WAXX (104.5
FM) is a
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 ...
in the
Eau Claire area of
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, with its studio/offices located in Altoona, Wisconsin. Its transmitter is located in
Fairchild, Wisconsin
Fairchild is a village in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 550 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Fairchild.
History
The Fairchild post office has been operating since 1870. The village ...
, sharing the tower with
WEAU
WEAU (channel 13) is a television station licensed to Eau Claire, Wisconsin, United States, serving the La Crosse, Wisconsin, La Crosse–Eau Claire media market, market as an affiliate of NBC and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Gray Tele ...
.
History
The station was originally WEAU-FM, an FM station co-owned with WEAU-TV in Eau Claire, broadcasting at the 100.7 FM frequency until 1967 when it switched to 104.5 FM. When WAXX 1150 was purchased and brought under the same ownership as WEAU-TV/WEAU-FM, WEAU-FM began simulcasting WAXX's country format. In the September 1977, WEAU-FM's call letters were changed to WAXX-FM, and eventually the country format was aired exclusively on the FM dial (WAXX was renamed WAYY in the 1978 and changed formats to oldies, eventually settling on news/talk in 1991, and later sports/talk in 2014).
WAXX & WAYY were sold to Central Communications in 1984, and moved into their new building (and current home) behind WEAU-TV in 1985. WAXX, WAYY and new sister stations WIAL-FM, WEAQ, WECL-FM & WDRK-FM were sold to Maverick Media, LLC in 2003.
WAXX was the first radio station in the Eau Claire market to broadcast live 24 hours a day on the Internet, beginning March 31, 2006.
WAXX has been awarded several
NAB Marconi Radio Awards :''"Marconi Award" links here. Note that in the Netherlands, the radio academy awards are also called Marconi Awards.''
The Marconi Radio Awards are presented annually by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) to the top radio stations and ...
over the years, including "Small Market Station of the Year" in both 2000 and 2007.
WAXX's "Alex & Cora" Morning won the Wisconsin Broadcaster's Award for best Medium Market Morning Show in Wisconsin in 2013. The Morning Show was also nominated for a Marconi Award for the Best Small Market Morning Show in America in 2013.
WAXX signature voice is John Willyard, voice of the CMA Awards since 1996, whose signature voice work is heard on many notable Country stations across North America.
On the evening of Tuesday, March 22, 2011, the 2,000 foot tower near Fairchild, WI, carrying WAXX's signal collapsed. The station had to broadcast at low power using a tower next to their studios that only reached the Eau Claire / Chippewa Falls metro area until its main tower was rebuilt; the station also was broadcasting for the Spencer/Marshfield area also on 104.5. WAXX programming was temporarily carried on WECL 92.9 for several days after the collapse, displacing that station's programming. Early in the afternoon of Friday, January 27, 2012, WAXX-FM started transmitting from a new tower at the Fairchild site, at the same height as the previous collapsed tower.
WAXX and its Eau Claire sister stations, along with Maverick Media's
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, located in the far northern part of the state. Situated on the banks of the Rock River, Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County (a small portion of the city is located in Ogle County). ...
stations, were sold to Mid-West Family Broadcasting for $15.5 million. The purchase of the Eau Claire stations was consummated on October 1, 2013, while the Rockford station purchases were consummated on June 1, 2014.
Previous logos
References
External links
WAXX official website*
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AXX
Country radio stations in the United States
Radio stations established in 1953