Sports radio station in Atlanta
WZGC
(92.9
FM
) ? branded
92.9 The Game
? is a commercial
sports
radio station
licensed to serve
Atlanta, Georgia
, covering the
Atlanta metropolitan area
. Owned by
Audacy, Inc.
, WZGC is the Atlanta
affiliate
for
Infinity Sports Network
; the
flagship station
for the
Atlanta Falcons
,
Atlanta Hawks
and
Atlanta United FC
radio networks; and the radio home of
Randy McMichael
. The WZGC studios are located at
Colony Square
in
Midtown Atlanta
, while the station transmitter is located in Atlanta's
North Druid Hills
neighborhood. In addition to a standard
analog transmission
, WZGC broadcasts over one
HD Radio
channel, and is available online via
Audacy
.
History
[
edit
]
Classical (1955?1971)
[
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]
The station signed on the air on September 1, 1955, as WGKA-FM. Owned by Glenkaren Associates, it was the FM counterpart of
WGKA (1190 AM)
, with studios at 1140 Peachtree Street NE.
[2]
WGKA-FM was the first full-time FM
classical music
station in Atlanta.
Rock (1971?1973)
[
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]
In 1971, the
General Cinema Corporation
acquired WGKA-AM-FM. Even though it was a movie theater chain, GCC wanted to branch out into broadcast media. The classical music remained on the AM station, while the FM station became WZGC (referring to the last two letters in General Cinema) in 1972, with an
album-oriented rock
format.
[3]
Top 40 (1973?1989)
[
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]
In March 1973, the format switched to
Top 40
calling itself "Z-93."
In the 1970s, many radios still only received AM signals.
WQXI
and
WGST (920 AM)
were the leading Top 40 stations in Atlanta, but as FM listening increased, WZGC gained an audience. The station was acquired by First Media Corporation in 1976.
[4]
In the 1980s, the AM Top 40 stations switched to other formats, leaving WZGC as Atlanta's only contemporary hits station. Then, in 1986,
WAPW (99.7 FM)
debuted with its own popular Top 40 format, with WZGC's ratings declining as a result. The station switched to a
rhythmic contemporary
format during the summer of 1988.
Classic rock (1989?2004)
[
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]
On January 3, 1989, that station changed to a
classic rock
format, while retaining the "Z-93" moniker.
[5]
[6]
[7]
Infinity Broadcasting
acquired WZGC in 1992;
[8]
Infinity was renamed
CBS Radio
in December 2005.
AAA (2004?2012)
[
edit
]
The name change to "Dave FM" and format switch to
adult album alternative
(AAA) came at 5 p.m. on July 21, 2004, following a stunt featuring all-
Dave Matthews Band
music. Dave's first song was "
Orange Crush
" by
R.E.M.
[9]
[10]
WZGC installed an
HD Radio
transmitter in the early 2000s. The HD-2 subchannel carried an
Americana
format branded as "Dave Roots."
Sports talk (2012?present)
[
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]
Throughout its run as "Dave FM," the station maintained decent
ratings
, though it was never an overall winner. However, in the summer of 2011, the station saw a drop in its
Arbitron ratings
. At the same time, CBS had enjoyed success with several of its FM stations that had switched to all sports formats in
Dallas
,
Boston
,
Detroit
and
Pittsburgh
. Due to this, CBS announced in July 2012 that WZGC would flip to all sports in October.
[11]
[12]
[13]
Dave's final day of programming, which started on September 29 after a three-day radiothon for Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, consisted of the on-air staff hosting final shifts (including Steve Craig, Jill, Mara Davis, Charles, Yvonne Monet, Sully, Renee and Margot), as well as a "Top 92 Songs of Dave FM" countdown. Around 12:20 a.m. on September 30, Dave FM ended regular programming with "
Little Lion Man
" by
Mumford & Sons
(the #1 song in the countdown) and "Atlanta" by
Butch Walker
. The station ran on
automation
until the flip at 2 p.m. on October 24. The final song on "Dave" was "Thank You Friends" by
Big Star
.
[14]
[15]
Even though WZGC was owned by CBS Radio, it didn't affiliate with
CBS Sports Radio
at launch, as the network already had an
affiliate
in Atlanta on
WCNN
. Because of this, WZGC had local sports hosts around the clock, all week long. Eventually, WCNN became an
ESPN Radio
affiliate, and WZGC added CBS Sports Radio programming to its overnight schedule.
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with
Entercom
.
[16]
The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.
[17]
[18]
On February 23, 2022, WZGC added The Bet to its HD2 subchannel.
[19]
Former DJs
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"Facility Technical Data for WZGC"
.
Licensing and Management System
.
Federal Communications Commission
.
- ^
Broadcasting Yearbook 1956 page 102
- ^
Broadcasting Yearbook 1972 page B-49
- ^
Broadcasting Yearbook 1978 page C-51
- ^
Gerry Yandel, "Z-93, Fox 97 Have Changed Their Tunes,"
The Atlanta Journal Constitution
, January 6, 1989.
- ^
Z93 Goes From CHR to Classic Rock
- ^
"Atlanta Doubles The Gold"
(PDF)
. Radio & Records. January 6, 1989. p. 1
. Retrieved
September 11,
2023
.
- ^
Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2003-2004 page D-114
- ^
"All Dave, All Day, All Night"
(PDF)
. Radio & Records. July 23, 2004. p. 20
. Retrieved
September 11,
2023
.
- ^
Rodney Ho, "Dave FM replaces classic rock Z93, adds newer music,"
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
, July 22, 2004
- ^
CBS to Launch FM Sports in Atlanta
- ^
Rodney Ho (November 30, 2010).
"Confirmed: rock station 92.9/Dave FM going sports talk in the early fall | Radio & TV Talk"
. Blogs.ajc.com
. Retrieved
August 2,
2012
.
- ^
CBS Names Its Atlanta FM Sports Outlet
- ^
92.9 The Game Atlanta Debuts
- ^
Dave Becomes 92.9 The Game
- ^
CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom
- ^
"Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio"
.
Entercom
. November 9, 2017
. Retrieved
November 17,
2017
.
- ^
Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017).
"Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger"
.
Radio Insight
. Retrieved
November 17,
2017
.
- ^
"Audacy Adds The Bet In Eight More Markets"
.
RadioInsight
. February 23, 2022
. Retrieved
February 23,
2022
.
External links
[
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]