WYTS

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WYTS

Broadcast area	Columbus, Ohio
Branding	Talk 1230 WYTS
Slogan	We're Your Talk Station
First air date	September 24, 1922
Frequency	1230 AM (kHz)
Format	Talk Radio
Power	1,000 watts
Class	C
Callsign meaning	We're Your Talk Station
Former callsigns	WTPG (2004-2007) WCOL (2003-2004) WZNW (2001-2003) WFII (1997-2001) WCOL (1934-1997) WSEN (1930-1934) WMAN (1922-1930)
Owner	Clear Channel Communications
Website	www.talk1230wyts.com

WYTS (1230 AM) is a radio station in Columbus, Ohio owned by Clear Channel Communications. They carry a mostly conservative talk format, along with being Columbus' affiliate for The Jim Rome Show. WYTS is also the Columbus radio home of the Cincinnati Reds baseball team, and the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team.

WYTS is the sixth-oldest continuiously running radio station in the state of Ohio, and is best known for its' Top 40 format in the 1960's and 1970's under the heritage WCOL calls. In the time period between 1998 and today, the station has underwent five different format changes with as many different callsigns.

1 History
- 1.1 Later Years
2 Program Schedule
- 2.1 Weekdays
3 External links

[edit] History

What is today WYTS began in 1922 as WMAN, a offshoot of the in downtown Columbus. As such, station hours were generally limited to a few hours each Sunday as audio simulcasts of church services.

Intending to shake it's previous religiously-rooted image, the stations' operations were moved to the Senaca Hotel, and the callsign was modified to WSEN.

It became WCOL upon its' sale to the Wolfe family, which also owned (and still does) WBNS Radio and The Columbus Dispatch. When FCC guidelines dictated that no single owner could own two AM stations in the same market, WCOL was spun off to.

WCOL was best known to Columbus area residents throughout the 1960's as "The New WCOL," and was the primary Top-40 format station in the Columbus market. It held this distinction from 1960 to the early 1970s, until the rise in popularity of FM broadcasting and competition from WNCI. WCOL, in its Top-40 heyday was heralded as the station which "premiered" the hits. The WCOL calls were also used in tribute as the backdrop for the 1996 Tom Hanks movie "That Thing You Do."

As the 1970's faded, the station changed format to a more adult-comtemporary focus. A series of management and airstaff changeovers followed in the early 80's, with WCOL-AM becoming a talk station by 1985. Eventually, it assumed a mostly-syndicated lineup.

[edit] Later Years

The station and WCOL-FM were sold off to Nationwide Communications in 1994, the parent company of WNCI. WCOL became WFII on March 24, 1997, airing a syndicated conservative talk radio format as "1230 FYI," though this time it was oriented at younger listeners. WTVN owner Jacor Communications acquired WFII, WCOL and WNCI in August 1998, and ultimately merged with Clear Channel Communications that next year.

WFII was not a ratings success, and in 2001 the station became WZNW, airing a sports talk format as "1230 The Zone". However, WZNW was never able to compete effectively against the other full-time sports station in Columbus, WBNS, which held the rights to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

WCOL returned to 1230 in 2003, playing pre-British Invasion pop/rock as "Real Oldies 1230". WCOL traded in on its heritage as a Top 40 station, and the "Real Oldies" format played much of the same music. They even used some of their vintage jingles from that era. Despite some positive "buzz" from long-time radio listeners, many of whom remembered WCOL from its Top 40 heyday, the format failed to capture a significant audience in the market. The station, mostly automated using voice-tracking, lacked the live personalities which made the original WCOL great.

At noon on September 7, 2004, WCOL became WTPG, as "Progressive Talk AM 1230." WTPG carried programming mostly from the Air America Radio network, as well as syndicated hosts Ed Schulz, Springer on the Radio (via a 21-hour delay in morning drive) and Stephanie Miller. WTPG saw mild ratings improvements, although (as was the case with WFII, WZNW and WCOL) ranked well behind counter-programmed sister station WTVN.

On December 23, 2006, the Columbus Dispatch reported that WTPG would change again that January 8 over to a conservative-based talk format, under the WYTS calls. Bruce Collins, the local program director for WTVN and WYTS, said: "Whether it's politics or sports, financial information or general advice, central Ohio listeners will have the opportunity to talk about it on 'Talk 1230.'"

That December 27, a small group of people formed Ohio Majority Radio, intended to save the progressive radio format. As of January 12, 2007, the petition initiative has attracted over 2,651 signatures. A rally to save Progressive Radio in Columbus was scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on the date of the switch, however, it did not succeed. The management of the radio station publically announced the switch to be the day after the rally, but switched the format, unannounced, the morning before the switch.

The Ohio Majority Radio project continues past the attempt to save WTPG.