Technical Profile: WMSP

AM Technical Profile: WMSP

Frequency:: 740
Format:: Sports
Transmitter Location:: [map] [bird's eye] [goKML aerial] Northwest of Montgomery, north of Wares Ferry Road along rural Riverside Drive. Co-located with WZKD.
Power (ERP):: Day: 10 kW; Night: 173 watts
Antenna:: Day: 2 towers [pattern - PDF]; Night 2 towers [pattern - PDF]
Other Information:: 0.5 mV/m Daytime Groundwave Service Contour from the FCC's Public Files

[FCC]
[FCCdata.org]
[FCCInfo]; [Radio-Locator]; [Wikipedia]

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[Brennan-Benns Broadcasting Tribute] Information on the formation of the company that would put WBAM (and other stations) on the air.
[Studio] The Cumulus studios in downtown Montgomery.; // WXFX-HD2 Prattville; Owned by Cumulus Broadcasting LLC
History:: This station started in 1953 as the second Brennan station in Alabama after WVOK in Birmingham. 740 from the 50's through the 70's was WBAM (alaBAMa), The Big Bam. Studio and transmitter were on the Troy-Montgomery Highway. Unusual for a daytimer, it was a top 40 station. Had a 5/8 wave tower and enjoyed phenomenal coverage, albeit with a slight null towards WSB in Atlanta. Had a strong listener base in small towns (much like co-owned WVOK in Birmingham) nearly 100 miles away. In fact, the two stations together covered 90% of the state! Both stations, while top 40, didn't have the typical formatics of 60's top 40 stations: no high energy jocks, fewer jingles and promos and a bland news presentation. Wikipedia notes that WBAM was also well known for putting on concerts in Montgomery, including one with up-and-comer Elvis Presley, who was presented with Roy Acuff!; .; Due to FM competition, it went country in 1973. In the early 80's the station was sold to WLWI-FM and they simulcast for a while. It also changed its name to WLWI for that short time. In the late 80's, the station went to nostalgia, then to plain oldies; now sports talk rules the airwaves. Originally a 50,000 watt daytimer, the station would play "Dixie" at signoff each night. In 1995 the station dropped to 10,000 watts and added nighttime service, around the time they were still playing oldies.; In June 2011 the station was being rebroadcast on WXFX-HD2, another Cumulus station licensed to Prattville. The station at that point was also carrying some content from Yahoo! Sports Radio. On 2 January 2013 the station flipped to CBS Sports Radio affiliation. The station was granted a construction permit for a new FM translator in June 2018, on 97.5 MHz. That permit expired in June 2021 unbuilt.; CBS Sports Radio rebranded to Infinity Sports Network on 15 April 2023.