WOMG
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| WOMG | |
| City of license | Lexington, South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Midlands, South Carolina |
| Branding | Magic 98.5 |
| Slogan | "Carolina's Greatest Hits" |
| Frequency | 98.5 FM (MHz) |
| First air date | 1982 |
| Format | Oldies |
| ERP | 6,000 watts |
| HAAT | 99 meters (325 feet) |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 37200 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Callsign meaning | "O"ldies "M"a"G"ic ("Magic" is in reference to the previous moniker of the station) |
| Owner | Citadel Broadcasting |
| Sister stations | WISW, WLXC, WNKT, WTCB |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | http://www.womg.com |
WOMG (98.5 FM), also known as "Magic 98.5", is an Oldies formatted radio station located in Columbia, South Carolina. The station is licensed by the FCC to broadcast at 98.5 FM MHz with a ERP of 6,000 watts to the city of Lexington, SC.
[edit] Station History
98.5 was allocated in the early 1990s as part of an FCC docket that would allow the Columbia metro area several new radio stations. The license was eventually awarded to Lexington Communications, which apply for the WLXC call letters. Before construction started, Lexington Communications agreed to sell the station to HFS Communications, another group, on the condition that WLXC was operated by the company for a period of one year before completing the transaction.[1] Studios for the station were constructed in the town of Lexington while the transmitting facilities were built near the village of Red Bank.
Originally, WLXC was to be launched on August 26th, 1994, but was postponed due to area storm damage from the remnants of Tropical Storm Beryl (which produced several tornadoes in and near the town of Lexington) as well as problems with the station's phone lines.[2] Finally on August 31st, WLXC signed on with a Sports radio format known as "98.5 The Ticket".[3]
Local airstaff for WLXC in its first year included station general manager/part-owner Jim Forrest and Tom Hayes for mornings. Gary Pozik for mid-mornings (with a health and fitness show, which was dropped months later), Ken Wall for early afternoons, Matt Hogue, for late afternoons and Phil Kornblut for evenings (which was moved after several months of being pre-empted by games to All-News outlet WVOC II).[4] National sports/talk programming, which included "The Fabulous Sports Babe", came from "American Radio Sports Network". Several months after WLXC signed on, "American Sports Radio" was sold to "One-On-One Sports Network".
While the station gained the rights for several national and regional sporting events, it had struggled in landing sporting events from the area's two most-popular teams: The University Of South Carolina and Clemson University, primarily because both teams were already locked up in the Columbia market on other stations.[5] At one point, WLXC came close to acquiring Clemson sporting rights when their radio network was sold to a different syndication group. Unfortunately, attempts by WLXC to acquire the rights were blocked when the area's then-Clemson affiliate, Oldies outlet WOMG, threatened the station with a lawsuit.[6] Arbitron ratings for WLXC were almost non-existent throughout the entire year, scoring as low as 0.3 at one point.[7]
In late 1995, after WLXC's transaction to HFS Communications was completed, the station was sold shortly afterwards for $1.4 Million to Baker Broadcasting, head up by Frank Baker, a former WOMG general manager and a partner in HFS Communications. Baker at the time was the owner of WWBZ in McClellanville and had also recently acquired WNCK in Port Royal. Both stations operated a Charleston-based syndicated Beach music format known as "The Breeze", which Baker partially owned. In December, after weeks of rumors, WLXC announced that the format would be changed to "The Breeze" as well.[7]
Airstaff on "The Breeze" network included veteran brother duo Leo and Woody Windham for mornings (both have been fixtures for many years in the Columbia radio market as well as part-owners of the network), Tanya Roberts (a former WOMG air talent) for middays, Bob Boswell for afternoons, and Eddie Zomerfield for nights.[8] Also, in a strange twist of irony, WLXC was able to acquire Clemson football and baseball rights beginning in the fall of 1996 when an agreement was worked out with WOMG to divide the sports package between both stations.[9]
Despite these changes, WLXC failed to gain traction in the Columbia ratings over the next couple of years, although it had a small but loyal following. In late February of 1999, Baker Broadcasting announced that WLXC was sold for $3.2 Million to Bloomington Broadcasting Corp. a company that owned local stations WTCB, WOMG, and WISW.[10]
Immediately after the sale closed, WLXC ended "The Breeze" simulcast and took the station off the air following a Clemson men's basketball game on February 28th. This move was in preparation for the studios to be relocated from Lexington to the Granby Building in Cayce, where Bloomington's other stations are located.
On March 4th, at 3 p.m., WLXC signed back on with an Urban Adult Contemporary format under the "98.5 Kiss FM" handle (now heard on 103.1 FM).[11] The station ran commercial free in its first two weeks on the air using a mixture of local and Dallas-based ABC Radio Network "The Touch" Urban AC format air talent, including morning man Carlton Booth.[12]. Several week later, Carlton Booth morning show was dropped for the syndicated Tom Joyner Morning Show.
On April 1st, 2008, the WOMG calls and the Oldies format moved from 103.1 FM to 98.5 FM, which had previously been occupied by an Urban Adult Contemporary format as WLXC[13]. The WLXC calls and the Urban format moved to WOMG's old dial position at 103.1 as "Magic 103.1." The switch happened at 10:00 AM. The Oldies format's positioner was changed from "Oldies 103" to "Magic 98.5." The Oldies format aired on 103.1 for 18 years.
WLXC is owned by Citadel Broadcasting.
[edit] References
- ^ "Radio Station Doesn't Plan To Change Its Tune", The State, November 4, 1995.
- ^ "WIS-TV Presented a 'You Are There' View Of Tornado", The State, August 15, 1994.
- ^ "Sports Station Finally On The Air", The State, September 1, 1994.
- ^ "Fans Howls Of Protest Flip The Switch On For USC-Clemson", The State, November 18, 1995.
- ^ "All-Sports Radio Station Still Seeking Programming Hits", The State, September 30, 1995.
- ^ "After Flirt with WLXC, Tigers To Stay On WOMG", The State, May 20, 1995.
- ^ a b "WLXC Sports Radio Beached", The State, December 16, 1995.
- ^ "Breeze Puts On No Airs, Personality Drives Shag/Blues Powerhouse", The State, September 8, 1996.
- ^ "Tigers Feel The Heat, Switch Homes In Midlands Area", The State, June 22, 1996.
- ^ "Breeze To Change With Sale Of WLXC", The State, February 26, 1999.
- ^ "'Breeze' Now Adult, Urban 'Kiss-FM' WLXC-FM Returns With New Format", The State, March 5, 1999.
- ^ "New R&B Station Promises Local Urban Flavor", The State, March 19, 1999.
- ^ Otis R. Taylor, Jr., "Radio Station Switcheroo," The State, April 1, 2008.
[edit] External links
- Magic 98.5 WOMG official website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WOMG
- Radio Locator information on WOMG
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for WOMG
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