AM Technical Profile: WFXO

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Frequency:
1050
Format:
Classic Country
Transmitter Location:
[map] [street view] On Radio Road in Alexander City. Street view shows tower and small studio space.
Power (ERP):
Day: 1 kW
Night: 48 watts (authorized)
Antenna:
Day: 1 tower
Other Information:
0.5 mV/m Daytime Groundwave Service Contour from the FCC's Public Files
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// W242CP Alexander City, AL
Owned by Marble City Media, LLC
History:
Came on around 1948, probably with a top 40 format and the WRFS (Radio's Friendliest Station?) calls. In the 50's was affiliated with the Keystone Broadcasting Network. An FM followed on 106.1 MHz with about 4600 watts. For years the AM and FM simulcast. When the FM finally went to full power (as WSTH-FM), it went to country, leaving the AM as top 40. It stayed that way for several years then began simulcasting the country on the FM station, as well as then WSTH-AM, 540 in Columbus. Later, when WSTH-FM moved its facilities to Columbus, the AM reverted to nostalgia as an independent station. The station flipped back to country as "Dixie 1050" before again settling on a standards/nostalgia format. Charles and James Whatley of Alexander City owned the station to one degree or another, along with WETU in Wetumpka and WNUZ in Talladega.
 
In August of 1990 the calls were WXTH; In June 1992 they became WTLM; In April 1994 they became WRFS (Radio's Friendliest Station, or supposedly, Russell Family Sweatshirts!)
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In the summer of 2005 the station changed to southern gospel music after being bought by Joy Christian Communications.
In September of 2007 this station was reported to be off the air.  Trade publications have listed the station as sold to William And Margaret Neeck, for cancellation of the mortgage.
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As of July 2008 the station may have still been silent, but the calls changed from WRFS to WBNM.
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As of August 2008 it has been reported that the format is now sports talk with the ESPN Radio network.  Perhaps the calls stand for "Bill-N-Margaret"?  It is also reported that the station still operates off the same 40's era tower.
 
It is being reported that on the end of May 2010, the station has been sold to Jimmy Jarrell Communications.  A flip to a Christian religious format to compliment Jarrell's other stations never materialized, but in August of 2010 the station flipped from sports to oldies with Scott Shannon's True Oldies Network.  In the spring of 2012 the station dropped oldies for Cumulus' "Real Country" satellite classic country format.  In September 2012 the station was shown as the parent for a translator being moved in to the city, on 99.1 MHz.  The station has also dropped country for Salem's "Solid Gospel" satellite format.  In October 2014 the translator was granted a permit to move to 99.7 MHz, 250 watts, from a new transmitter location northwest of town.  That same month, ownership passed from Jimmy Jarrell to Pat Jarrell. That signal had its license to cover filed on 19 August 2015.  That same month it was announced that Westburg Broadcasting Montgomery had bought the station from the Pat Jarrell, as well as the translator, which had been owned by Alabama Christian Radio.  That deal closed on 22 December 2015.  The next day, Marble City Media, LLC, began programming the station by relaying their WRFS-FM licensed to Rockford. Marble City Media acquired the station from Westburg Broadcasting in 2016.  The call sign changed to WLMA (Lake Martin, Alabama) in late February 2016. 

On 26 March 2016 the station debuted a new classic country format as well as a new FM translator, W242CP on 96.3 MHz, an AM Revitalization move-in from Winona, Mississippi.  The station went by the name "Real Country" until it changed to "Kix 96.3".  The Kix branding is also being used on a set of stations up the highway in Sylacauga.

On 13 February 2019 the call sign of this station changed from WLMA to WSGN, taking those historic calls from the former Gadsden State Community College station in Etowah County, which was sold to EMF.

The station was reported off the air briefly due to damage from Hurricane Zeta in late October 2020.

The station is slated to exchange call signs with WFXO in Stewartville at the end of July 2022, when that station will launch an oldies format using these call letters, which were once on Birmingham's big Top 40 outlet.