| City of license | Cross Plains, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Madison and South Central Wisconsin |
| Branding | 96.3 Star Country |
| Slogan | "The Biggest Hits, The Biggest Stars" "Madison's Only Real Country Station" |
| Frequency | 96.3 MHz FM (also on HD Radio) |
| Format | 96.3: Current Country Music 96.3-HD2: Classic Country |
| ERP | 5,100 watts |
| HAAT | 213 meters |
| Class | B1 |
| Facility ID | 50055 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43° 12' 44.00" N 89° 35' 59.00" W |
| Callsign meaning | Longtime radio call sign in "MADison" (also for previous format, “MAD Radio 96.3“) |
| Former callsigns | WVLR WSEY (9/1987-11/1987) WMLI (11/1987-6/1994 and 2/1996-3/2002) WMXF (6/1994-2/1996) WCJZ (3/2002-12/2003) |
| Owner | Clear Channel Communications (Capstar TX Limited Partnership) |
| Sister stations | WIBA (AM), WIBA-FM, WTSO, WXXM, WZEE |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 963starcountry.com |
WMAD (96.3 Star Country) is a radio station serving the Madison, Wisconsin metropolitan area. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and has been running a country music format since December 23, 2005. The station airs a classic country format on its HD Radio subchannel (96.3FM-HD2).[1]
A common practice amongst clear channel stations, WMAD often will dub advertisement for the station in songs when radio is mentioned.
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The call letters WMAD originally were on AM 1550 and later simulcast with 106.3 WMAD-FM Middleton (Now WWQM). That version of WMAD started as a country format and remained country until 1977 when the call letters on 1550 were dropped (WWQM "15Q" oldies replaced country). WMAD-FM continued as WMAD-Middleton/Madison until early 1978 when the calls were dropped from 106.3. The WMAD calls would resurface in 1979 on the station at 92.1 FM (licensed to Sun Prairie and current home to WXXM).
The 96.3 FM frequency in Madison has had a varied format history. In the 70's the station was WVLR. In the mid 1990's the station played 70's music as Mix96.3 WMXF. Following this format, the station returned to a soft rock format as WMLI, which eventually morphed into adult contemporary “Star 96.3.” In March 2002, the station shifted to a smooth jazz format as "Smooth Jazz 96.3 WCJZ," filling a niche in the Madison market filled only by the “Magic Sunday Morning” smooth jazz program on WMGN (Magic 98).
WCJZ and its smooth jazz format never made any inroads among Madison radio listeners, which led management to make another change in format. At 12 Noon on December 31, 2003, WCJZ began 6 hours stunting with a ticking clock and synthesized voice announcing station ID and jokes.[2] This stunting ended promptly at 6:00 PM that night, with an announcement heralding the return of the alternative rock-formatted “MAD Radio.”[3] Fourteen months earlier, Clear Channel replaced alternative rock on 92.1 WMAD in favor of a Hot AC station, “Mix 92.1.” Fans of that “MAD Radio” incarnation were left disappointed by the change. Acknowledging the outcry, management resurrected “MAD Radio” at the 96.3 frequency. With this change, the WMAD call letters were moved to 96.3, while 92.1 changed their call letters to WXXM.
Despite an early peak in interest from Madison radio listeners, the new “MAD Radio” did not build as strong a following as the old version had. An increase of older alternative hits in the playlist (highlighted by the “Sunday Morning Resurrection” program) and the addition of the syndicated Rover's Morning Glory failed to bump up the station's fortunes. With WMAD’s Arbitron ratings near the bottom of the Madison market, Clear Channel would make yet another change on the frequency, ending “MAD Radio 96.3” on the night of December 22, 2005,[4] after 2 hours of songs with a “goodbye” or "end" theme, ending with "Last Goodbye" by Jeff Buckley and the Jimi Hendrix version of “The Star Spangled Banner.” “MAD Radio” would resurface once again in 2007, airing a commercial-free alternative format on a HD Radio subchannel of sister station WIBA-FM.
At 12AM on December 23, 2005, WMAD launched a new contemporary country format under the branding, “96.3 Star Country,” beginning with a montage of its liners and jingles followed by Gretchen Wilson's “All Jacked Up," the first of 10,000 songs played without interruption for commercials or DJ’s on “Star Country.”[5]
Originally using the tag line "Now you have a choice," Clear Channel took an aggressive approach in promoting "Star Country" and in targeting the long-time country station in Madison, WWQM. The aggressiveness included luring away the WWQM morning team of John Flint and Tammy Lee, who would helm "Star Country's" morning shift from November 2006 until June 2011, when they departed for San Diego's KSON.[1]
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