WMAG
Broadcast areaPiedmont Triad - Greensboro - High Point - Winston-Salem
Frequency99.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingMix 99.5
Programming
FormatAdult contemporary
AffiliationsPremiere Networks
Ownership
Owner
WPTI, WMKS, WTQR, WVBZ
History
First air date
1946 (1946) (as WMFR-FM at 97.7)
Former call signs
WMFR-FM (1946–1982)
Former frequencies
97.7 MHz (1946–?)
Call sign meaning
"Magic" (former branding)
Technical information
Facility ID73258
ClassC
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT456 meters (1,496 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
35°52′13″N 79°50′25″W / 35.87028°N 79.84028°W / 35.87028; -79.84028
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitemix995triad.iheart.com

WMAG (99.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to High Point, North Carolina, and serving the Piedmont Triad, including Greensboro and Winston-Salem. It is owned by iHeartMedia and it broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format, switching to Christmas music for much of November and December. In the evening, WMAG carries the nationally syndicated Delilah call-in and dedication show. The studios and offices are on Pai Park in Greensboro.

WMAG is a Class C station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for most stations. The transmitter tower is off Davis County Road in Randleman.[1] The signal provides at least secondary coverage as far east as Raleigh, as far north as Martinsville and as far south as the Charlotte suburbs.

History

WMFR-FM

The station signed on the air in 1946. Its original call sign was WMFR-FM. It broadcast at 97.7 MHz as a sister station of WMFR 1230 AM (We Make Furniture Right) or as some called it, We Make Frank Rich in recognition of the owner, Frank S. Lambeth. Because 97.7 was a Class A, low power FM frequency, WMFR-FM moved in the 1960s to 99.5, coupled with an increase in power to 8,000 watts.[2]

The two stations simulcast their programming until the late 1960s. By that time, the Federal Communications Commission was encouraging FM stations in larger communities to offer separate programming from their co-owned AM counterparts. WMFR-FM switched to beautiful music.[3] It played automated quarter-hour sweeps of instrumental music. The playlist was mostly soft cover versions of popular adult songs, along with Broadway and Hollywood show tunes.

WMAG

In 1982, WMFR-FM was purchased by Voyager Communications. The facilities were upgraded and the station became WMAG "Magic 99.5" with an adult contemporary format.[4] During the 1980s and early 90s the station's competitors in the adult contemporary format were WWWB and WMQX.[4][5] In later years, "Magic 99.5" began describing its music as "soft rock" and dropped the "Magic" handle in favor of just the call sign.

Voyager Broadcasting sold WMAG in the early 1990s to what would become AMFM Broadcasting. In 1999, San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications acquired AMFM Broadcasting, including WMAG. Its original transmitter site, still used by 1230 WMFR, is visible atop The Radio Building on Main St. in downtown High Point.

Changes in staff

At the end of 2009, Bill Flynn ended a 26-year career as WMAG morning host when he moved to 94.5 WPTI.[6] After the local classic hits station WTHZ "Majic 94.1" switched to a contemporary Christian format, WMAG added more 1970s and 1980s music in effort to gain some of the former WTHZ listeners.

Another local radio personality, Rod Davis, lost his job as the co-host on WMAG's morning show, on Wednesday October 26, 2011. As a cost-cutting move, Clear Channel Communications announced that it had dismissed some on-air and off-air staff, within that same week, throughout the United States.[7]

On December 18, 2020, WMAG rebranded as "Mix 99.5".[8] In November and December, Mix 99.5 calls itself "The Triad's Christmas Station" playing all Christmas music through Christmas Day.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Radio-Locator.com/WMAG
  2. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1966 page B-111. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  3. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1970 page C-159. Retrieved Dec. 22, 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Raleigh-Durham FM Dial". Archived from the original on 2003-02-01. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  5. ↑ Leigh Pressley, "WMQX Changes Name, Attracts New Listeners," Greensboro News & Record, August 18, 1991.
  6. ↑ Rowe, Jeri (2010-01-07). "Radio host shifts to the right with a new station". News & Record. Retrieved 2010-01-21.
  7. ↑ "Rod Davis among local radio personalities laid off as part of corporate reorganization". News & Record. Retrieved 2011-12-05.
  8. ↑ WMAG Rebrands As Mix 99.5 Radioinsight - December 18, 2020
  9. ↑ "Are You Ready for Holiday Music?". 7 November 2019.
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