Radio station in Holiday, Florida
WSUN
(97.1
MHz
) is a
commercial
FM
radio station
,
licensed
to
Holiday, Florida
, and serving the
Tampa Bay Area
. The station is owned by
Spanish Broadcasting System
, and airs a
Spanish contemporary hits
format branded as "El Zol 97.1". The
transmitter
site is off Dartmouth Drive in Holiday.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
The station signed on September 1, 1978, on the 106.3 FM frequency as WHBS, a station that served primarily
Pasco
and northern
Pinellas
Counties. The station later became WVTY, then WLVU, carrying an easy listening format and later
adult contemporary
. In 1998, the station would relocate to 97.1 FM (swapping frequencies with
Citrus County
's
WXOF
), to better reach the Tampa Bay market. Soon afterward, Cox Radio would acquire WLVU in a swap (see below), and transfer its WSUN calls to FM, adopting an
oldies
format as "Oldies 97.1".
Mired with a subpar signal and being one of two oldies stations in the market (
WYUU
was the other) did not allow WSUN-FM to take off in the Tampa Bay area. While rumors of Cox flipping the station to 1980s music ran rampant, the station began
stunting
with music from
2001: A Space Odyssey
. At 5:00 p.m. on November 3, 2000, the Tampa Bay area got its first taste of an alternative rock formatted station in many years with the debut of 97X. The first song, "
Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
" by
Fuel
was dedicated to
modern adult contemporary
WSSR
and
active rocker
WXTB
, both of whom are owned by competitor
Clear Channel Communications
(now iHeartMedia).
[3]
[4]
On January 18, 2013, the station relaunched itself with a listener-controlled format. The final song under the first "97X" era was the song they launched with, "Hemorrhage" by Fuel. At 10 a.m., the station began
stunting
with a recorded loop of announcements promoting the new listener-controlled format.
[5]
At 5 p.m., the station relaunched in its current incarnation with "
Best Of You
" by
Foo Fighters
.
[6]
With this new direction, the audience controlled every song that played using special technology designed by LDR, or Listener Driven Radio.
[7]
LDR created a special app and website for WSUN that allowed listeners to take over the music live. In addition to the music voting features, the mobile app offered several other interactive elements. It allowed listeners to record audio using the app's 'Open Mic' option, sending it directly to the station for broadcasting, sign up for instant SMS, email, and Twitter alerts when their favorite songs were about to play, and share votes on social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Listeners could also earn social media ‘badges’ by interacting with the station. By 9 p.m. of that day, the station received 31,000 song votes; and over 1.7 million by January 28. In mid-2014, the listener voting feature was scaled back, now only allowing users to vote on select new/current songs (instead of the entire playlist, as before), the results of which are featured on daily "countdown" shows. The live voting feature is still occasionally employed during "After-Concert Takeovers", where listeners can vote on the order of songs from one or several artists who appeared in concert locally earlier, and during a Sunday night show featuring local artists. In about 2016, the voting way was changed. Before, listeners needed to press 'Play More/Less' button to hear the songs more or less frequently; the update allowed listeners to vote songs up or down.
The 24-hour interactive format has had a mix of compliments and complaints. Most of the complaints are about the axe of the "Morning X" show.
[8]
[9]
In September 2014,
iHeartMedia
launched a local competitor to WSUN, branded "ALT 99.9" on
WFUS
-HD2, and relayed by 99.9 MHz FM translator W207BU, located in
Bayonet Point
(the translator has since moved to 100.3 FM, now W262CP, and the station rebranded as "ALT 100.3"). On March 7, 2016, "ALT 100.3" was replaced with a simulcast of iHeartRadio's
WRUB
in Bradenton.
On July 22, 2016, the station changed its call sign to the current WSUN.
On August 11, 2016, WSUN began simulcasting on
WHPT
-HD2. As of August 6, 2019, WSUN began simulcasting on
WPOI
-HD2.
In 2019, Cox Media Group transferred WSUN, along with
Orlando
sister station
WPYO
, to CXR Radio, LLC, a divestiture trust run by Elliot B. Evers.
[10]
The transfer followed the sale of the remainder of Cox Media Group from
Cox Enterprises
to
Apollo Global Management
;
[11]
Cox had owned six FM stations in Tampa Bay, one over the FCC limit of five, and the sale eliminated this
grandfathered
status.
[12]
On February 9, 2022,
Spanish Broadcasting System
announced they would purchase WSUN and WPYO from CXR Radio for $12.5 million. The deal marked SBS’ entry into both markets.
[13]
On March 14, 2022, WSUN began simulcasting on St. Petersburg translator W248CA (97.5 FM), which is fed by WPOI-HD2. The translator formerly relayed
WTMP
(1150 AM), and is owned by NIA Broadcasting, Inc.
[14]
On April 26, 2022, WSUN announced they will drop the alternative format and "97X" branding the following day at Noon; "97X" continues to be heard on WWRM-HD2, WPOI-HD2 and translator W248CA. At the promised time, WSUN began stunting with a loop of a redirecting message for "97X" listeners to W248CA, WPOI-HD2 and WWRM-HD2, as well as the station's mobile apps and online stream. On April 29, SBS officially closed on their purchase of WSUN, and shifted the stunting to a loop of songs featured in their new
Spanish contemporary hits
format, which debuted on May 9 as "El Zol 97.1".
[15]
[16]
The call letters
[
edit
]
The "WSUN" calls have been used in the St. Petersburg area since 1927, when
WSUN
signed on, then a time-share with
WFLA
. The station moved to its longtime 620 kHz frequency in 1929, and got the frequency all to itself in 1941, when WFLA moved to 940 kHz (then to 970 shortly afterward). From the 1960s into the 1980s, WSUN was known as a leading
country
formatted station, benefiting from its signal that covered all of Florida's Gulf Coast by day and reached into
Texas
by night.
Owned by the city of
St. Petersburg
throughout most of its early life, the city sold WSUN radio and its television counterpart,
WSUN-TV
, to Hy Levinson, a Detroit broadcaster and owner of that city's
WCAR
radio. In 1970, WSUN-TV would go dark, while WSUN radio and its then-sister,
WQXM-FM
, would be sold to the broadcasting arm of pharmaceutical company
Plough, Inc.
In the mid-1980s, Plough would sell WSUN and WQXM separately, with WSUN being sold to
Taft Broadcasting
, then-owner of
WTSP
television and
WYNF-FM
.
In the late 1980s, WSUN flipped to all-news, following its purchase by
CBS Radio
from Taft. It then later flipped to a news-talk format, which remained after its purchase from Cox Broadcasting in the 1990s. In 1998 Cox swapped its 620 AM signal for the 97.1 signal owned by the Concord Broadcasting Group, whose easy-listening station, WLVU-FM, moved from 106.3 to 97.1 shortly before the swap. After the move to FM, WSUN-FM adopted an oldies format as "Oldies 97.1", while Concord changed 620's calls to WSAA, and became a simulcast of
Bay News 9
. (It would later be sold to
Clear Channel Communications
, becoming the new frequency for
WDAE
.)
[1]
Concerts
[
edit
]
- The Next Big Thing concert series, formerly at Coachman Park in
Clearwater, Florida
, was held at the
1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre
until 2012 when the venue was changed for a third time to Vinoy Park in
St. Petersburg, Florida
. Next Big Thing '12 was held December 1, 2012 with bands performing such as
Bush
,
Rise Against
,
FUN.
,
Silversun Pickups
and a mystery head liner, announced October 24, 2012.
[17]
The concert has since returned to the venue previously known as the 1-800-ASK-GARY Amphitheatre, now known as the MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre. In 2017 Next Big Thing began hosting this concert series over two days rather than one.
- The Backyard Barbecue is a yearly spring concert held by 97X at
Vinoy Park
in
St. Petersburg, Florida
. This is a one-day, one stage concert series.
Air staff
[
edit
]
Former
[
edit
]
- Rich Fields
, the former announcer for
CBS
's
The Price Is Right
and
Gameshow Marathon
, was a DJ at WSUN-FM during its oldies format period.
- Napoleon ? The first version of The Morning X was Fisher and Napoleon.
- Crissy ? The original night jock (7p-midnight).
- Pat Largo ? The original midday jock (10a-3p). Also the first host of Local Motion.
- Ford Prefect ? Did a few weekend shifts, but best known for hosting Sunday School (old school alternative) on Sunday nights.
- Professor Brian- Hosted Sunday School with Ford Prefect
- Jimmy ? Original part-timer. Did weekends, over-nights, and fill-shifts. Also hosted Local Motion with Tre.
- Kate ? Was the on and off night jock after Crissy left.
- Tre ? Weekends, Fill-shifts, and co-hosted Local Motion with Jimmy.
- Phoebe ? Nights & Middays |
- Jesse Kage ? Kage Kult Show (7p-midnight) |
- Seth Kushner ? The Morning X |
- Fisher ? Original host of The Morning X | Currently morning drive host on
107.3 The Eagle
- Drew Garabo ? The Morning X | Currently afternoon host of Drew Garabo Live on
102.5 The Bone
- Geo Gauvin ? Nights | Currently producer for
102.5 The Bone
- Shark ? Program Director | Afternoons | Middays
- Joel Weiss ? Music Director | Middays
- Griffin Brown ? Nights
- Danielle McBroom ? Mornings | Mornings on
Magic 94.9
97X Green Room
[
edit
]
The
97X Green Room
is an annual series of compilation albums of live music recorded for WSUN-FM's Green Room series. All albums contain acoustic versions of popular songs from artists heard on the station. It was released for sale primarily at Tampa Bay area
Best Buy
locations, although later volumes were made available at other locations. Proceeds from the first album's sales benefited
Audubon
of Florida's Coastal Islands Sanctuaries Program. For subsequent albums, proceeds from the sales benefit
The Nature Conservancy
. The albums' goal is to provide exclusive acoustic performances and to help raise money and awareness to the needs of environment in
Florida
.
The latest installment in the series, Volume 7, released on September 8, 2011, includes performances by
Foster the People
,
A Day to Remember
,
Silversun Pickups
,
Manchester Orchestra
, Matt Schultz from
Cage the Elephant
,
Sick Puppies
,
Young the Giant
,
The Joy Formidable
and
Grouplove
.
[18]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Facility Technical Data for WSUN"
.
Licensing and Management System
.
Federal Communications Commission
.
- ^
Radio-Locator.com/WSUN
- ^
"Oldies 'SUN/Tampa Goes Alternative"
(PDF)
. Radio & Records. 2000-11-10. p. 38.
- ^
"97.1: WSUN flips from Oldies to Alternative "97X"
"
. Format Change Archive. 2000-11-03
. Retrieved
2022-05-07
.
- ^
"97X Tampa Relaunches"
. 19 February 2013.
- ^
"Listener Engagement Generates Thousands Of Downloads, Likes And Over 1.7 Million Song Votes For Cox Media Group's Tampa 97X"
. Archived from
the original
on 2014-10-06
. Retrieved
2023-09-17
.
- ^
"Home"
.
ldrinteractive.com
.
- ^
"Many radio fans unhappy with 97X format change"
.
The Tampa Tribune
. 21 January 2013. Archived from
the original
on 2013-06-17
. Retrieved
2020-01-30
.
- ^
Perez, Sarah (18 January 2013).
"Radio Freaks Out: First Cox Media-Owned Radio Station Turns Over Control To Listeners 24/7 On Web And Mobile"
.
TechCrunch
. Retrieved
2020-01-30
.
- ^
"Cox-Apollo Radio Deal, With $500,000,000 Price Tag, Filed With FCC"
.
All Access
. July 3, 2019
. Retrieved
July 20,
2020
.
- ^
"Cox Earmarks WSUN Tampa, WPYO Orlando For Spin-offs"
.
Inside Radio
. June 28, 2019
. Retrieved
July 20,
2020
.
- ^
"CMG Radio Management To Stay Intact"
.
Radio Ink
. June 26, 2019
. Retrieved
July 20,
2020
.
- ^
"SBS To Acquire WPYO Orlando & WSUN Tampa"
.
RadioInsight
. Retrieved
2022-03-28
.
- ^
97X Tampa Bay Finds New Home
- ^
"97X Sets Time For Move Off Of WSUN"
.
RadioInsight
. Retrieved
2022-04-26
.
- ^
"SBS Begins Stunting on 95.3 Orlando and 97.1 Tampa"
.
RadioInsight
. Retrieved
2022-04-29
.
- ^
"floridacentral Credit Union presents the 97X Next Big Thing | www.97xonline.com"
.
97xonline.com
. Archived from
the original
on 2012-09-27.
- ^
97X Green Room Volume 7
External links
[
edit
]