expertDave Ramsey at 1 am andThis Morning, America's First News with Gordon Deal, at 4 am.
Weekend programming includes shows on money, law, gardening, home improvement and the outdoors before sports takes over the schedule. WWL is a long-timeaffiliate of theCBS Radio Network. Most hours on weekdays begin with local newscasts branded asWWL First News, whileCBS News begins most hours nights and weekends.
Sports shows begin during afternoondrive time, hosted by formerNFL quarterbackBobby Hebert. WWL-AM-FM are part-timeInfinity Sports Network affiliates. Programming from that network is heard in late evenings, and in several blocks during the day on weekends. When two live sporting events occur at the same time, one of the games moves tosister stationWWWL, which airs a mostly sports format.
For many years, WWL has been theflagship station for broadcasts ofNew Orleans Saintsfootball games, continuously since the1995 season.[5] WWL-AM-FM continue to be the lead stations on theNew Orleans Saints Radio Network, with affiliates inLouisiana,Mississippi and three other states.
WWL-AM-FM are also the flagships forNew Orleans Pelicansbasketball broadcasts. The team had been withKLRZ for five years leading up to 2024. With the 2024–25 season, team broadcasts returned to WWL-AM-FM.[6]
WWL-AM-FM serve as the New Orleans outlets of theLSU Tigers, simulcasting all football games, while some men's basketball and baseball games are also heard. It shares flagship status withWDGL inBaton Rouge. WWL was previously the radio home of theTulane Green Wave.
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Effective December 1, 1921, theDepartment of Commerce, which controlled radio at the time, adopted regulations formally establishing a broadcasting station category. It set aside the wavelength of 360 meters (833 kHz) for entertainment broadcasts, and 485 meters (619 kHz) for farm market and weather reports.[8]
On March 31, 1922,Loyola University in New Orleans was issued a "Limited Commercial License" for a new station on the 360-meter "entertainment" wavelength.[9] WWL was the second broadcasting station licensed in Louisiana, following WGV, also in New Orleans, licensed 10 days earlier.[10] However, WWL was the first station in the state to begin broadcasting operations.
Starting beforeWorld War I and continuing until June 1922, the university sponsored a radio training school, with both civilian and military students. WWL's initial equipment was installed at Marquette Hall on the Loyola campus, with construction performed by Edward T. Cassidy, aJesuitseminarian and physicist serving as the head of the radio school, and L. J. N. "Joe" du Treil, a former school head who worked at the Commerce Department's New Orleans district office of its Radio Service section.[11]
WWL received authorization bytelegraph andsigned on the air on March 31, 1922 (103 years ago) (1922-03-31). It began broadcasting on the shared 360-meter entertainment wavelength, as a 10-watt station. The station's primary initial purpose was to promote a universityfundraising project. Loyola president Father Edward Cummings opened the first half-hour broadcast with a three-minute fundraising plea on behalf of the university's building drive, stating that "We are organizing the radio operators in the state to spread the story of Loyola's needs. Will you lend your support to our campaign, both by radio and individual effort which will aid us in making Loyola University one of the greatest institutions of learning in the Southland?" This was followed byTulane University's Guiseppe Ferrate playing an original piano composition.[12]
In mid-1923, the station was reassigned to 1070 kHz.[13] That was changed to 1090 kHz in early 1925.[14] It switched to 1220 kHz in late 1927.[15] On November 11, 1928, under the provisions of theFederal Radio Commission'sGeneral Order 40, WWL was assigned to 850 kHz, on a shared basis withKWKH inShreveport.[16] As part of the equal distribution standards mandated by theDavis Amendment, each of five regions had been allocated eight high-powered "clear channel" frequencies, which were granted dominant and widespread nighttime coverage. 850 kHz was one of the frequencies assigned to "Region 3", consisting of states in the southeastern United States. WWL's power was increased to 5,000 watts on March 31, 1929, following the installation of a new transmitter in Bobet Hall.[17]
In 1929, Loyola University decided that WWL would include commercial operations, with the station profits providing an endowment for the university. Loyola is owned and operated byCatholic priests belonging to theSociety of Jesus, commonly known as "Jesuits". There was concern that commercial operation might violate both Catholic and Jesuit prohibitions on priests operating businesses. However, a decision was made that the station's non-religious programming and advertising had an existing analogy in church-run efforts, such as publications, which had content that included advertising. In addition, a separate holding company, WWL Development, was formed to run the station, with the provision its profits would be transferred to Loyola.[18]
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In 1932, the station upgraded to 10,000 watts, with new studios in the Roosevelt Hotel.[20] In 1934, WWL's contentious application to gain fulltime use of 850 kHz was granted, which resulted in its timeshare partner, KWKH, being moved to 1100 kHz.[21] WWL's attainment of fulltime operations made the station attractive to the national radio networks, and it began an affiliation with the CBS Radio Network on November 1, 1935, which had been previously held by WDSU.[22] This also greatly increased the profits being transferred to the university.[23]
On November 30, 1938, WWL formally dedicated a power increase to 50,000 watts.[24] On March 29, 1941, with the implementation of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), stations on 850 kHz, including WWL, moved to 870 kHz.[25]
In the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, the station was famous for the live broadcasts of localDixieland jazz bands. Some jazz performers heard on WWL includedLouis Armstrong,Papa Celestin,Sharkey Bonano,Irving Fazola, Tony Almarico, andLizzie Miles.
An FM companion station, WWLH at 100.3 MHz, debuted on September 11, 1946, but ended operations on February 28, 1951. Station management stated, "We have been unsuccessful in establishing in New Orleans a sufficient audience of FM listeners to justify continued operation."[26] A television partnerWWL-TV came on the air on September 7, 1957, which was also affiliated with CBS. A new FM companion station, WWL-FM at 101.9 MHz (nowWLMG), debuted on March 15, 1970, with its own music format.[27]
WWL was mentioned in an opening scene of "The Swan Bed" (October 21, 1960) episode of theRoute 66 TV series. Main characters Todd and Buzz (Martin Milner andGeorge Maharis) turn on the car's radio as they are driving across theGreater New Orleans Bridge and hear the callsign WWL announced.
Starting on March 14, 1971, WWL was home to a long-running overnightcountry music program aimed at truck drivers calledThe Road Gang. It used the slogan "Interstate 87", and offered weather forecasts in major cities along the east-west interstatesI-10,I-20,I-30, etc. Advertising was focused on long-haul truckers. It was originally hosted by Charlie Douglas. Later hosts includedDave Nemo and Big John Parker. The station also helped popularizeSouthern Gospel by late-night broadcasts of theMull Singing Convention.
WWL's transmitter site was moved fromKenner, Louisiana, on the south shore ofLake Pontchartrain, toEstelle, Louisiana, in 1975.
WWL has been the radio home of theNew Orleans Saintsfootball team for most of its history. WWL is the long-timeflagship station for theNew Orleans Saints Radio Network.Jim Henderson and ex-SaintHokie Gajan were the broadcast team from 2000, until Gajan's death from cancer on April 11, 2016. Prior to the1998 NFL draft, when sonPeyton Manning was drafted by theIndianapolis Colts,Archie Manning provided commentary on WWL's Saints coverage from his retirement as a player in 1985 through 1997.
Former SaintDeuce McAllister succeeded Gajan as Henderson's color commentator in2016. Longtime Saints offensive tackleStan Brock was Henderson's commentator in 1998 and 1999.
Loyola sold WWL, WLMG, and WWL-TV to separate companies in 1989. The sales price helped to build the university's endowment. That same year, the university began operatingcarrier current station"WLDC". Using the electrical grid as an antenna, this station's power was low enough to be limited to campus reception, so it did not need an FCC license. It was subsequently replaced byCrescent City Radio, an internet radio station broadcasting from the Communications/Music Complex on the corner of Calhoun and Saint Charles Avenue.
Keymarket Communications ofGreenville, South Carolina, became the new owner of WWL and WLMG.Baltimore-basedSinclair Broadcast Group assumed ownership of both stations in 1996. Most of Sinclair's radio stations, including WWL and WLMG, were acquired by Entercom Communications ofBala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania in 1999.
WWL has been "monogrammed" into theInternal Revenue Code. A section excluding certain types of income of nonprofit organizations from income tax mentions entities licensed by federal agencies (like the station's FCC license) and carried on by religious orders (like the Jesuits). The three subsections of this tax provision, 26 U.S.C. 512(b)(15), begin with W, W, and L, respectively. The exclusion was directed at WWL specifically, and the joke has been attributed to SenatorRussell Long of Louisiana.[28]
In April 2006, WWL programming returned to the FM band, via simulcasting onWWL-FM 105.3. The station was previouslyhot adult contemporary WKZN "105.3 The Zone". In the months afterHurricane Katrina, Entercom decided WWL's important news programming should also be heard on the FM dial.
Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and theGulf Coast in late August 2005. WWL was for a time one of the few radio stations in the area remaining on the air. AnnouncerGarland Robinette continued broadcasting from an improvised studio built in a closet after the real studio's windows were blown out.
WWL's emergency round-the-clock coverage wassimulcast on the frequencies of numerous other radio stations. The broadcast was named "TheUnited Radio Broadcasters of New Orleans". Mostly WWL staff were heard on-air. The United Radio Broadcasters were a partnership between Entercom (now Audacy, Inc.) and competitorClear Channel Communications (now iHeartMedia). The WWL website was completely rebuilt in only one day by the staff of Entercom stations in other cities.
The company also dispatched staffers from stations throughout the country to help WWL, and to provide their own stations coverage from the hurricane ravaged New Orleans area. For some time after Hurricane Katrina, WWL was simulcast on shortwave outlet WHRI, owned byWorld Harvest Radio International.
WhenHurricane Ida hit New Orleans in 2021, WWL was ready from what it learned 16 years earlier. It simulcast its Hurricane Ida coverage on all of its Audacy sister stations in the New Orleans cluster.
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| National | |
