WTRX
WTRX (1330 AM, "Sports XTRA 1330") is an American radio station broadcasting a sports format in Flint, Michigan. It is the Flint affiliate for the Detroit Lions, Detroit Tigers, Michigan Wolverines football and men's basketball, and CBS Sports Radio.[1][2][3][4] Its studios are located in Mundy Township near U.S. 23 and Hill Road and its transmitter is in Burton near Dort Highway and Bristol Road.
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City | Flint, Michigan |
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Broadcast area | Flint, Michigan |
Frequency | 1330 kHz |
Branding | Sports XTRA 1330 |
Slogan | Mid Michigan's Biggest Athletic Supporter |
Programming | |
Format | Sports |
Affiliations | CBS Sports Radio Detroit Lions Detroit Tigers Michigan Wolverines |
Ownership | |
Owner | Cumulus Media (Radio License Holding CBC, LLC) |
Sister stations | WDZZ, WFBE, WWCK, WWCK-FM |
History | |
First air date | October 1, 1947 |
Former call signs | WDLZ (5/22/89-8/31/90) WTRX (1/13/60-5/22/89) WBBC (10/1/47-1/13/60) |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 15768 |
Class | B |
Power | 5,000 watts (Daytime) 1,000 watts (Nighttime) |
Transmitter coordinates | 42°58′24″N 83°39′2″W |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | wtrxsports.com |
History
The station began broadcasting October 13, 1947, under the WBBC call sign. It was owned by Booth Radio Stations, Incorporated and was a Mutual affiliate.[5] It was a popular Top 40 station in the 1960s and early 1970s, going by the name "Trix." Around 1975, WTRX migrated from Top 40 to adult contemporary purchased by Lawrence Getz owner "Getz Communications" and continued with that format until 1989, until auctioned at Flint Hyatt Regency where David Lee Shure a Flint area businessman won the bid on the station and property. Days after the paperwork was filed it became an affiliate of Satellite Music Network's Z-Rock format as WDLZ. The station subsequently failed, largely due to the downward spiral in the local economy and the migration of many AM stations in the area to non-music formats. The station was also the Flint-area home of American Top 40 until 1986, the year eventual sister station WIOG, which had been the Tri-Cities AT40 affiliate at the time, moved to its present frequency of 102.5 and took over AT40 affiliation for the Flint area.
After a period of silence after WDLZ went off the air in 1990, WTRX came back on the air with its legendary call sign restored, but with no original programming. WTRX spent the first few years simulcasting Bay City station WMAX (AM)'s all-sports format until it established its own all-sports programming. The station became what it is today in 1996.
In 2001, WTRX's studio was moved from its transmitter location on Bristol Road in Burton to the studios and offices of co-owned WFBE on Miller Road in Flint Township.[6]
Cumulus Media purchased WTRX in 2011. It relocated its studios and offices to 6317 Taylor Drive in Mundy Township on March 2012. In addition to its Flint sister stations mentioned on the infobox, WTRX's other sister stations in the Flint/Tri-Cities area are WHNN, WIOG, WKQZ and WYLZ, all licensed to the Tri-Cities; of the four, only WHNN and WIOG also serve the Flint area.
References
- "TV and Radio Affiliates". MLB.com.
- "Detroit Red Wings - Multimedia: Interactive". June 17, 2009. Archived from the original on June 17, 2009.
- "The Michigan Wolverines Football Network". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 22, 2018.
- "The Official Site of the Detroit Lions". www.detroitlions.com.
- "WBBC at Flint Begins Operations on 1 KW" (PDF). Broadcasting. October 27, 1947. Retrieved 16 October 2014.
- "Citadel Flint - Montanavision Media Inc". bender2.com.
External links
- WTRX in the FCC's AM station database
- WTRX on Radio-Locator
- WTRX in Nielsen Audio's AM station database