WWAX
WWAX (92.1 MHz; "Sasquatch 92.1") is an FM radio station licensed to Hermantown, Minnesota and serves the Twin Ports. Established in 1996, the station is owned by Daniel and Alana Hatfield, through licensee Twin Ports Radio, LLC. It airs a classic rock format branded as "Sasquatch 92.1." (Sasquatch or Bigfoot is a mythical ape-like creature said to inhabit the northern woods of the U.S. and Canada).
City | Hermantown, Minnesota |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Duluth-Superior |
Frequency | 92.1 MHz |
Branding | Sasquatch 92.1 |
Slogan | Real Classic Rock For The Northland |
Programming | |
Format | Classic rock |
Affiliations | FAN Radio Network |
Ownership | |
Owner | Daniel and Alana Hatfield (Twin Ports Radio, LLC) |
Operator | Townsquare Media (outright sale pending) |
Sister stations | Twin Ports Radio, LLC.: KJOQ Townsquare Media: KBMX, KKCB, KLDJ, WEBC |
History | |
First air date | June 17, 1996[1] |
Call sign meaning | disambiguation of historic call sign WAKX |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 26004 |
Class | C3 |
ERP | 5,400 watts |
HAAT | 215 meters (705 feet) |
Transmitter coordinates | 46°47′41″N 92°07′05″W |
Links | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | squatchrocks.com |
The studios and offices are located in the Central Hillside, 806 East 4th street, Duluth and the transmitter is located off South Blackman Avenue, in the Duluth antenna farm.[2]
History
The station signed on in 1996 carrying a modern adult contemporary satellite feed. A change to local programming was made in 1997. WWAX branded itself as "92.1 Kiss FM" until being warned by Clear Channel (now iHeartMedia) which holds the copyright for the "Kiss" moniker. The station changed its moniker to "92.1 The Beat" by 2004. It had fluctuated between the formats of Modern AC, Hot AC, Top 40 (CHR) and Adult CHR from 1997 to early 2007, and competed with KBMX "Mix 108".
92.1 The Beat tweaked its format to rhythmic leaning CHR in February 2007, and went adult contemporary as "92.1 Lite FM" on February 29, 2008.
In October 2008, announcements were already made on the station's webpage that "A 'Lite' Christmas was coming soon". By November 1 of that year, 92.1 Lite was playing all Christmas music around the clock. For 2009 the station started around the clock Christmas music during the middle of November instead of at the beginning.
On September 2, 2010, WWAX changed its format to hot adult contemporary, branded as "NU 92" (pronounced as "New 92"). This comes just after 102.5 flipped from classic rock to Top 40 (CHR) as KDWZ on August 30, with NU 92 and KDWZ both competing with Hot AC/CHR hybrid KBMX "Mix 108" on both sides of the pop music spectrum.
On March 2, 2015, WWAX changed its format to sports, branded as "92.1 The Fan".
On April 19, 2017, Red Rock Radio announced that it would sell WWAX and KQDS to Twin Ports Radio for $200,000; through a time brokerage agreement, Twin Ports assumed control of the stations on May 1. Twin Ports' owner, Dan Hatfield, also runs Christian radio station WJRF; following the sale, WWAX and KQDS moved their studios to WJRF's facilities, but retained their sports formats.[3] The sale was consummated on June 30, 2017.
On January 30, 2020, Townsquare Media announced that it would acquire WWAX with Townsquare assuming control of WWAX via local marketing agreement on February 1, at which point the classic rock format of WEBC began simulcasting WWAX and rebranded as "Sasquatch 92.1", with the sports talk format moving to WEBC as "Fan 106.5" on February 17.[4]
Previous logos
References
- Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999 (PDF). 1999. p. D-235. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- "Predicted Coverage Area for WWAX 92.1 FM, Hermantown, MN". radio-locator.com. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
- Venta, Lance (April 19, 2017). "Red Rock Radio Sells Last Two Duluth Stations". RadioInsight. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- Townsquare Media To Acquire WWAX Duluth And Move Sasquatch
External links
- WWAX in the FCC's FM station database
- WWAX on Radio-Locator
- WWAX in Nielsen Audio's FM station database