WIP-FM
| File:FreeFM Philadelphia.png | |
| Broadcast area | Philadelphia, PA |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 94.1 (MHz) |
| Branding | "94-1 Free FM" |
| Programming | |
| Format | Talk/Rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | CBS Radio |
| Technical information | |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 16,000 watts |
| Links | |
| Website | www.941freefm.com |
WYSP is a talk radio/rock station known on-air as "94-1 Free FM" that broadcasts on the 94.1 FM frequency in the Philadelphia area. WYSP is owned by CBS Radio. The station's transmitter is located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. WYSP also serves as the flagship station for Philadelphia Eagles radio broadcasts.
History
In Philadelphia, FM frequency 94.1 began as WIBG-FM, the sister station of WIBG-AM, and basically simulcast the AM top-40 station until the mid-1960's. By this time, WIBG-FM experimented with an "underground", prerecorded type of rock music without announcers.
In 1968, Storer bought the station and shut it down while attempting to get permission for an increase in transmission power. 94.1 was a restricted class B station at the time, limited in range to avoid interfering with another station on 94.1 FM in Sunbury, PA. During 1969, the WIBG calls were changed to WPNA, but only on paper, since the station was still dark. Having been unsuccessful in getting the Sunbury station to agree to a FCC waiver, Storer sold WPNA to SJR Communications. (SJR stood for "San Juan Racing", referring to the company's lone US holding: a racing track in San Juan)
SJR changed the call letters to WYSP ("Your Station in Philadelphia"), and quickly made a deal with the Sunbury station that allowed WYSP to increase it's power. The sation became a full class B, with a non-directional, 550 ft. antenna resulting in 39,000 watts ERP. On August 23, 1971, the transmitter was turned on, and WYSP went on the air. The format consisted of live announcers playing big-band and easy listening music from half hour long reel-to-reel tapes that were produced in-house. The WYSP studios were located in the Suburban Station Building at 16th and JFK Parkway in Philadelphia. A new RCA transmitter and circular polarized five-bay gates antenna was installed at the transmitter site.
At 6am on Monday, August 6, 1973, WYSP abruptly stopped playing big-band music and started playing album-oriented rock (AOR). The entire announcing staff was fired (regardless of attempts to unionize) and five new announcers were hired, including Tom Straw and Dean Clark. The music included popular cuts from albums by artists such as Jimi Hendrix, Chicago, and Crosby Stills and Nash. Radio consultant Kent Burkhart was called in and along with Lee Abrams helped to develop and refine the format.
In 1974, WYSP became Philadelphia's "quad" station, piping its audio through a Sony Quad encoder, which provided "ambience" effects to the rear channels of the handfull of quad radios in the market. Due to a compatibility problem with regular mono radios, and a lack of interest from the listening public, the quad encoder was quietly dismantled in 1976. At the same time, WYSP moved its studios to their present location at One Bala Plaza (then called One Decker Square) in Bala Cynwyd, a suburb of Philadelphia. In 1977, the transmitter site was also moved to its present location in Roxborough.
WYSP became the nation's very first "classic rock" station in January of 1981, when then-Program Director and midday jock Dick Hungate teamed up with station consultant Lee Abrams to more effectively compete with two traditionally-programmed and very entrenched competitors...WMMR and WIOQ. The actual on-air describer "classic rock" was thought of in a strategy session at WYSP's then One Bala Plaza offices, in which other adjectives such as "timeless" and "vintage" also were discussed by Hungate and Abrams. In this pre-PC age, it fell upon Hungate to create the universe of all-old-rock tracks based upon his previous Philly experience as MD of WMMR in '78 and '79...using metal file boxes and color-coded 3 X 5 index cards to manually rotate within each age/strength category the on-air playlist. YSP would abandon that approach for all new hard rock, only to try classic rock once again a few years later (but, ultimately, to switch BACK to a current, hard-rock format once and for all).
During the late 90's and early 2000's the station gradually added or tried out several talk intensive or talk based shows during the daytime hours. The show were a mix of locally based and nationally syndicated shows, such as Opie and Anthony and Don and Mike. While some shows proved successful in their time slot, the station did not retain many, with only a few incarnations of the locally produced shows still on WYSP. Shows that were dropped were usually replaced by the music format.
October 25, 2005, the station switched to the Free FM format. Currently this has the station having a mainly talk format from 6AM to 7PM during the weekdays, and a music format from 7PM to 6AM during the weekdays and all the time on weekends, not including any special programming. Even though it is a Free FM station, WYSP still plays rock music that tends to lean towards the metal side of rock, as they play artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, Metallica, and System of a Down.
The station also featured the syndicated Howard Stern morning show, and is also the official broadcaster of Philadelphia Eagles games. As of April 2006, the station carries Opie and Anthony's syndicated talk show in the morning, as Stern moved to Sirius Satellite Radio. The station plays rock music from 7PM to 6AM on weekdays.
Competition
Today, WYSP's main competitor in the Philadelphia market is full-time rock station WMMR, which broadcasts on the 93.3FM frequency. WMMR features the popular Preston and Steve morning show, and is generally regarded as one of the nation's leaders in mainstream rock formatted stations. Upon the return of Opie and Anthony in 4/06, WYSP sent WMMR some flowers with a card saying: "Congratulations on your last good book." WMMR responded by putting them in the men's room.
On-air schedule
Weekdays
- 6AM to 9AM - Opie and Anthony -- Simulcast uncensored on XM Radio.
- 9AM to 1PM - The Barsky Show
- 1PM to 3PM - Matt & Huggy
- 3:00PM to 7PM - Kidd Chris
- 7PM to 10PM - Couzin Ed
- 10PM to 2AM - TBA
- 2AM to 6AM - Rick Allen
Weekends
- News & Football - John Russell
- Various Shifts - Rich Desisto
- Various Shifts - Jacky Bam Bam
- Various Shifts - Keith Younge
- Various Shifts - Monkeyboy
- Various Shifts - Scott Carr
- Various Shifts - Billy Mack (Thirty Pack)
- Various Shifts - Frank Lario
Specialty programming
- 12AM - Every Friday - "94WYSP's Rockers with Matt & Huggy"
- 9PM - Every Sunday - "94WYSP's Exposed with Monkeyboy"
- 10PM - Every Sunday - "94WYSP's Loud & Local with Tommy Conwell"