WYCD
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| WYCD | |
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| City of license | Detroit, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | [1] |
| Branding | 99.5 WYCD |
| Slogan | Detroit's Best Country Music! |
| Frequency | 99.5 MHz (Also on HD Radio) 99.5 HD-2: 99.5 The Wolf Future Country 99.5 HD-3: Psychic On Air Psychic Radio |
| First air date | May 4, 1960 |
| Format | Country |
| Power | 17,500 watts |
| HAAT | 240 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 1089 |
| Transmitter Coordinates | |
| Callsign meaning | Young Country Detroit |
| Former callsigns | WOWF (9/28/92-7/1/93) WDFX (7/25/88-9/28/92) WDTX (9/85-7/25/88) WCLS (1/84-9/85) WABX (5/4/60-1/84) |
| Owner | CBS Radio |
| Sister stations | WOMC, WVMV, WWJ, WXYT, WXYT-FM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.wycd.com |
WYCD is a FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station currently broadcasts on 99.5 MHz and is one of two country music stations in the Detroit area (the other station being 106.7 The Fox). WYCD's studio and offices are located in the Travelers Towers building in Southfield. WYCD's transmitter is located in Royal Oak Township in Oakland County off of Wyoming Avenue just north of the Detroit city limits.
WYCD is licensed for HD radio operations, it has two HD stations; its secondary channel is called "99.5 HD2 The Wolf" and features "future" Country music hits. Its HD3 channel is known as "Psychic On Air". Which is a 24 hour psychic radio station.
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[edit] History
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (June 2008) Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
[edit] 99½ WABX
The station began broadcasting on May 4, 1960 as WABX, beginning as a classical music station before adopting the MOR format in 1964.
On February 1, 1968, "play lists" of acceptable tunes went out: the DJs picked their own music, and Century Broadcasting Corporation bit its tongue. With a freeform progressive rock format, WABX became a springboard for the new music that no other station in the market (least of all CKLW and the other Top 40 stations) would touch.
The ABX revolution was one of style as well as sound. The station made itself a community catalyst for fun: free concerts and movies, kite-flys, bike-ins, and conferences. Also, the station played a role in giving many artists the recognition that they did not have at the time, including The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Iron Butterfly, and The J. Geils Band. The success of WABX inspired other Detroit stations such as Keener 13 and 101.1 WXYZ-FM to adopt the progressive-rock approach.
During the 1970s, WABX evolved into a more mainstream album oriented rock station, albeit one that took a softer, more laid-back approach than its competitors. By 1982, WABX was third-ranked out of three AOR stations in Detroit (behind WRIF and WLLZ). Century Broadcasting sold the station to Liggett Broadcasting that year. Under new program director Paul Christy, WABX shifted from AOR to "Hot Rock," a Top 40/rock hybrid (known on the air as "Detroit's New Music"), playing a wide variety of new wave, pop, rock and urban product with a slick, CHR-style presentation. However, the station's market share continued to decline throughout 1983, and a little over a year after WABX debuted "Hot Rock," Liggett decided to change the station's format and calls.
[edit] Class FM/99 DTX/99.5 The Fox
On January 9, 1984, WABX's long-term reign as a high-rolling rock station came to an end with the song "When the Music's Over" by The Doors, after which the station became "Class FM", WCLS, with a soft rock format. However, the adult contemporary field in Detroit was as crowded as the rock format had become, and "Class FM" was not successful. At this same time, the station was sold to Metropolis Broadcasting.
The following year, in the station became WDTX, reverting to a rock-based CHR format meant to be a radio version of MTV. Eventually the format evolved into mainstream CHR. In 1988 the station changed its call letters to WDFX, known as "99.5 The Fox". For a short time, The Fox tweaked its CHR format into "Rock 40," a variation of Top 40 heavy on hair bands and other rock-oriented acts, and saw its ratings slide after a promising beginning.
Afterwards, The Fox tweaked its format back to mainstream CHR and at the same time added some hip hop to compete with Power 96 WHYT. Ratings did improve and the station posted frequent Arbitron top 10 showings in the late 1980s and early 1990s - but advertising revenue was poor and, in September 1990, the station went into receivership. In addition, WDFX's ratings were adversely affected (as were WHYT's) by the debut of modern rock station 89x in 1991.
Terry "The Motormouth" Young (formerly of WCAU-FM Philadelphia and now of XM Satellite Radio's "60s on 6" channel) was one of the WDFX personalities during this time.
[edit] The Failed Attempt At FM Talk
On December 24, 1992, the station started stunting by having a character named "Cowboy Hugh Chardon" (played by Dr. Don Carpenter) play "Friends In Low Places" by Garth Brooks repeatedly (for his good buddy Bobby Stalls in Birmingham) and try to kill "The Fox" using various methods suggested by "listeners". This was followed by an automated countdown that started at midnight on Christmas Day, beginning with 63,752 and ending with number one on December 28, 1992. (This was apparently done so they could rebuild the studios). Instead of changing formats when the countdown ended it stunted for another week with a six hour loop of novelty songs they called "goofy loops" played repeatedly. This continued until the early morning of January 4, 1993 (the first Monday after the holiday week) when the station finally finished changing formats and became "99-5 WOW-FM" WOWF, (the call letters had actually been in place since October, 1992), a news/talk station with broadcasters such as Art Vuolo and Ed Tyll coming to the station. However, by popular demand, the "goofy loops" track was brought back at weekends for the life of the station.
[edit] Young Country/Competition
A few months later on May 28, 1993, at 3pm, the station dropped the talk format in favor of "Young Country 99.5", starting with Dr. Don's afternoon show. WYCD positioned itself as a younger-leaning alternative to crosstown 106.7 W4 Country. The format kept it's talk element and combined it with younger sounding country music and created "Morning Shows" all day that highlighted listener calls, tons of requests and fun jock talk. It was all a part of owner Alliance's "Young Country" concept that it had on the air in Dallas, Seattle and San Francisco. Although W4 Country typically had higher ratings with country than did WYCD, lack of advertiser revenue led W4 Country to switch to a classic-rock format in September of 1999.
On February 16, 2001 WYCD dropped the "Young Country 99.5" positioner in favor of "Country 99.5". By late 2002, it seemed that the station had dropped its Country 99.5 positoner and rebranded itself as just 99.5 WYCD.
With the country format all to itself in Detroit from 1999 to 2006, WYCD has consistently been a top 10-rated station. In the spring of 2006, WYCD had its best ratings book ever when it tied for first place 12+ with hip-hop station FM98 WJLB.
The high ratings at WYCD are probably what led 106.7 The Drive to switch formats back to country in May 2006, although they claim the format was chosen by the listeners. In another strange twist the new name at 106.7, also chosen by the listeners, is "The Fox", which used to be the name at 99.5 when it was a Top 40 station in the late 1980s. Whether or not 99.5 will once again be able to "kill The Fox" remains to be seen; although WYCD's ratings have fallen since the debut of "The Fox" and the station now typically hovers around tenth place, 106.7's overall ratings remain low.
In 2007, WYCD was nominated for the top 25 markets Country music Radio & Records magazine station of the year award . Other nominees included WUSN Chicago, KYGO-FM Denver, KEEY-FM Minneapolis, WXTU Philadelphia, and KSON-FM San Diego.[1]
[edit] Legal Issues
In 2005, a six-woman Detroit jury awarded $10.6 million dollars to former employee and top-rated radio personality Erin Weber. Weber claimed that she was intentionally exposed to toxic perfume by another radio personality, Linda Lee, which caused severe complications to her and was responsible for her taking a three-month medical leave in 2000.
The verdict awarded her $7 million in punitive damages, $2 million in mental anguish and emotional distress and $1.6 million for past and future compensation
The suit maintained that while Weber made WYCD aware of the threat of Linda Lee and her purposely exposing her to the perfume, the station did not do enough to protect her and instead fired her in 2001.
In a May 2001 e-mail to the station manager, presented as evidence, Weber said Lee's perfume caused her to lose her voice and that Lee intentionally walked by her at the annual Downtown Hoedown -- a popular country music festival in downtown Detroit. "Linda nearly brushed past me and a cloud of perfume trailed behind me", Weber wrote [2]. "To have brought the perfume with her suggests forward planning. This appears to be a premeditated attack which was entirely unprovoked by me in anyway", Weber wrote. "Please tell me what steps you plan to take to ensure my safety."
The station, owned by CBS Radio plans to file an appeal.
[edit] Airstaff
The current lineup (as of January 2008) is as follows
- Morning Show: The Dr. Don Morning Show - Dr. Don Carpenter, Rachael Hunter, Steve Grunwald, & Jason The 300lb Cowboy
- Mid-Days: Mike Scott
- Afternoon Drive: Edwards & Lee - Chuck Edwards & Linda Lee
- Nighttime: Jyl Forsyth
- Overnights: Michelle Metcalf (12am-2am)
Various Weekend/Fill-in DJ (2am-5am) - Mon Nights: The Maria Shaw Show - Maria Shaw, "Winy Pisey Matt" Vaughn & "Sexy Sage Joe" Lawson
- Sat Nights: Live At Coyote Joe's - Chuck Edwards
- Weekend's/Fill-ins: Mike Aaron, Kym Austin, Ron Brand, Mike Daniels, Sheryl Fender, Dave Fuller, Brian Harper, Will Harvey, Joe Lawson, Jackie Lynne, Michelle McCullough, Kevin Scollin, Matt Vaughn and Mike Williams
Tim "T-Rob" Roberts has served as the stations program director since November 2005. In addition to his mid-day shift, Mike Scott serves as the assistant program director as well as the stations music director since October 2007.
[edit] Current Station Rating
99.5 WYCD currently ranks at #6 in the Detroit market according to the Spring 2008 Phase I ratings release.
| Spring 2006 | Summer 2006 | Fall 2006 | Winter 2007 | Spring 2007 | Summer 2007 | Fall 2007 | Winter 2008 | Spring 2008 Phase I |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
(#1) |
(#2) |
(#9) |
(#11) |
(#7) |
(#10) |
(#10) |
(#11) |
(#6) |
According to a preliminary Arbitron report released May 29, 2008
[edit] Logo Gallery
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 (circa 1990) |
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 (circa 2001) |
[edit] References
- ^ "2007 Industry Achievement Awards", Radio and Records, Sept 28, 2008.
[edit] External links
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