WHAL (1460 AM, "South 94.7 The Legend") is a radio station licensed to serve Phenix City, Alabama, USA. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and licensed to CC Licenses, LLC. Its studios are in Columbus east of downtown, and its transmitter is southeast of downtown.
As of August 4, 2014, it has a classic country format. Exceptions are made for University of Georgia men's basketball games and a local sports show hosted by Columbus, Georgia native and former National Basketball Association Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell.
Maps, Directions, and Place Reviews
History
Originally licensed as WPNX (for Phenix City), this station signed on the air in May 1952. WPNX aired a country & western music format throughout the 1960s and 1970s as "1460 Kickin' Country." In the late 1970s, the station flipped to Southern Gospel music. In the 1980s, WPNX tried a variety of formats as new FM stations gained popularity in the region.
In October 1984, Bi-State Broadcasting Company, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to JRM Broadcasting, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 7, 1984, and the transaction was consummated on March 6, 1985.
In September 1987, J.T. Milligan acquired positive control of JRM Broadcasting from James R. Martin through the purchase of stock. The transfer of control was approved by the FCC on September 21, 1987, and the transfer was consummated on September 30, 1987.
On February 1, 1989, the station changed callsigns to WIQN to match a shift to talk radio programing. On March 4, 1991, the station returned to its heritage WPNX call letters and a country music format.
JRM Broadcasting was forced to relocate the WPNX studios and radio tower after the Phenix City city council terminated its ground lease in August 1994 as part of renovation plans for Idle Hour Park. Before the move, WPNX was located in the former terminal building of the defunct Phenix City Airport. That building at 1002 Airport Road in Phenix City now houses the Phenix City Art Center. The transmitter site was moved to its current location at the intersection of North Lumpkin Road and US Highway 27 in Columbus, Georgia. Along with the move, the station reduced signal power to 4,000 watts daytime and 140 watts at night but switched to a non-directional signal pattern. Prior to the move, the station had a more powerful, but directional signal using two towers.
Jim Martin and Tommy Milligan reached an agreement in January 1996 to sell JRM Broadcasting to a new company, M&M Partners, Inc., which they would continue to own jointly. The deal was approved by the FCC on February 21, 1996, and the transaction was consummated on February 29, 1996. In 1997, station owner M&M Partners Inc. added three more radio stations to its existing WPNX/WVRK cluster.
Cumulus Broadcasting entered the Columbus market in August 1997 by buying these five stations for $15 million from M&M Partners. The deal was approved by the FCC on October 28, 1997, and the transaction was consummated on January 7, 1998. The new owners flipped the station to a sports talk format including Atlanta Falcons football games and regular programming from ESPN Radio.
In July 2000, Cumulus Media Inc. (Lewis W. Dickey Jr., president) reached an agreement to sell this station to Clear Channel Communications Inc. (L. Lowry Mays, chairman) as part of an 80-station deal for a reported $166 million. After multiple formal objections to this deal, it was ultimately approved by the FCC on February 21, 2002, and the transaction was consummated on April 23, 2002. At the time of the sale, the station aired a Southern Gospel music format.
The station was assigned the current WHAL call letters by the FCC on May 2, 2003. From Spring 2003 until Spring 2006, this station aired a black gospel music format branded as "Hallelujah 1460". In early Summer 2006, WHAL switched to Spanish-language programming as "Viva 1460".
On May 15, 2009, the station flipped to sports talk as "Fox Sports 1460" airing Fox Sports Radio network programming. Another change to the Comedy 24/7 network occurred on October 29, 2012.
After the end of the 24/7 Comedy network, WHAL flipped to classic country (branded as "Classic Country 1460") on August 4, 2014.
On December 1, 2015 WHAL rebranded as "South 94.7 The Legend" (now simulcasting on FM translator W234BX 94.7 FM Highland Pines, GA).
Phenix City Cable Video
Previous logos
(logo as Viva 1460 from 2006-2009) (logo under previous Fox Sports Radio format 2009-2012)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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