KWDZ (910 AM) was a

broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...

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 ...

licensed to

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, serving the

Salt Lake City metropolitan area The Salt Lake City metropolitan area is the metropolitan area centered on the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau currently define the Salt Lake City, Utah Metropolitan Statistical ...

. The station was owned and operated by

iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

. The KWDZ

broadcast license A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary ...

was held by Citicasters Licenses, Inc.

History

The station was founded in 1945 and originally held the callsign KALL. It was originally owned by Mr. and Mrs.

George C. Hatch George C. Hatch (December 16, 1919, in Erie, Pennsylvania – August 30, 2009, in Salt Lake City, Utah) was an American businessman who owned several communications businesses and helped pioneer cable television. He was a founder of Western Mi ...

and Mr. and Mrs. Robert H. Hinkley. In 1946,

John F. Fitzpatrick John Francis Fitzpatrick (January 18, 1887 - September 11, 1960) was the publisher of ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' from 1924 to 1960. He created the Newspaper Agency Corporation (NAC) in 1952. Early life Fitzpatrick was born January 18, 1887, in P ...

, publisher of ''

The Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'' (owned by the Kearns Corporation), representing the Tribune, purchased fifty percent interest in the station from the owners. The Tribune's interest (Kearns-Tribune, Corp.) sold its interest in 1954 to permit its owner (Kearns-Tribune, Corp.) to apply for a license to buy a television license and to purchase a fifty percent ownership in

KUTV KUTV (channel 2) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside independent station KJZZ-TV (channel 14) and St. George–licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate K ...

Channel 2. KALL had long aired a

full service Full service or Full Service may refer to: * Full-service radio, a wide range of programming * Full Service Network, a communications company Entertainment * "Full Service", a song by the New Kids on the Block from their album ''The Block'' * F ...

format. In the early 1990s, the station began airing 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 ...

format, carrying programming such as ''

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 ...

'' and '' The G. Gordon Liddy Show''. The station's ownership changed several times during the 1990s;Sale splits KALL radio between 2 new owners - Deseret News
/ref> in 1992, Communications Investment Corp. sold the station to Apollo Radio Partners, owner of KKAT, ending George C. Hatch's ownership of KALL. Apollo Radio sold its stations to

Regent Communications Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

in 1995; Regent, in turn, sold its stations to

Jacor Jacor Communications was a media corporation, existing between 1987 and 1999, which owned many radio stations in the United States. In 1998, Jacor was purchased by Clear Channel Communications, now iHeartMedia, for $2.8 billion. Jacor Communicat ...

in 1997. Jacor merged with

Clear Channel Communications iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

in 1999. On March 6, 2000, the station's format was adjusted when its sister station KNRS adopted a talk radio format, and the station adopted the slogan "talk radio with an attitude", carrying hosts such as

Jim Bohannon James Everett Bohannon (January 7, 1944 – November 12, 2022) was an American broadcaster who worked in both television and radio. He is best known for hosting the nationally syndicated late night radio talk show ''The Jim Bohannon Show'' orig ...

and

Phil Hendrie Philip Stephen Hendrie (born September 1, 1952) is an American radio personality and actor. He is widely known for his voiceover talent throughout the radio and film industry. He came to prominence in the 1990s hosting ''The Phil Hendrie Show'', a ...

. Clear Channel sold KALL to Mercury Broadcasting Company after its 2001 acquisition of

KTVX KTVX (channel 4) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Ogden-licensed CW owned-and-operated station KUCW (channel 30). Both stations share studios o ...

brought them over ownership limits; it continued to sell advertising on the station under a

joint sales 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 time ...

. In 2003, Disney/ABC purchased the station for $3,700,000, while the intellectual property and callsign was purchased by Clear Channel Communications for $2,000,000.Lynn Arave,
Radio dial: A Utah radio first: separate deals on content, frequency
, ''

Deseret News The ''Deseret News'' () is the oldest continuously operating publication in the American west. Its multi-platform products feature journalism and commentary across the fields of politics, culture, family life, faith, sports, and entertainment. Th ...

'', February 28, 2003. Accessed August 20, 2015 Disney/ABC bought the station to clear its

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within the Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

network, which was about to be dropped by previous affiliate

KBEE KBEE (98.7 FM), branded as B98.7, is a commercial radio station in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is one of the oldest FM stations in the Western United States, tracing its history to 1947. The station is owned by Cumulus Media, and it airs an adult c ...

. Clear Channel moved KALL's talk programming and the

KALL KALL (700 AM) is a sports radio station in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area licensed to North Salt Lake, Utah, though in station identifications and the FCC database, the station is listed as being licensed to "North Salt Lake City". The ...

callsign to 700 kHz, and on April 30, 2003, the station changed its call sign to KWDZ. In June 2013, Disney put KWDZ and six other Radio Disney stations in medium markets up for sale, in order to refocus the network's broadcast distribution on top-25 markets. On August 17, 2013, KWDZ dropped the

affiliation and went silent. After almost one year, KWDZ resumed operations on August 14, 2014. Initially broadcasting locally originated automated programming upon its return to the air, Radio Disney programming returned sometime around late September 2014. By that time, Disney had announced plans to sell all but one of Radio Disney's remaining 23 owned-and-operated stations. Originally planning to sign-off the stations on September 26, 2014, Disney later decided to keep the stations on the air until they were sold. On May 29, 2015,

Radio Disney Group Radio Disney Group, LLC was a limited liability company that owned most of the Radio Disney radio stations operating in each U.S. state. Radio Disney Group was owned by the Disney–ABC Television Group and the headquarters were located in New Yor ...

filed an application to sell KWDZ to the Citicasters Licenses, Inc. subsidiary of

(the former Clear Channel Communications). iHeart bought KWDZ (and WRDZ-FM) for $1.95 million. The sale was approved by the FCC on July 14, 2015. The sale was completed on July 17, 2015 and the station went silent again. Following temporary operations in May 2016 and April 2017, iHeartMedia surrendered the KWDZ license on April 25, 2018; the

Federal Communications Commission 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 ...

cancelled it on June 26, 2018.

References

External links

FCC Station Search Details: DKWDZ
(Facility ID: 2445)
FCC History Cards for KWDZ
(covering 1944-1980 as KALL) {{IHeartMedia Mass media in Salt Lake City IHeartMedia radio stations

WDZ WDZ (1050 AM) is a commercial radio station, licensed to Decatur, Illinois. It broadcasts a sports radio format and calls itself "Fox Sports 1050." It is owned by the Neuhoff Corporation, which also owns four other local radio stations, WCZQ, ...

Radio stations established in 1945 1945 establishments in Utah Radio stations disestablished in 2018 2018 disestablishments in Utah Defunct radio stations in the United States

Former subsidiaries of The Walt Disney Company