WTLM

WTLM
City Opelika, Alabama
Broadcast area Auburn, Alabama
Columbus, Georgia
Branding Classic Kicker Country 1520
Frequency 1520 kHz
First air date August 12, 1968[1]
Format Classic Country
Power 1,000 watts (day)
650 watts (critical hours)
Class D
Facility ID 22876
Transmitter coordinates 32°39′26.00″N 85°25′27.00″W / 32.6572222°N 85.4241667°W / 32.6572222; -85.4241667
Former callsigns WAOA (1968-1985)
WZMG (1985-1997)[2]
Affiliations Citadel Media
Owner iHeartMedia, Inc.
(AMFM Radio Licenses, L.L.C.)
Sister stations WCJM-FM, WKKR, WMXA, WPCH, WZMG
Webcast Listen Live

WTLM (1520 AM, "Classic Kicker Country 1520") is a radio station licensed in Opelika, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc., through licensee AMFM Radio Licenses, L.L.C. 1520 AM is a United States clear-channel frequency, on which WWKB and KOKC (AM) share Class A status.

Programming

WTLM broadcasts a classic country music format to the Auburn Metropolitan Area which once featured programming from Citadel Media.[3] WTLM broadcasts Auburn Tigers football games.[4]

History

Licensed to Faulkner Radio, Inc., WAOA signed on the air August 12, 1968, as a daytime-only station with 5,000 watts of power at 1520 kHz.[1] Owner James H. Faulkner, Sr., also owned several other Alabama radio stations as well as the newspapers Baldwin Times and Foley Onlooker in Baldwin County, Alabama.[5] WAOA signed on with a country & western music format which it maintained until the completion of the 1985 sale to Faulkner Radio.[1]

In November 1984, Fuller Broadcasting Company, Inc., made a deal to purchase WAOA and FM sister station WFRI (now WKKR) from Faulkner Radio, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on January 7, 1985, and the transaction was consummated on March 17, 1985.[6] In February 1985, the AM station's format was flipped from country music to "solid gold" oldies.[7][8] To match the new direction for the station, the callsign was changed to WZMG on March 1, 1985.[2] On March 21, 1997, the station swapped callsigns with 910 kHz sister station WTLM (now WZMG) and was assigned the current WTLM call letters by the FCC.[2]

In August 1998, Fuller Broadcasting Company, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to Root Communications License Company, L.P., as part of a five-station deal.[9] The deal was approved by the FCC on October 5, 1998, and the transaction was consummated in December 1998.[10] Gary Fuller, president and CEO of Fuller Broadcasting Company from 1985 until he sold the company in December 1998, was elected mayor of Opelika, Alabama, in August 2004.[11]

In March 2003, Root Communications Group LP (Daniel C. Savadove, CEO) subsidiary Root Communications License Company, L.P., reached an agreement to sell this station to Qantum Communications, Inc. (Frank Osborn, partner) subsidiary Qantum of Auburn License Company, LLC, as part of a 26 station deal valued at $82.2 million.[12] The deal was approved by the FCC on April 30, 2003, and the transaction was consummated on July 2, 2003.[13] At the time of the sale, WTLM aired a nostalgia music format branded as "Timeless 1520".[12]

Later, the format was switched again, this time to a sports radio format serving the greater Auburn Metropolitan Area.[8] In June 2009, the format reverted to the "Timeless 1520" nostalgia music format.

On May 15, 2014, Qantum Communications announced that it would sell its 29 stations, including WTLM, to Clear Channel Communications for WALK AM-FM in Patchogue, New York as part of the sale of the WALK stations to Connoisseur Media.[14] The transaction was consummated on September 9, 2014.

On June 30, 2014 WTLM changed their format from oldies to classic country, branded as "Classic Kicker Country 1520".[15]

Awards and honors

In 1988, then-WZMG and sister station WKKR became the first stations in Alabama to earn the National Association of Broadcasters Crystal Radio Award for excellence in community service.[16] Established in 1987, the NAB Crystal Radio Awards recognize broadcasters for outstanding commitment to community service.[17]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "The Facilities of Radio". Broadcasting Yearbook 1969. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1969. p. B-4.
  2. 1 2 3 "Call Sign History". FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database.
  3. ↑ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. Archived from the original on March 1, 2010.
  4. ↑ "Football Affiliates". The Auburn University Official Athletic Site. Retrieved December 22, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Broadcast Stations Identified With Newspaper of Magazine Ownership". Broadcasting Yearbook 1972. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications, Inc. 1972. p. A-93.
  6. ↑ "Application Search Details (BAL-19841121FD)". FCC Media Bureau. March 17, 1985.
  7. ↑ "Community bids farewell to loyal Auburn radio owner". Columbus Ledger-Enquirer. August 11, 1998. p. B1.
  8. 1 2 Harvey, Beverly (August 23, 2008). "Fuller rose from humble beginnings to mayor's office". Opelika-Auburn Now.
  9. ↑ Brumley, Cecil G. (August 5, 1998). "Root Communications buying five more stations". Daytona Beach News-Journal. p. 12A.
  10. ↑ "Broadcast Actions Report No. 44343". FCC Media Bureau. October 8, 1998.
  11. ↑ "A little about Mayor Gary Fuller". The City of Opelika. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
  12. 1 2 "Changing Hands - 3/17/2003". Broadcasting & Cable. March 17, 2003.
  13. ↑ "Application Search Details (BALH-20030307ACE)". FCC Media Bureau. July 2, 2003.
  14. ↑ Venta, Lance (May 15, 2014). "Qantum Sells To Clear Channel; Connoisseur Expands In Long Island". RadioInsight. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  15. ↑ Quantum’s WTLM 1520 AM to play classic country
  16. ↑ "NAB Crystal Radio Award Winners". National Association of Broadcasters. Archived from the original on November 27, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
  17. ↑ Arave, Lynn (May 4, 2006). "KSL wins another Crystal Award". Deseret News.
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