| Broadcast area | Greater Birmingham |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 610 kHz |
| Branding | WAGG 610 AM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Urban gospel |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WBHJ, WBHK, WBPT, WENN, WPYA, WZZK-FM | |
| History | |
First air date | 1926 |
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 1310 kHz (1926-1941) |
Call sign meaning | Alabama's Gospel Giant or A.G. Gaston (former owner) |
| Technical information[2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 48717 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 33°29′39″N 86°52′21″W / 33.49417°N 86.87250°W |
| Repeater(s) | 95.7-3 WBHJ-HD2 (Midfield) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 610wagg.com |
WAGG (610 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Birmingham, Alabama. It is owned by SummitMedia and broadcasts an urban gospel radio format that targets Birmingham's African-American community. [3] The studios and offices are in the Cahaba neighborhood in Southeast Birmingham, along with six other stations owned by SummitMedia.
The station was assigned the WAGG call sign by the Federal Communications Commission on January 15, 1999.[1] It broadcasts at 5,000 watts by day, reducing power to 610 watts at night to avoid interfering with other stations on AM 610.[4] It uses a non-directional antenna at all times. The transmitter is off Avenue W, near Birmingham International Raceway.[5]
Some generations ago, the 610 AM frequency was home to Birmingham's third oldest radio station. That station began in 1926 as WKBC, broadcasting at 1310 AM. The original owner of the station was a local furniture company. In 1932, the station was sold to The Birmingham News, and the call sign was changed to WSGN.
Throughout the 1940s, WSGN was an affiliate of the NBC Blue Network, the forerunner of the current ABC Network. Late in 1955, WSGN became the first station in Birmingham to adopt a Top 40 format.
As listeners switched to FM radio for current and recent hits, WSGN made a change. In February 1984, the station became known as "Real Music 610", playing adult standards and big band music. This continued until April 26, 1985, when the owners sold the station and it became the AM simulcast partner of country music station WZZK-FM (104.7). After 53 years, the call letters of WSGN were changed to WZZK. This simulcast continued until 1998, when 610 AM returned to big band and adult standards with the new call sign WEZN.
WAGG has been an urban gospel station since 1982. Before then, the call letters were WENN.
In 1998, Cox Radio, who already owned WZZK-FM, WODL-FM (now WBPT) and WEZN, bought WAGG, WBHJ and WBHK. One year later, WEZN and WAGG swapped dial positions in order for WAGG to take advantage of the superior signal on 610 AM.
On July 20, 2012, Cox Radio, Inc. announced the sale of WAGG and 22 other stations to Summit Media LLC for $66.25 million. The sale was consummated on May 3, 2013.[6][7]
On October 3, 2014, WAGG began simulcasting on FM translator W271BN (102.1 FM), after sister station WENN (1320 AM) temporarily went silent.[8]
On March 14, 2016, WAGG switched FM translators from W271BN (which switched to a simulcast of soft adult contemporary-formatted WENN) to W261BX (100.1 FM).[9]