WSPA-FM

WSPA-FM
City of license Spartanburg, South Carolina
Broadcast area Upstate South Carolina & Western North Carolina
Branding Magic 98.9
Slogan Today's Lite Rock
Frequency 98.9 MHz
First air date August 29, 1946
Format Adult contemporary
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 580 meters
Class C
Facility ID 66400
Transmitter coordinates 35°10′11.00″N 82°17′28.00″W / 35.1697222°N 82.2911111°W
Callsign meaning SPArtanburg (City of License)
Also a nod to former owner SPArtan Radiocasting
W-atch S-partanburg P-ush A-head
Owner Entercom Communications
(Entercom License, LLC)
Sister stations WFBC-FM, WROQ, WTPT-FM, WORD-FM/WYRD/WYRD-FM
Webcast Listen Live
Website magic989online.com

WSPA-FM is an adult contemporary radio station licensed to Spartanburg, South Carolina and serving the Upstate region, including Greenville and Spartanburg. The Entercom Communications outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast at 98.9 MHz with an ERP of 100 kW. The station goes by the name "Magic 98.9" and its current slogan is '"Today's Lite Rock."

WSPA-FM is one of South Carolina's most powerful stations. It provides at least secondary coverage of 94 counties in four states (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee). Under the right conditions, it can be heard as far east as Charlotte and as far west as the north Georgia mountains. WSPA is owned by Philadelphia based Entercom Communications. The transmitter tower (which is visible as far as 35 miles away) is located atop Hogback Mountain, near Landrum. Its studios are in Greenville.

The station's playlist mainly consists of soft rock and pop music from the 1970s through present. Its main competition is WMYI, who broadcasts a hot AC format.

History

WSPA-FM signed on the air August 29, 1946, as the sister station to WSPA AM 950. It was South Carolina's first FM radio station. Also, on August 1, 1960, WSPA-FM became the first station in South Carolina (as well as the Southeast) to broadcast in stereo. WSPA-FM was also the sixth station in the world to broadcast in stereo.

For many years WSPA-FM was a beautiful music station. In February, 1991, the station changed to adult contemporary, known then as "Lite-FM 98.9" In 1992, the station became known as "Lite Rock 98.9" with a soft adult contemporary format, then the station switched to "Magic 98.9" in 2002; in recent years the station's sound has moved in a more mainstream AC direction.

WSPA-FM was originally owned by Spartan Radiocasting until selling to Keymarket, who were then taken over by Sinclair Broadcasting in the 1990s and early 2000s until being acquired by Entercom Communications. The station has gone through a number of morning shows (see below). Stacie Bartro moved to the station in 2006 after working at the former 103.3/103.9 and 106.3 The Walk changed formats, and hosted afternoons prior to a move to mornings until 2012. Lee Alexander has been a staple of upstate radio since the 1970s, working at stations such as WQOK-AM and WFBC-FM. Former WSPA and WMYI program director Greg McKinney returned to the station to host mornings in August 2012. The station is the area affiliate for The John Tesh Radio Show.

In the summer 2008 ratings (12+), WSPA-FM made it to third place, only behind WJMZ-FM and WESC-FM, and frequently enjoys a top five placing in the 12+ Arbitron ratings. Until July 2011, the station competed head-on with Clear Channel Communications' WMYI; that station transitioned to Hot AC, leaving WSPA as the only mainstream adult contemporary station in the market. Every year, around the second week of November, the station transitions to an all-Christmas format, a tradition that began in the early 2000s. The adult contemporary format resumes on December 26.

Prior to 2014, WSPA-FM simulcast in Asheville, North Carolina at W249AR 97.7 MHz, mainly to serve areas in the northern part of Asheville that are shielded from the main signal.

Programming

Former on-air staff

Morning shows

External links