Technical Profile: WACT

AM Technical Profile: WACT

Frequency:: 1420
Format:: Adult Contemporary
Transmitter Location:: [map] [bird's eye] [street view ] Visible from I-359 in Tuscaloosa, the station's studios and tower are located at the end of 38th Street, just off Greensboro Avenue.
Power (ERP):: Day: 5 kW; Night: 108 watts
Antenna:: 1 tower
Other Information:: 0.5 mV/m Daytime Groundwave Service Contour from the FCC's Public Files

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

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[Studio] Street View imagery of the iHeartMedia studios in downtown Tuscaloosa.

Owned by iHeartMedia

// W245BR Tuscaloosa, AL
History:: This station dates back to an original construction permit issued to Frank E. Holladay, Joseph W. Carson and John S. Primm (as New South Radio) in November 1957 for a daytime only station on 1420 kHz, with 5 kW power. The original transmitter site was at the intersection of Fosters Ferry Road and US-11 (now 15th Street) near Stillman College. The studios were at 414 10th Street in Tuscaloosa, what is today Paul W. Bryant Drive on the University of Alabama campus. A license to cover for the station wasn't filed until September 1958 due to construction delays. The station signed on using a Gates BC-5P transmitter as the city's first Top 40 radio station as WACT (for Alabama Crimson Tide, the University of Alabama's football team's nickname).

The studios moved in 1963 to a space listed as "#3 Office Plaza, corner of 6th Street and 27th Avenue, Tuscaloosa". In was likely around this time that the station dropped the pop music for Easy Listening. In 1966, the station spawned a companion, WACT-FM, which mostly simulcast the AM's programming.

By the mid-70's, the stations were listed in the Broadcasting Yearbook as Country stations; the FM was doing Contemporary Country while this station did Classic Country. Of interest is that there was a lengthy back and forth of a petition to deny the station's license renewal in early 1973, filed by the Civil Liberties Union of Alabama. It's unclear what exactly the petition to deny was about, as the cited violation of "Section 73.123(a)" does not appear in modern federal regulations. Either way, the resolution was to fine the station $1,000.

The station was granted in June 1979 a permit to move the AM and FM stations to 3800 11th Avenue, which is the current home of both the transmitter site(s) and studios for the stations. A license to cover for that change was granted in December 1979, and the station signed on from the current site using a Collins 828-E1 transmitter, while putting the old Gates into backup use.

According to the NAB, the station was transmitting in C-QUAM AM stereo in 1985. In October 1989 the AM and FM were sold to Taylor Broadcasting for $2.25 million.

The station added 108 watts of nighttime power in the early 1990's. Around this time, the station dropped the Classic Country for Southern Gospel. The stations were acquired by Capstar Broadcasting in 1997; as a stunt, the stations were "taken over" by Gadsden-based morning show "Rick and Bubba", who ushered in a format change on the FM to rock music. Capstar would eventually morph into Clear Channel, itself later becoming iHeart Radio.

The station flipped to an All Sports format in July 2004 as "The Tusk", with some coverage of University of Alabama sports.

In September 2008, the call sign changed to WENN, displacing the historic WACT call sign from the market. WENN was itself a historic call sign from Birmingham, having been on A. G. Gaston's 107.7 MHz FM station in that market for many years> It remained parked here until 28 February 2009, when the WACT call sign returned to the station. Around this time, they dropped sports for News/Talk, sharing some programming with co-owned Birmingham talk station WERC, along with Rick and Bubba replays during the afternoon.

Around the start of May 2009, the station was reported to be simulcasting sister FM WRTR's Rock format, although it appears it was only a temporary diversion before the News/Talk format returned.

At some point in 2012 the station split from the talk simulcast with WERC to pick up Clear Channel's 24/7 Comedy network.

Clear Channel shut down their comedy network in August 2014. This station flipped to Gospel music under the "Hallelujah 1420" moniker.

In March 2015, the station picked up FM translator W245BR and dropped the gospel to launch an Adult Contemporary format as "96.9 MYfm". The FM translator transmitted from the old WDBB-TV tower on Jug Factory Road, along with several other FM translators and low power TV outlets.

In late August 2019, the translator received a permit to leave the Jug Factory Road site for a common tower in Holt used by several other translators run by crosstown competitior TTI, Inc. It appears that move was never executed, as the station applied for a replacement permit for the move in December 2024.