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WBT (1110
kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that on ...
) is a
commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...
AM
radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
serving the
Charlotte metropolitan area The Charlotte metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as Metrolina, is a metropolitan area of the U.S. states of North and South Carolina, within and surrounding the city of Charlotte. The metropolitan area also includes the cities of Gastonia, ...
, including parts of
North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...
and
South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...
. First licensed on March 18, 1922, it is one of America's first radio stations. The station airs a
news/talk Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...
simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...
on
WBT-FM WBT-FM (99.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Chester, South Carolina that primarily serves the western region of the Charlotte metropolitan area. The station is owned by Urban One. The station's programming primarily consists of si ...
(99.3) and the HD2
digital subchannel In broadcasting, digital subchannels are a method of transmitting more than one independent program stream simultaneously from the same digital radio or television station on the same radio frequency channel. This is done by using data compress ...
of co-owned
WLNK WLNK (107.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Charlotte, North Carolina. The station is owned by Urban One. WLNK broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. Studios are located at One Julian Price Place on West Morehead S ...
. WBT is owned by
Urban One Urban One, Inc. (formerly Radio One) is a Silver Spring, Maryland-based American media conglomerate. Founded in 1980 by Cathy Hughes, the company primarily operates media properties targeting African Americans. It is the largest African-American-o ...
.
Studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...
s and offices are located off West Morehead Street, just west of
Uptown Charlotte Uptown Charlotte, also called Center City, is the central business district of Charlotte, North Carolina. The area is split into four wards by the intersection of Trade and Tryon Streets, and bordered by Interstate 277 and Interstate 77. The a ...
, co-located with the city's
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...
television affiliate,
WBTV WBTV (channel 3) is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located off Morehead Street, just west of Uptown Charlotte, and its transmitter is ...
, currently owned by
Gray Television Gray Television, Inc. is an American publicly traded television broadcasting company based in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1946 by James Harrison Gray as Gray Communications Systems, the company owns or operates 180 stations across the United St ...
but at one time co-owned with WBT Radio. WBT broadcasts 50,000
watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...
s around the clock as the only Class A
clear-channel station A clear-channel station is an AM broadcasting, AM radio station in North America that has the highest protection from Interference (communication), interference from other stations, particularly concerning night-time skywave propagation. The syste ...
in the Carolinas. Its
transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which i ...
is in the southern part of the city off Nations Ford Road. During daylight hours it uses a single
non-directional antenna In radio communication, an omnidirectional antenna is a class of antenna which radiates equal radio power in all directions perpendicular to an axis (azimuthal directions), with power varying with angle to the axis (elevation angle), declining ...
and is audible in much of the central Carolinas. At night it uses a
directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performance ...
that limits its signal toward the west, in order to avoid interfering with
KFAB KFAB (1110 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Omaha, Nebraska, with studios and offices on Underwood Avenue in Omaha. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KFAB is a Class A clear channel station, operatin ...
in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
, the other Class A station on the frequency. Even with this restriction, it can be heard across much of the eastern half of North America with a good radio. For many years, WBT boasted that it could be heard "from Maine to Miami" at night.


Programming

On weekdays, WBT airs mostly locally produced
talk show A talk show (or chat show in British English) is a television programming or radio programming genre structured around the act of spontaneous conversation.Bernard M. Timberg, Robert J. Erler'' (2010Television Talk: A History of the TV Talk Show ...
s and offer
podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
s of these shows on its website. News, weather, and traffic reports are heard each half-hour. WBT begins each weekday with "The Bo Thompson Morning Show," a five-hour
drive time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this c ...
news and talk program. Vince Coakley, former
WSOC-TV WSOC-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with ABC and Telemundo. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside Kannapolis-licensed independent station WAXN-TV (channel 64). Both stations s ...
news anchor and North Carolina Congressional candidate, hosts late mornings. Brett Winterble is heard in the late afternoon and a one-hour newsmagazine called "Charlotte at Six" is anchored by Mark Garrison. Brett Jensen serves as the senior news reporter, who also covers the NFL's Carolina Panthers. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up of nationally syndicated
conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...
hosts including
Mark Levin Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and rad ...
,
Ben Shapiro Benjamin Aaron Shapiro (born January 15, 1984) is an American attorney, businessman, columnist, conservative political commentator, and media personality. At age 17, he became the youngest nationally syndicated columnist in the United States. ...
, Michael Knowles and ''
Coast to Coast AM ''Coast to Coast AM'' is an American late-night radio talk show that deals with a variety of topics. Most frequently the topics relate to either the paranormal or conspiracy theories. It was hosted by creator Art Bell from its inception in 19 ...
with
George Noory George Ralph Noory (born June 4, 1950) is an American radio talk show host. Since January 2003, Noory has been the weekday host of the late-night radio talk show ''Coast to Coast AM''. The program is syndicated to hundreds of radio stations in ...
''. Weekends feature shows on money, health, real estate, technology, the outdoors, cars and home repair, some of which are paid
brokered programming Brokered programming (also known as time-buy and blocktime) is a form of broadcast content in which the show's producer pays a radio or television station for air time, rather than exchanging programming for pay or the opportunity to play spot comm ...
. Syndicated shows include
Glenn Beck Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
,
Bill Cunningham Bill Cunningham may refer to: People *Bill Cunningham (rugby union) (1874–1927), New Zealand rugby union player *Bill Cunningham (footballer), Irish international footballer active in the 1890s *Bill Cunningham (infielder) (1886–1946), profes ...
,
Ric Edelman Fredric Mark "Ric" Edelman is an American investor and author. He is the founder of Edelman Financial Services (later, Edelman Financial Engines), the author of several personal finance books, and the host of a weekly personal finance talk radi ...
, "Our American Stories with
Lee Habeeb Lee Habeeb is an American talk radio executive, host, podcaster and essayist. He is the Vice President of Content for the Salem Media Group and is the founder of American Private Radio, and the creator, founder and host of "Our American Stories," ...
" and "The Tech Guy with
Leo Laporte Leo Laporte (; born November 29, 1956) is the host of ''The Tech Guy'' weekly radio show and a host on TWiT.tv, an Internet podcast network focusing on technology. He is also a former TechTV technology host (1998–2008) and a technology author. O ...
." Some hours begin with
ABC Radio News ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five minute newscasts on the hour and news briefs at half-pas ...
.


Sports

WBT was the
flagship station In broadcasting, a flagship (also known as a flagship station or key station) is the broadcast station which originates a television network, or a particular radio or television program that plays a key role in the branding of and consumer loyalt ...
of the
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
from the team's 1995 inception until 1999, when
WRFX WRFX (99.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Kannapolis, North Carolina and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it airs a classic rock radio format, and calls itself "99.7 The Fox." The radio studios and ...
became the flagship. WBT regained the rights to air Panthers games starting with the 2005 season until the agreement ended in 2021, when WRFX once again became the flagship of the Carolina Panthers radio network. WBT was the flagship of the
Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division, and pla ...
from the team's debut in 1988 until the team moved to
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster.
; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...
in 2002. From 1991 to 1995, WBT was the Charlotte-area home of the
Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Associatio ...
. It was also the Charlotte home of the
University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...
Tar Heels Tar Heel is a nickname applied to the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is also the nickname of the University of North Carolina athletic teams, students, alumni, and fans. The origins of the Tar Heel nickname trace back to North Carolina's promi ...
from 1977 to 1991 and again from 1995 to 2006. The Tar Heels returned to WBT in 2012.


History


Formation

As with many early radio stations, there is a limited amount of information about WBT's origins. Wesley Wallace's 1962 review of the history of North Carolina radio reported being frustrated "by the absence or inaccessibility" of information, noting that "Broadcasters have been too busy acting in the present tense to take much thought of the past; hence they have discarded much of the memorabilia of broadcasting's earlier days." WBT was first licensed as a broadcasting station on March 18, 1922. However, the station traces its history to earlier broadcasts made in a joint effort by Fred Laxton, associated with
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
, Earle J. Gluck, a
Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company The Westinghouse Electric Corporation was an American manufacturing company founded in 1886 by George Westinghouse. It was originally named "Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company" and was renamed "Westinghouse Electric Corporation" in ...
engineer and Frank Bunker, a Southern Bell Telephone Company employee. During World War I a ban was in place that suspended amateur radio transmissions. In late 1919 the ban was lifted, and all three became licensed radio amateurs. Most amateurs at this time used spark transmitters that could only transmit the dots-and-dashes of
Morse code Morse code is a method used in telecommunication to encode text characters as standardized sequences of two different signal durations, called ''dots'' and ''dashes'', or ''dits'' and ''dahs''. Morse code is named after Samuel Morse, one of ...
, however, Laxton managed to acquire a scarce vacuum tube from General Electric, which made audio transmissions possible. The three decided to set up a transmitter in an abandoned chicken coop located behind Laxton's home at 2462 Mecklenburg Avenue, with a microphone line running to the home's living room.Wallace (1962) page 60. Laxton's daughter later remembered being drafted as a child to repeatedly count into the microphone for the early test transmissions. These initial transmissions eventually were expanded into the playing of phonograph records, which resulted in enough interest from local amateurs, as well as technically advanced members of the general public, that a regular schedule of broadcasts was established. In late 1920 the station was issued an Experimental radio station license to Fred Laxton, located at his home address, with the call sign 4XD. The growing interest in radio led to the December 1921 founding of the Southern Radio Corporation, located in the Realty Building, in order to sell radio parts and equipment. The initial officers were Fred Laxton, president, J. B. Marshall, vice president, and Frank Bunker, commercial engineer in charge. It was also announced at this time that the company planned to installed a transmitter and rooftop antenna at the Realty building, to be used for "sending out concerts, big speeches and other entertainment to those who own home outfits within a radius of 200 miles from Charlotte".


Early years

Initially there were no specific standards in the United States for radio stations making transmissions intended for the general public, and numerous stations under various classifications made entertainment broadcasts. However, effective December 1, 1921, the Department of Commerce, the regulators of radio at this time, adopted a regulation that formally created a broadcasting station category, and stations were now required to hold a Limited Commercial license authorizing operation on wavelengths of 360 meters for "entertainment" broadcasts or 485 meters for "market and weather reports" (833 and 619 kHz). The Southern Radio Corporation was issued a "provisional" broadcasting station license, with the randomly assigned call letters WBT, on March 18, 1922, which authorized broadcasts on the 360 meter entertainment wavelength. WBT made its first broadcast four days later on March 22. The next day's ''Charlotte Observer'' reported that: "Erected by the Southern Radio corporation of this city and attached to the Realty building, this station, officially designated as WBT, operating on a 360 meter wavelength, this station will arrange musical concerts, addresses on various subjects and will give nightly programs for the benefit of approximately 20,000 receiving stations within a hearing radius. The first program was given last night and several stations in this section are known to have picked up the Victrola music broadcasted." This article further described the "wireless telephone broadcasting station" as "the first station that has been erected and put in active operating condition in the Carolinas. A station has been erected at State college in West Raleigh, but it did not work properly and it will probably be a few weeks before it will be in a position to do any broadcasting." On April 11, following a successful inspection by the Fourth Radio District inspector, Walter Van Nostrand Jr on April 4, 1922, the license's "provisional" qualifier was removed. In October 1925, Fred Laxton sold the Southern Radio Corporation to the Carolina States Electric Company for approximately $50,000, while retaining control of WBT. However, the next month the station was sold to Charlotte
Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...
automobile dealer C. C. Coddington, who would promote both the radio station and his auto dealership with the slogan "Watch Buicks Travel". The station was moved to the top of the Coddington building, although Coddington later moved the transmitter site to farm property he owned on Nations Ford Road in south Charlotte, where it remains today. On November 11, 1928, under the provisions of the
Federal Radio Commission The Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was a government agency that regulated United States radio communication from its creation in 1927 until 1934, when it was succeeded by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FRC was established by t ...
's
General Order 40 The Federal Radio Commission's (FRC) General Order 40, dated August 30, 1928, described the standards for a sweeping reorganization of radio broadcasting in the United States. This order grouped the AM radio band transmitting frequencies into thre ...
, WBT was assigned to a "clear channel" frequency of 1080 kHz, which gave it exclusive national nighttime use of that frequency. In 1929 C.C. Coddington sold WBT to the two-year-old
CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...
Network. In subsequent years a series of power increases raised the station's from 5,000 watts to the maximum permitted, 50,000 watts. The 50,000 watt transmitter was dedicated on August 12, 1932.


CBS Radio and Amos & Andy

In 1925,
Freeman Gosden Freeman Fisher "Gozzie" Gosden (May 5, 1899 – December 10, 1982) was an American radio comedian, actor and pioneer in the development of the situation comedy form. He is best known for his work in the radio series ''Amos 'n' Andy''. Life and ...
and Charlie Correll started a comedy show carried by WBT that was a forerunner to ''
Amos and Andy ''Amos 'n' Andy'' is an American radio sitcom about black characters, initially set in Chicago and later in the Harlem section of New York City. While the show had a brief life on 1950s television with black actors, the 1928 to 1960 radio show ...
''.
Russ Hodges Russell Pleasant Hodges (June 18, 1910 – April 19, 1971) was an American sportscaster who did play-by-play for several baseball teams, most notably the New York Giants / San Francisco Giants. He is perhaps best remembered for his call of Bobby ...
, later famous as the radio voice of the New York/San Francisco Giants, was sports editor of WBT for a time in the late 1930s, leaving in 1941 for Washington, D.C. During the
Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment, entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcastin ...
, WBT carried the CBS schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports,
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
s,
game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
s and
big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s an ...
broadcasts to listeners in the Carolinas and at night, around the
Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...
. One musical program was " Arthur Smith and the Crackerjacks". Smith, best known for writing the song that became the ''
Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapted ...
'' theme "
Dueling Banjos "Dueling Banjos" is a bluegrass composition by Arthur "Guitar Boogie" Smith. The song was composed in 1954 by Smith as a banjo instrumental he called "Feudin' Banjos," which contained riffs from Smith, recorded in 1955 playing a four-string plec ...
", went to work at WBT at age 20 at the invitation of station manager Charles Crutchfield. He played guitar and fiddle for musical programs on WBT before getting his own show. Crutchfield believed that Charlotte, not
Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, could have ended up being the
country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
capital because of the station's early "Briarhoppers" and "Carolina Hayride" shows, which may have inspired ''
The Grand Ole Opry The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a weekly American country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM. Currently owned and operated by Opry Entertainment (a divis ...
''. In March 1941, as part of the implementation of the
North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA, es, Convenio Regional Norteamericano de Radiodifusión) refers to a series of international treaties that defined technical standards for AM band (mediumwave) radio stations. These agreem ...
, WBT was shifted to 1110 kHz, where it has been ever since. During the previous November 11, 1928 frequency reassignments, two midwestern stations, WBBM in Chicago and
KFAB KFAB (1110 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Omaha, Nebraska, with studios and offices on Underwood Avenue in Omaha. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KFAB is a Class A clear channel station, operatin ...
in Omaha, Nebraska, had been placed on 780 kHz, which meant they had to synchronize their programming during nighttime hours. In order to eliminate this restriction, in 1944 a reassignment plan was announced that moved KFAB to 1110 kHz, which in turn required WBT to start operating with a directional antenna at night, to limit its signal toward KFAB. In order to mitigate the nighttime coverage loss, in July 1947 a 1,000 watt "booster" transmitter, located five miles northeast of
Shelby, North Carolina Shelby is a city in and the county seat of Cleveland County, North Carolina, United States. It lies near the western edge of the Charlotte combined statistical area. The population was 20,323 at the 2010 census. History The area was originally i ...
, was authorized "for benefit of nighttime listeners west of Charlotte". (Use of the booster transmitter ended sometime in the early 1960s.) New
FCC The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
regulations forced CBS to sell WBT when the network reached the maximum number of stations it could own. In 1945, it was acquired by the Jefferson Standard Life Insurance Company, forerunner of Jefferson-Pilot, and became its flagship station. After the sale, it remained a CBS affiliate. In 1947, an FM sister station at 99.9 MHz was put on the air. But that WBT-FM was discontinued in the mid-1950s and is not same as today's WBT-FM 99.3, which first went on the air in 1969 as WCMJ, owned by the York-Clover Broadcasting Company. In 1949, Jefferson Standard signed on Charlotte's first television station,
WBTV WBTV (channel 3) is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located off Morehead Street, just west of Uptown Charlotte, and its transmitter is ...
. It has been with the CBS Television Network since its signon, mirroring its radio sister.Kay McFadden, "WBT's Been on the Air for 75 Years", ''The Charlotte Observer'', April 10, 1997.


Early hosts

Grady Cole was WBT morning host for 32 years, replaced in 1961 by Ty Boyd, who hosted the morning show until 1973, playing such artists as
Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...
,
Peggy Lee Norma Deloris Egstrom (May 26, 1920 – January 21, 2002), known professionally as Peggy Lee, was an American jazz and popular music singer, songwriter, composer, and actress, over a career spanning seven decades. From her beginning as a vocalis ...
and
Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...
. Then he moved to WBTV to host television shows. He returned to WBT in 2008 to co-host the morning show while its regular hosts took time off.


Changes in the 1970s

WBT was the number one station in Charlotte for many years. Among its employees were
Charles Kuralt Charles Bishop Kuralt (September 10, 1934 – July 4, 1997) was an American television, newspaper and radio journalist and author. He is most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on '' The CBS Evenin ...
and
Nelson Benton CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio service CBS. CBS News television programs include the ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morning'', ''60 Minutes'', and '' 48 Ho ...
. But by 1970, WBT was down to number nine in the ratings, and national advertisers wanted ratings to improve. Jefferson Standard did not like the idea of change, but the company brought in researchers to show what programming Charlotte wanted. WBT let go 28 staffers and spent $200,000 on changes that included new studios. It also canceled many programs that advertisers supported but which did not attract enough listeners. On March 15, 1971, WBT switched to
adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
music during the day. Rob Hunter and H. A. Thompson were new DJs.
Bob Lacey Robert Joseph "Bob" Lacey, Jr. (born August 25, 1953) is former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, California Angels, and ...
started at WBT in 1972 with a nighttime talk show "Lacey Listens". Two years later, WBT had reached number one again, reaching the highest
Arbitron Nielsen Audio (formerly Arbitron) is a consumer research company in the United States that collects listener data on radio broadcasting audiences. It was founded as the American Research Bureau by Jim Seiler in 1949 and became national by mergin ...
numbers on record to this day. Around the same time, the station dropped its longtime affiliation with the
CBS Radio Network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...
and joined ABC Radio. WBT won ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' adult contemporary station of the year in 1976 and 1978. In 1978, Marty Lambert became Jeff Pilot, the traffic reporter for WBT and
WBCY WBCY (89.5 FM) is a radio station licensed to Archbold, Ohio. The station rebroadcasts WBCL, the Christian adult contemporary music station owned and operated by Taylor University in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The station's transmitter is located near t ...
. Lambert became assistant program director and music director in 1982. Larry James left his midnight to 6 A.M. shift at WBT for WYDE in
Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...
in November 1978 after winning the
Country Music Association The Country Music Association (CMA) was founded in 1958 in Nashville, Tennessee. It originally consisted of 233 members and was the first trade organization formed to promote a music genre. The objectives of the organization are to guide and enha ...
Disc Jockey of the Year for medium markets. Then he returned to WBT for the same shift in January 1979.


Talk shows at night

In September 1979, Henry Boggan, who had been a midday host and program director at WBIG in
Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; formerly Greensborough) is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina after Charlotte and Raleigh, the 69th-most populous city in the Un ...
, began hosting a talk show. it was similar to "Lacey Listens", with "nice-guy" talk, not controversial issues. Like Lacey's, which received calls from far away, his show would reach a large number of listeners. The show ran from 9 P.M. to 1 A.M., meaning Don Russell's show would start two hours earlier at 5 and run for four hours instead of five, and James' overnight show would start an hour later. WBT dropped its ABC affiliation in favor of
NBC Radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (known as the NBC Red Network prior to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in operation from 1926 through 2004. Along with the NBC Blue Network it was one of the first t ...
in 1987. Talk programming continued to increase on WBT through the 1980s, mostly at night.
Larry King Larry King (born Lawrence Harvey Zeiger; November 19, 1933 – January 23, 2021) was an American television and radio host, whose awards included 2 Peabodys The George Foster Peabody Awards (or simply Peabody Awards or the Peabodys) program ...
, on the
Mutual Broadcasting System The Mutual Broadcasting System (commonly referred to simply as Mutual; sometimes referred to as MBS, Mutual Radio or the Mutual Radio Network) was an American commercial radio network in operation from 1934 to 1999. In the Old-time radio, golden ...
, moved from WSOC and stayed on WBT until 1987, when WBT decided its new NBC affiliation needed to take priority over other networks. Bruce Williams' syndicated financial advice show, part of the ''NBC Talknet'' block, replaced King. WBT expanded "Hello Henry" and its "Sports Huddle" program. For their entire 14 years in Charlotte, starting with the inaugural 1988–89 season, WBT aired the games of the original
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
Hornets Hornets (insects in the genus ''Vespa'') are the largest of the eusocial wasps, and are similar in appearance to their close relatives yellowjackets. Some species can reach up to in length. They are distinguished from other vespine wasps by th ...
franchise.


Seeking more women listeners

WBT made changes to its format on December 10, 1990, hoping to attract more women. The station dropped James K. Flynn, Thompson and Tom Desio, generating numerous protests. Don Russell had hosted "Russell & Flynn" in the morning; the show was renamed "Russell & Friends".
John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...
became midday host, and WBTV personalities Mike and Barbara McKay began an afternoon program. Boggan, whose show had run in the afternoon, returned to his evening slot, replacing Desio, but was sometimes pre-empted by sports programs. WBT also switched its network affiliation from NBC back to CBS on December 21


Adding Rush Limbaugh

On September 3, 1991, WBT dropped the McKays and became the 400th station to air ''
The Rush Limbaugh Show ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' is an American conservative talk radio show hosted by Rush Limbaugh. Since its nationally syndicated premiere in 1988, ''The Rush Limbaugh Show'' became the highest-rated talk radio show in the United States. At its ...
'', which had already been heard in the Charlotte area on WADA in Shelby,
WSIC WSIC (1400 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Statesville, North Carolina. The station carries a talk radio format and is owned by Iredell Broadcasting, Inc. Mark Sanger is the President and CEO. WSIC-TV is broadcast over-the-web via th ...
in Statesville and WHKY in
Hickory Hickory is a common name for trees composing the genus ''Carya'', which includes around 18 species. Five or six species are native to China, Indochina, and India (Assam), as many as twelve are native to the United States, four are found in Mexi ...
. In 1995, Jefferson-Pilot bought WBZK-FM 99.3 in Chester, South Carolina to provide a simulcast signal that better served the western part of the market at night. At this time the FM station's call letters were changed to
WBT-FM WBT-FM (99.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Chester, South Carolina that primarily serves the western region of the Charlotte metropolitan area. The station is owned by Urban One. The station's programming primarily consists of si ...
.Tim Funk and Blair Skinner, "Family Sells Off WBZK FM", ''The Charlotte Observer'', February 2, 1995. That same year the station began airing games of the
NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...
inaugural season until 1999, returning as the team's flagship station in 2005.
Lincoln Financial Group Lincoln National Corporation is a ''Fortune'' 200 American holding company, which operates multiple insurance and investment management businesses through subsidiary companies. Lincoln Financial Group is the marketing name for LNC and its subsi ...
bought Jefferson-Pilot in 2006. The merged company retained Jefferson-Pilot's broadcasting division, renaming it
Lincoln Financial Media Lincoln Financial Media was a subsidiary of Lincoln National Corporation that owned radio stations in the United States. The division was formed in 2006 following the company's acquisition of Jefferson-Pilot's television and radio operations, whi ...
. In January 2008, Lincoln Financial sold WBT-AM-FM and
WLNK WLNK (107.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Charlotte, North Carolina. The station is owned by Urban One. WLNK broadcasts a hot adult contemporary radio format. Studios are located at One Julian Price Place on West Morehead S ...
to
Greater Media Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, was an American media company that specialized in radio stations. The markets where they owned radio stations included Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey. The compa ...
of
Braintree, Massachusetts Braintree (), officially the Town of Braintree, is a municipality in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Although officially known as a towBraintree is a city, with a mayor-council government, mayor-council form of government, and i ...
. Lincoln-Financial then sold its three television stations, including WBTV, to
Raycom Media Raycom Media, Inc. was an American television broadcasting company based in Montgomery, Alabama. Raycom owned and/or provided services for 65 television stations and two radio stations across 44 markets in 20 states. Raycom, through its Commun ...
—thus breaking up Charlotte's last heritage radio/television cluster. Greater Media had long wanted to expand into the fast-growing Charlotte market; its owner had wanted to buy WBT after hearing its signal at night on
Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
.


North Carolina Tar Heels

Also in 2006, WBT lost the
North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...
to
all sports All Sports is the first greatest hits album by Australian rock and pop band The Sports, released in December 1982. The album peaked at number 35 on the Australian Kent Music Report. Reception Steve Schnee from AllMusic AllMusic (previou ...
WFNZ. Sales director Steve Sklenar said the games pre-empted
John Hancock John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot of the American Revolution. He served as president of the Second Continental Congress and was the first and third Governor of the ...
's show and, during the ACC Tournament, Rush Limbaugh. WBT wanted the games, Sklenar said, but the pre-emptions cost the station advertising revenue. The Tar Heels had aired on WBT from 1977 to 1991, and returned to the station in 1995. According to Cullie Tarleton, who ran the station at that time, putting the Tar Heels on WBT was largely the idea of longtime coach
Dean Smith Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Called a "coaching legend" by the Basketball Hall of Fame, he coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hi ...
, who wanted to tell recruits from the New York City area that their parents would be able to listen to the games. On May 5, 2012, WBT signed back on with the Tar Heel Sports Network to be Charlotte's main carrier of the Tar Heels. After
WRFX WRFX (99.7 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Kannapolis, North Carolina and serving the Charlotte metropolitan area. Owned by iHeartMedia, it airs a classic rock radio format, and calls itself "99.7 The Fox." The radio studios and ...
carried night basketball games for several years, WNOW-FM took over up until this year. With this switch back, games can now be heard all up and down the Eastern Seaboard at night, as WBT's clear channel signal can be heard from "Maine to Miami".


Programming changes

On June 8, 2012, WBT announced that ''The Brad and Britt Show'', hosted by Brad Krantz and Britt Whitmire of WPTK in
Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
, would be taking over the afternoon slot from Vince Coakley effective July 2. Krantz and
libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
Richard Spires had a show on WBT prior to 2003. In June 2013, the show moved to 6pm-9pm; Hancock would take over the 3pm-6pm afternoon drive slot, where he remained until semi-retiring in October 2019, after nearly 30 years at WBT. On November 15, 2013, both WBT and
WBTV WBTV (channel 3) is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Gray Television. The station's studios are located off Morehead Street, just west of Uptown Charlotte, and its transmitter is ...
were dedicated with a North Carolina historic marker at the corner of
Tryon Street Tryon may refer to: * Tryon (surname) Places * Tryon Creek, tributary of the Willamette River in Oregon * Tryon Street, major north-south street of Charlotte, North Carolina * Tryon, Prince Edward Island, Canada, unincorporated area * Settled ...
and Third Street. The Wilder Building, which was demolished in 1983, hosted the WBT's studios from 1924–1955. The sign reads "WBT/WBTV – Oldest broadcast stations in North Carolina established 1922. WBT radio long hosted live country music. WBTV sign-on, July 15, 1949. Studios here until 1955." On March 3, 2014, WBT again dropped CBS News and returned to ABC News. In making the move, the station cited the stronger resources ABC's reporters provides to WBT's local programming compared to CBS and
Fox News Radio Fox News Radio is an American radio network owned by Fox News. It is syndicated to over 500 AM and FM radio stations across the United States. It also supplies programming for three channels on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. History In 2003, ...
.


Sale to Entercom

On July 19, 2016, Greater Media announced that it would merge with
Beasley Media Group Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., based in Naples, Florida, is an owner/operator of radio stations in the United States. , the company owned 63 stations under the Beasley Media Group name. History The company was founded in 1961 by George G. Beasl ...
. Because Beasley already had the maximum number of stations in the Charlotte market with 5 FMs and 2 AMs, WBT-AM-FM and WLNK were spun off to a divestiture trust, eventually going to a permanent buyer. On October 18, 2016,
Entercom Audacy, Inc. is an American broadcasting company based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1968 as Entercom Communications Corporation, it is the second largest radio company in the United States, owning 235 radio stations across 48 media ...
announced that it would purchase WBT-AM-FM and WLNK, plus WFNZ. Upon the completion of the Greater/Beasley merger on November 1, Entercom began operating the stations via a time brokerage agreement, which lasted until the sale was consummated on January 6, 2017.


Sale to Urban One

On November 5, 2020,
Urban One Urban One, Inc. (formerly Radio One) is a Silver Spring, Maryland-based American media conglomerate. Founded in 1980 by Cathy Hughes, the company primarily operates media properties targeting African Americans. It is the largest African-American-o ...
agreed to a station swap with Entercom in which they would swap ownership of four stations in Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. to Entercom in exchange for their cluster of
Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...
stations, including WBT and WBT-FM. As part of the terms of the deal, Urban One took over operations via a
local marketing agreement In North American broadcasting, a local marketing agreement (LMA), or local management agreement, is a contract in which one company agrees to operate a radio or television station owned by another party. In essence, it is a sort of lease or tim ...
on November 23. The swap was consummated on April 20, 2021.


Broadcasting facilities

WBT's diamond-shaped
antennas In radio engineering, an antenna or aerial is the interface between radio waves propagating through space and electric currents moving in metal conductors, used with a transmitter or receiver. In transmission, a radio transmitter supplies a ...
account for three of only eight operational
Blaw-Knox tower The Blaw-Knox company was an American manufacturer of steel structures and construction equipment based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company is today best known for its radio towers, most of which were constructed during the 1930s in the ...
s in the United States. In the morning hours of September 22, 1989, the high winds from
Hurricane Hugo Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million peop ...
severely damaged two of WBT's towers and nearly killed then-Chief Engineer, Bob White. The FCC approved WBT to operate at 25,000 watts with a non-directional pattern for the next year while the two damaged towers were rebuilt. Image:WBT-AM_tower_after_hugo.JPG, 1989: WBT's transmitter towers just after Hurricane Hugo Image:WBT-Towers.jpg, 2007: WBT's transmitter just south of Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina A single tower radiates the transmitter's full power during the day. At night, power is fed to all three towers in a directional pattern to protect
KFAB KFAB (1110 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Omaha, Nebraska, with studios and offices on Underwood Avenue in Omaha. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. KFAB is a Class A clear channel station, operatin ...
in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
, which also operates on 1110 AM and employs a similar directional pattern that protects WBT to the east. Despite its clear-channel status, WBT was long plagued by marginal nighttime coverage in some parts of the Charlotte area, especially the western portion, due to the need to adjust its signal at sundown to protect KFAB. To solve this problem, WBT operated a synchronous booster signal in Shelby from 1947 to the early 1960s. In 1995, then-owner Jefferson-Pilot bought WBZK in Chester, South Carolina, located 40 miles southwest of Charlotte, to provide a better signal to the western part of the market at night. WBZK's calls became
WBT-FM WBT-FM (99.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Chester, South Carolina that primarily serves the western region of the Charlotte metropolitan area. The station is owned by Urban One. The station's programming primarily consists of si ...
. In 2012, sister station WLNK added a simulcast of WBT on its HD2 digital subcarrier.


Past hosts

Past hosts include "Hello Henry" Boggan, Ty Boyd, Grady Cole, John Hancock, Mike Collins, "Rockin'" Ray Gooding,
Bob Lacey Robert Joseph "Bob" Lacey, Jr. (born August 25, 1953) is former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or part of seven seasons in Major League Baseball for the Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, California Angels, and ...
, Jason Lewis and H.A. Thompson. Don Russell is the station's longest-tenured personality, having worked at the station on six separate occasions since the 1970s. From 2009 until March 31, 2011, Pete Kaliner hosted a local program in the 9-midnight slot, but was fired in a cost-cutting move by
Greater Media Greater Media, Inc., known as Greater Media, was an American media company that specialized in radio stations. The markets where they owned radio stations included Boston, Detroit, Philadelphia, Charlotte, and the state of New Jersey. The compa ...
.
Neal Boortz Neal A Boortz Jr. (born April 6, 1945) is an American author, former attorney, and former conservative radio host. His nationally syndicated talk show, ''The Neal Boortz Show'', which ended in 2013, was carried throughout the United States. The ...
's syndicated show was heard on tape delay from 9pm-1am; however, this was a temporary move as nationally syndicated host and former WBT personality Jason Lewis began to be heard on the station from 9-midnight (on a three-hour delay from his live broadcast) beginning in May 2011. Nearly two months after Kaliner's departure, Tara Servatius' contract was not renewed; Doug Kellett and Wayne Powers filled the 3-6pm slot on an interim basis while the station searched for a replacement. On June 22, 2011, former
WSOC-TV WSOC-TV (channel 9) is a television station in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, affiliated with ABC and Telemundo. It is owned by Cox Media Group alongside Kannapolis-licensed independent station WAXN-TV (channel 64). Both stations s ...
lead anchor Vince Coakley, who had done fill-in work at WBT before, was named Servatius' replacement in the 3-6pm timeslot. Coakley left after a little over a year and was replaced on July 2, 2012 by Brad Krantz (a former WBT host) and Britt Whitmire, formerly of
WZTK WZTK (105.7 FM) is an American radio station stunting with a Christmas music format. The station is licensed to the city of Alpena, Michigan. The station is currently owned by Midwestern Broadcasting Company. History WZTK was issued its broad ...
. Krantz and Whitmire, in turn, were fired by the station on June 11, 2014, and were replaced by John Hancock, who moved up from evenings (6-9pm) and a 6pm local news hour hosted by Mark Garrison and a local show with former WFNZ host Brett Jensen from 7pm-10pm. Coakley, who became the Republican candidate for North Carolina's 12th District U.S. House seat in 2012, returned to the station in 2017. In December 2012, morning co-host Stacey Simms left Charlotte's Morning News to spend more time with her family. On January 14, 2013, Charlotte native Doc Washburn, most recently a morning host at
WFLF-FM WFLF-FM (94.5 FM) is a radio station broadcasting in Panama City, Florida, owned and operated by iHeartMedia. History WFLF-FM first signed on at 93.5 MHz in 1977 as WGCV, a station licensed to Port St Joe, Florida. In 1982, Don Crisp boug ...
in Panama City Beach, Florida, debuted in the 9pm-1am slot, bringing local talk to the timeslot for the first time in nearly two years, replacing Lewis and the retired Boortz. The show would be replaced by the nationally syndicated
America Now with Andy Dean ''The Jesse Kelly Show'' (formerly known as ''America Now'' and ''The Buck Sexton Show'') is a three-hour early evening conservative talk radio, talk radio show hosted by Jesse Kelly, and carried by Premiere Networks, a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, ...
in May 2013; Washburn remained with the station as a fill-in host. Following Entercom's takeover of WBT via LMA on October 31, 2016, Keith Larson, the station's longtime 9am-noon host, was fired. The station ran a rotation of fill-in hosts while searching for his replacement before hiring former
WPTF WPTF (680 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a news/talk radio format. Licensed to Raleigh, the station serves the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. It is owned by the Curtis Media Group, with studios located on Highwood ...
Raleigh Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
morning host Scott Fitzgerald for the slot."Media Movers"
by Mark Washburn, ''Charolotte Observer'', January 25, 2017.
Scott was released in November 2017.


References


External links

*
FCC History Cards for WBT
(covering 1927-1981)
"BT Memories"
by Reno Bailey (btmemories.com) {{Authority control BT Urban One stations News and talk radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1922 Clear-channel radio stations 1922 establishments in North Carolina Radio stations licensed before 1923 and still broadcasting