WCMC-FM (99.9
MHz
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 one he ...
) is a
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...
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 ...
based in
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...
and licensed to nearby
Holly Springs. Its studios are located in north Raleigh along with
WRAL-FM
WRAL (101.5 FM, "Mix 101.5") is a commercial radio station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, and serving the Research Triangle. It is owned by the Capitol Broadcasting Company and broadcasts an adult contemporary radio format, switching t ...
, an adult contemporary music station, two
sports talk
Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often- boisterous on-ai ...
stations
WDNC (620 The Buzz) and
WCLY (1550 The Buzz) (simulcasted on HD2 and HD3. All are owned and operated by
Capitol Broadcasting Company
The Capitol Broadcasting Company, Inc. (CBC) is an American media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Capitol owns three television stations and nine radio stations in the Raleigh–Durham and Wilmington areas of North Carolina and the Du ...
which also owns
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
affiliate
WRAL-TV
WRAL-TV (channel 5) is a television station licensed to Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, serving as the NBC affiliate for the Research Triangle area. It is the flagship station of the locally based Capitol Broadcasting Company, which h ...
,
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
affiliate
WRAZ-TV (FOX 50), and the
Durham Bulls
The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...
minor-league baseball team, among other properties.
WCMC-FM transmits from an antenna located in the
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
community southeast of Raleigh, on a tower shared with
WRDC
WRDC (channel 28) is a television station licensed to Durham, North Carolina, United States, serving the Research Triangle area as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Raleigh-licensed CW affiliate WLFL ...
, WRAL-FM, and WQDR-FM. The station also broadcasts in
HD Radio
HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for an in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. It generally simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD Radio is used ...
.
History
Prior to 2005, this station was WFXQ in
Chase City, Virginia
Chase City is a town in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. Chase City was incorporated in 1873 and named for Salmon P. Chase, United States Chief Justice and Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury. The population was 2,351 at the 2010 censu ...
, one of several southern Virginia stations purchased by former Raleigh radio host
Tom Joyner
Thomas Joyner (born November 23, 1949) is an American retired radio host, former host of the nationally syndicated '' The Tom Joyner Morning Show'', and also founder of Reach Media Inc., the Tom Joyner Foundation, and BlackAmericaWeb.com.
Early ...
in 2001. For 11 years prior to Joyner's purchase of the station, it was a
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, ...
station known as "99.9 The Fox". During Joyner's years as owner, the station was
black gospel as "Rejoice Radio 99.9" and
adult standards as "
Stardust 99.9." Joyner sold WFXQ to Capitol Broadcasting, and the Stardust format moved to
WSHV
WSHV is an urban oldies radio station licensed to South Hill, Virginia, serving South Hill and Mecklenburg County, Virginia. WSHV is owned and operated by Thomas Birch's Birch Broadcasting Corporation, through licensee Lakes Media, LLC.
Format ...
in
South Hill, Virginia
South Hill is a town in Mecklenburg County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,650 at the 2010 census. Located on major Interstate and U.S. highways, it has a full-service hospital (serving patients from several rural counties), a to ...
, one of several Joyner-owned stations purchased by Lakes Media. WFXQ got permission to move its city of license to
Creedmoor and increase its power to 22,000 watts.
WCMC signed on the air in October 2005 with a
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, ...
format called "99.9 Genuine Country". The slogan was "Country Favorites From Today and Yesterday" and it played a mix of new country and older country
In October 2006, WCMC moved to another tower, taller than the previous one, but reduced its power to 8,000 watts.
[
On September 10, 2007, at 9 PM, WCMC began stunting with a ]classic rock
Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, primar ...
format. On October 10, at 3 PM, the sports format debuted, known as "99.9 The Fan." In September 2009, Capitol Broadcasting purchased 620 WDNC from McClatchey broadcasting. Along with the purchase came nearly the entire staff of WRBZ (850 The Buzz – sister station to WDNC). Brian Maloney, who started the sports talk format in the Raleigh-Durham market and was the general manager of WDNC/WRBZ, was hired by Capitol to spearhead the integration of both WDNC and WCMC.
Since moving to the Triangle, WCMC had broadcast from an antenna located 485 feet above ground level located three miles northwest of Youngsville. The short tower and relatively modest power resulted in the station providing only grade B coverage to Chapel Hill Chapel Hill or Chapelhill may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Chapel Hill (Antarctica) Australia
*Chapel Hill, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane
*Chapel Hill, South Australia, in the Mount Barker council area
Canada
* Chapel Hill, Ottawa, a neighbo ...
, Garner
Garner may refer to:
Places United States
* Garner, Arkansas
* Garner, Iowa
* Garner, Missouri
* Garner, North Carolina
Other uses
* Garner (surname), a surname
* Granary, a grain store
* ''Tennessee v. Garner'', a United States Supreme Court cas ...
, Cary
Cary may refer to:
Places
;United States
* Cary, Illinois, part of the Chicago metropolitan area
* Cary, Indiana, part of the Indianapolis metropolitan area
* Cary, Miami County, Indiana
* Cary, Maine
* Cary, Mississippi
* Cary, North Carolina ...
and most of Durham. In 2010 WCMC was granted permission to move its city of license to Holly Springs and boost its power to 26,500 watts, providing a fairly strong city-grade signal to all of Wake County
Wake County is located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. In the 2020 census, its population was 1,129,410, making it North Carolina's most-populous county. From July 2005 to July 2006, Wake County was the 9th-fastest growing county in the U ...
and most of Durham County. However, Chapel Hill, the third point in the Triangle, still gets only a grade B signal. This may be due to the need to protect WMAG
WMAG (99.5 FM) is an adult contemporary music formatted radio station licensed to High Point, North Carolina and serves the Piedmont Triad region, including Greensboro and Winston-Salem. The iHeartMedia, Inc. outlet broadcasts with an ERP of 100& ...
in High Point, at nearby 99.5.
On June 16, 2015, WCMC FM was awarded North Carolina Large Market Station of the Year by the North Carolina Association of Broadcasters.
In 2016, WCMC-FM was a national finalist for Sports Station of The Year – NAB.
HD channels
On February 29, 2016, WCLY
WCLY (1550 AM; "The Buzz") is a radio station located in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company along with sister radio stations WRAL-FM, WCMC-FM and WDNC, and television stations WRAL-TV and WRAZ-TV. Its studios ...
relaunched as an English-language sports station, "1550 the Ticket". The station featured a mix of sports programming from ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...
, CBS Sports Radio
CBS Sports Radio is a sports radio network that debuted with hourly sports news updates on September 4, 2012, and with 24/7 programming on January 2, 2013.
CBS Sports Radio is owned by Paramount Global and distributed by Westwood One. Programmin ...
, and Fox Sports Radio
Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent company ...
, which also aired on the WCMC-FM HD3 channel. ESPN Deportes continued to air on HD4.
On May 1, 2018, WDNC
WDNC (620 AM) is a sports radio station licensed to Durham, North Carolina but based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Owned and operated by Capitol Broadcasting Company as part of a cluster with NBC affiliate WRAL-TV, Fox affiliate WRAZ, and sist ...
rebranded from "The Buzz" (which continues on WCMC-HD2 and the 96.5 and 99.3 translators) to "The Ticket" (moved from WCLY and still aired on the WCMC-FM HD3 channel).
On its HD-4 channel, WCMC rebroadcasts Durham-based WDUR
WDUR (1490 AM) is an Indian/ South Asian radio station in Durham, North Carolina, owned by Ravi Cherukuri, through licensee Arohi Media LLC. The station plays primarily Bollywood Hits while embracing the rest of the South Asian culture throug ...
1490 AM's South Asia Radio format.
On August 4, 2022, The HD2 programming was dropped from the 96.5 and 99.3 translators.
Sports
WCMC has been the flagship station for the Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...
since 2007, following a two-year run on Curtis Media
Curtis Media Group is a broadcast media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. The company owns and operates several North Carolina radio stations and television networks.
Broadcast Stations
Curtis Media Group owns and operates the fol ...
-owned WWMY
WWMY (102.3 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format, simulcasting WMMY 106.1 FM Jefferson, North Carolina. Licensed to Beech Mountain, North Carolina, United States, the station is currently owned by Curtis Media Group and f ...
. The games are a straight simulcast of Bally Sports South/Southeast (formerly FOX Sports Carolinas). In addition, the station broadcasts the weekly football and basketball coaches shows for the NC State Wolfpack
The NC State Wolfpack is the nickname of the athletic teams representing North Carolina State University. The Wolfpack competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for college footb ...
, while sister station WRAL-FM will broadcast the games.
On November 30, 2008, WCMC became an ESPN Radio
ESPN Radio, which is alternately platform-agnostically branded as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the original banner of "SportsRadio ESPN". ...
affiliate. This follows the decision by McClatchey Broadcasting to discontinue ESPN programming on its two sports talk stations, WDNC
WDNC (620 AM) is a sports radio station licensed to Durham, North Carolina but based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Owned and operated by Capitol Broadcasting Company as part of a cluster with NBC affiliate WRAL-TV, Fox affiliate WRAZ, and sist ...
and WRBZ
WRBZ (1250 AM) is an American radio station licensed to serve the community of Wetumpka, Alabama. The station is owned by Terry Barber, through licensee TBE, LLC.
WRBZ broadcasts a classic hits format branded as "95.5 WRBZ" serving the Montgom ...
, because of ESPN's insistence on the stations airing more ESPN programming than the company wanted to. This dispute ended when Capitol bought WDNC.
On April 1, 2009, WCMC became the new flagship station of the Durham Bulls
The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened in ...
. They are expected to carry the full allotment of 144 during the season, along with playoff games, although some games may be moved over to their HD channel on dates that might conflict with a Carolina Hurricanes broadcast.
On May 13, 2010, it was announced that WCMC would become the Triangle affiliate for the Carolina Panthers Radio Network.
References
External links
99.9 The Fan website
*
{{Capital Broadcasting
Sports radio stations in the United States
ESPN Radio stations
CMC-FM
Capitol Broadcasting Company
Radio stations established in 1993