WJOX

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WJOX
City of license	Northport, Alabama
Broadcast area	Birmingham/Tuscaloosa/Central Alabama
Branding	JOX 100.5 FM
Slogan	Your Sports Authority
Frequency	100.5 (MHz)
First air date	100.5 FM: 1991, as WLXY (originally on 100.7 FM); WJOX: 1993, as WWIV
Format	Sports Radio
ERP	85,000 watts
HAAT	278 meters
Class	C1
Facility ID	70914
Callsign meaning	JOX: nickname for jocks (athletes)
Owner	Citadel Broadcasting
Sister stations	WAPI, WSPZ, WUHT, WYSF, WZRR
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	http://www.wjox1005fm.com

WJOX (100.5 FM, "JOX 100.5") is a sports talk radio station licensed to Northport, Alabama, which serves Birmingham and central Alabama. The station is owned by Citadel Broadcasting. Other stations in the market that Citadel owns include WYSF-FM (94.5), WZRR-FM (99.5), WUHT-FM (107.7), WSPZ-AM (690) and WAPI-AM (1070). Citadel also owns WTUG-FM (92.9) from Tuscaloosa, whose signal covers much of the southwestern Birmingham market, however, many areas receive poor reception.

The station is an affiliate of ESPN Radio, and is the Birmingham area basketball affiliate of the Auburn Network. WJOX became the flagship station of the Paul Finebaum Radio Network, which is syndicated throughout Alabama and adjoining states, in 2007. WJOX is an affiliate of the Tennessee Titans radio network.^[1] The station is also an affiliate of the Atlanta Braves radio network, the largest radio affiliate network in Major League Baseball.^[2] WJOX is part of the UAB Blazers ISP Sports Network and airs call-in shows featuring head football coach Neil Callaway during the football season and head basketball coach Mike Davis during basketball season.^[3]

[edit] History

The WJOX call letters were previously assigned to 106.1 FM in Jackson, Michigan (now WJXQ) from 1976 to 1981. This incarnation of WJOX programmed TM Century's automated "Stereo Rock" Top 40 format.

[edit] History of 100.5 FM

The station first signed on at 100.7 FM in 1991 as WLXY-FM. WLXY was originally licensed to Northport, served only the Tuscaloosa area and was known on the air as Arrow 100.7, playing classic rock. Despite being less than 60 miles from Birmingham, the signal of Arrow 100.7 didn't cover any of the Birmingham metropolitan area. This was due in part to WHMA-FM broadcasting from Anniston at 100.5 and covering a significant part of the Birmingham area.

In 2001, WHMA changed its city of license from Anniston to College Park, Georgia and became a part of the Atlanta radio market as WWWQ, leaving an open broadcasting channel for central Alabama. The ownership for WLXY petitioned to changes the station's dial position from 100.7 to 100.5 in order to move its transmission tower closer to Birmingham and to boost its broadcast power, and in 2003, this petition was approved. In anticipation of its move into the Birmingham market, WLXY changed formats and call letters in early 2003. Looking to challenge Birmingham’s alternative music station WRAX, the station adopted a similar format with the new call letters WANZ. The station’s on-air name was Z-100.7. In April 2003, WANZ changed its dial position to 100.5 and began broadcasting from a taller tower near Vance, enabling its signal to cover both the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa markets. With the new dial position, the station changed its name to Z-100.5.

In 2004, Apex Broadcasting, the owners of WANZ and several Tuscaloosa-area stations, sold their radio properties to Citadel Communications, owners of five stations in the Birmingham market including WRAX (107-7 the X), a station with a format that was virtually identical to that of WANZ. Not wanting to have two stations competing in the same format, the call letters and other intellectual property of WRAX was transferred to 100.5 FM in March, 2005.

[edit] History of WJOX-FM

The forerunner of WJOX-FM signed on at 105.9 FM in the summer of 1993 as WWIV, licensed to Trussville, Alabama, a suburb east of Birmingham. Originally, WWIV was a simulcast of WYDE-AM, which at the time was a talk radio station. After a few months, WWIV became WWBR and was known on the air as “105-9 the Bear”. WWBR was an album rock/active rock station. While the format of the station was relatively well-received by its listeners, a weak broadcast signal (3 Kw) and less than ideal transmission tower location on Birmingham’s eastern side hampered its ratings success.

In 1996, the format of WWBR was changed to alternative music, the call letters were changed to WRAX, and the on-air name of the station was changed to “106 the X”. In 1998, WRAX swapped dial positions with newly-acquired sister station WENN-FM, the former leading urban contemporary music station in Birmingham, and became known on the air as “107-7 the X”. The acquisition of WANZ by Citadel Broadcasting caused WRAX to change dial positions once again, and in March 2005, WRAX moved again. Its on-air name was changed to “The X @ 100.5”. During its time on the air as "107.7 the X", the station released seven charity albums featuring live performances under the name Live in the X Lounge which benefited United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham.

[edit] Switch to Sports Talk

At 3:00 pm Central Standard Time on Wednesday November 29, 2006, 100.5 became the FM home frequency of WJOX, beginning a simulcast of the AM sports talk station. The move came suddenly and unannounced on November 28, with the firing of the entire WRAX staff. On December 1, WRAX changed its call letters to WJOX-FM, and WJOX-AM changed its call letters to WSPZ.^[4] Reacting to the change in format at WRAX, Clear Channel Communications changed the format of its WENN-FM on December 2, thus returning alternative rock to the airwaves of Birmingham.

WJOX-FM and WSPZ began separate broadcast schedules on January 8, 2007, with many of the established programs from the former WJOX-AM moving to the new FM sports outlet. The new program schedule on WJOX-FM follows:

• 6:00-10:00 a.m.: The Opening Drive, with Tony Kurre, former University of Alabama quarterback Jay Barker, and former Auburn University placekicker Al Del Greco
• 10:00-2:00 p.m.: The Roundtable w/ Lance Taylor & Ian Fitzsimmons roundtableradio.com
• 2:00-6:00 p.m.: The Paul Finebaum Radio Network

[edit] See also

• List of radio stations in Alabama

[edit] References

• Birmingham News article on format change
• Birmingham News article on programming changes at WJOX-FM and WSPZ-AM, published 1/6/2007
• Official Website of Auburn Tigers Basketball

[edit] External links

• Official Website of WJOX-FM
• Query the FCC's FM station database for WJOX
• Radio Locator information on WJOX
• Query Arbitron's FM station database for WJOX
• Paul Finebaum Radio Network