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WKDN (950
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 an American 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 ...
licensed to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and serving the Philadelphia market. WKDN is owned and operated by
Family Radio Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
.


History


Early years

WKDN began broadcasting as WPEN on April 19, 1929, originally as a 250-watt station on 1500 kHz. The frequency was previously shared by the Pennsylvania School of Wireless Telegraphy's WPSW, which went on the air in 1926, and Bethayres-based WALK, which launched in 1927; both stations were acquired by William Penn Broadcasting and merged to create WPEN. In its early years, it was known for Italian-language programming, and was co-owned with another major Italian-oriented station,
WOV WADO (1280 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned and operated by Uforia Audio Network, a subsidiary of Univision. It broadcasts a Spanish-language sports radio format. By day, WADO is powered at 50,000 watt ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. Beginning in November 1929,
Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday i ...
broadcast their Sunday morning services from their 800-person homeless shelter and soup kitchen. The most notable speaker was
Percy Crawford Percy Bartimus Crawford (October 20, 1902 – October 31, 1960) was an evangelist and fundamentalist leader who especially emphasized youth ministry. During the late 1950s, he saw the potential of FM radio and UHF television and built the first ...
who spoke consistently to the crowd of homeless men. In the 1930s, WPEN moved to 920 kHz, sharing time with WRAX until the two stations merged in 1938.http://jeff560.tripod.com/am5.html List of Broadcast Deletions and Consolidations 1934-1941 WPEN then went to 950 kHz in the
NARBA 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 ...
frequency shifts of 1941. During the mid-1940s, the station was owned by the
Philadelphia Bulletin The ''Philadelphia Bulletin'' was a daily evening newspaper published from 1847 to 1982 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the largest circulation newspaper in Philadelphia for 76 years and was once the largest evening newspaper in the United ...
newspaper; in 1948, the newspaper bought the more powerful
WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jerse ...
and sold WPEN to the local Sun Ray Drug Store chain. As entertainment programming moved from radio to
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 ...
, WPEN evolved into a popular music format in the early 1950s. The music at that time consisted of artists such
Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an Italian-American singer, actor and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, after signing ...
,
Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular ...
,
Doris Day Doris Day (born Doris Mary Kappelhoff; April 3, 1922 – May 13, 2019) was an American actress, singer, and activist. She began her career as a big band singer in 1939, achieving commercial success in 1945 with two No. 1 recordings, " Sent ...
,
Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed the Four Mills Brothers, and originally known as the Four Kings of Harmony, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies a ...
,
Tommy Dorsey Thomas Francis Dorsey Jr. (November 19, 1905 – November 26, 1956) was an American jazz trombonist, composer, conductor and bandleader of the big band era. He was known as the "Sentimental Gentleman of Swing" because of his smooth-toned trombo ...
,
Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...
,
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 ...
,
Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...
,
Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...
,
Tony Bennett Anthony Dominick Benedetto (born August 3, 1926), known professionally as Tony Bennett, is an American retired singer of traditional pop standards, big band, show tunes, and jazz. Bennett is also a painter, having created works under his birth ...
, and many others. At this time, a show called the "950 Club" began as well. In the early 1950s, WPEN became one of the pioneers of late night live audience talk radio. Steve Allison, formerly of Boston, was host of a five or six nights a week radio show from 11:30PM–2:00AM. This show was broadcast from the "Ranch Room" restaurant on the station's ground floor building on Walnut Street between 22nd and 23rd streets. WPEN was one of the first broadcasters in the country to use a live seven-second delay tape system. In addition to live guests, Steve Allison took telephone calls from listeners. Teddy Reinhart was the producer. Allison had guests such as Eddie Fisher, Billy Eckstein and numerous local politicians at the Ranch Room. Many evenings Allison showed up for work in a tuxedo. In the late 1950s, Frank Ford hosted the late evening talk show from the restaurant studio. Jim Reeves could be seen doing newscasts from a second floor studio. Before the Steve Allison show, radio personality Art Raymond ("The Man in the Black Sombrero") hosted a live Latin music dance program from the Ranch Room. Years later Raymond hosted Jewish music programs featuring Klezmer music on radio stations in New York City, Philadelphia and Florida. In the late 1950s, rock and roll began to dominate the chart. WPEN opted, though, to remain a non-rock station but played some of the softer songs by artists like
The Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...
,
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...
,
Brenda Lee Brenda Mae Tarpley (born December 11, 1944), known professionally as Brenda Lee, is an American singer. Performing rockabilly, pop and country music, she had 47 US chart hits during the 1960s and is ranked fourth in that decade, surpassed only ...
, and others. By the mid-1960s, WPEN was also playing softer songs by
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
The Association The Association is an American sunshine pop band from California. During the late 1960s, the band had numerous hits at or near the top of the ''Billboard'' charts (including " Windy", " Cherish", " Never My Love" and "Along Comes Mary") and ...
,
The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...
, Tom Jones,
The Mamas & the Papas The Mamas & the Papas were a folk rock vocal group formed in Los Angeles, California, which recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968. The group was a defining force in the music scene of the counterculture of the 1960s. The group consisted of Am ...
,
The Righteous Brothers The Righteous Brothers are an American musical duo originally formed by Bill Medley and Bobby Hatfield but now comprising Medley and Bucky Heard. Medley formed the group with Hatfield in 1963. They had first performed together in 1962 in the Los ...
, and others. In the early 1970s, artists like
The Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...
,
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...
,
Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
,
James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...
, and others became core artists. Still all along, artists like Sinatra and Cole, as well as Big Bands, were heard on WPEN. The station was a news-intensive MOR format. Also, during the 1960s, an evening interview show hosted by Frank Ford was broadcast on weekdays. It was held in a converted night club near 22nd and Walnut Streets, so the public was allowed to sit in on all broadcasts. Around 1967, WPEN became an affiliate of the
NBC Radio Network The NBC, 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 Blue Network, NBC Blue Network it was ...
. Around 1969, the station left NBC, and management decided to seriously challenge WIP, Philadelphia's dominant MOR music station. Some WIP personalities were lured to WPEN, including Tom Brown, and an extensive promotional campaign was launched with the station billing itself as "The New 95." However, listeners did not respond in large numbers and the station went into a gradual decline. By about 1973, the station's financial condition was so poor that it began signing off at midnight to save money, and ownership began to actively market the operation to potential buyers.


Greater Media takes over

At the end of 1974, WPEN was sold 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 ...
, along with co-owned WPEN-FM (now known as
WMGK WMGK (102.9 FM, "102.9 MGK") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Beasley Broadcast Group and broadcasts a classic rock radio format. The broadcast tower used by the station i ...
). When the deal closed in January 1975, Greater Media immediately took the stations off the air for some badly needed engineering upgrades. In the spring, WPEN returned to the air as "95PEN" with an
oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
format under program director Julian Breen and later, Peter Mokover. Mike St. John made his Philly debut at this time along with
Geoff Fox Geoff Fox (born July 26, 1950) is an Emmy Award-winning American television broadcast meteorologist, with his career and expertise the industry covering 4 decades. For 27 years of his career he was at the television station WTNH in New Haven, Co ...
, Paul Cassidy, Loren Owens, Mike Landry, Rick Harris and Bobby "Dashboard" Dark. Joe Niagara soon joined the station with an afternoon drive show. The revived station originally played rock and roll hits from about 1955 to 1963, but newer music was added to the playlist over time; by the late '70s, the music mix was really closer 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 ...
than oldies. Ratings were never spectacular, and WPEN opted to change formats in 1979. In 1979, WPEN dumped the Oldies format and became
Nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a learned formation of a Greek language, Greek compound, consisting of (''nóstos''), meaning "homecoming", ...
, featuring big bands hits and adult standards. The station became known as "950 WPEN, The Station Of The Stars". The station featured adult standards of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, along with some big bands of the 1930s and 1940s. The station also mixed in some softer rock hits of the 1950s through the 1970s known as "baby boomer pop" by some. Over the years, many radio legends joined "The 950 Family," like Ken Garland, Joe Niagara, Bill "Wee Willie" Webber, Dick Clayton, Jerry Stevens, Joe Harnett, Bill Wright, Sr, Tom Moran, Andy Hopkins, Andy Kortman and Kim Martin. Joe Grady and Ed Hurst also returned to host a new version of the original "950 Club" on weekday afternoons. Ed Hurst would later revive the "Steel Pier Show" weekend afternoons. The station's "Adult Standards/Nostalgia" format was an original concept of Julian Breen, and later programmed by Joe Taylor, Paul Mitchell, Dean Tyler, Stan Martin, Charlie Mills and Bob Craig. Ed Klein, known as "The Doctor" of music was WPEN's music director during WPEN's heyday as a standards station and he often filled-in on the air for vacationing full-time talent. The station also had an emphasis on news and information. The format was adjusted at various times. In the 1980s, WPEN played more soft rock during the day and more big bands in the evening hours. But adult standards was always the focus of the station. WPEN, for many years, was the top rated radio station of its type anywhere. In the late 1990s, WPEN began airing some
paid programming Paid or PAID may refer to: * ''Paid'' (1930 film), an American film starring Joan Crawford * ''Paid'' (2006 film), a Dutch film *''Personality and Individual Differences'', a journal See also * Paide, the capital of Järva County, Estonia * P ...
during the day on weekends. Ratings were still decent, but demographics were making it difficult to sell advertising. The weekend paid programming would be used to raise revenue for the station to be able to be profitable. While the station did not ever strictly play standards and featured some soft rock mixed in during much of the day, they changed focus in 2001. At that point, WPEN cut back on big bands and added more 50's and 60's rock and roll to the playlist. While there was no hard rock, there were a decent amount of pop/rock oldies one would not expect to find on an adult standards station. In 2003, WPEN became the radio home of Jerry Blavat. He would host a 50's and 60's rock and roll oldies show playing a lot of rock and roll cuts WPEN still normally did not play at that point. Still, even in 2003, WPEN was still focused on the standards vocalists. WPEN had been also mixing in contemporary standards artists like
Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...
,
Norah Jones Norah Jones (born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar; March 30, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. She has won several awards for her music and as of 2012, has sold more than 50 million records worldwide. ''Billboard'' named her the ...
, Harry Connick Jr., and others since the mid-1990s. In late 2001, WPEN agreed to become the flagship radio station of the
Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
for the 2002 through 2004 seasons. This led to increased attention for the station, but not all of it was favorable. Many listeners in outlying suburbs complained that they could not pick up the games, which had previously been on the stronger signal of
WPHT WPHT (1210 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its transmitter and broadcast tower are in Moorestown, New Jersey. The radio studios ...
(the weak signal also was a favorite of pundits and jokesters, one of which quipped that WPEN stands for "We Practically Emit Nothing"). Although Greater Media had plans to improve WPEN's signal, they could not be implemented during the term of the contract. The Phillies returned to WPHT for the 2005 season.


Back to golden oldies

On September 1, 2004, due to declining advertising, WPEN dropped Adult Standards abruptly in favor of returning to
oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
, playing only music from 1954-1965. Some of the airstaff remained. Jim Nettleton and Christy Springfield came over from
WOGL WOGL (98.1 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to serve Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station is owned by Audacy, Inc. and broadcasts a classic hits radio format. The broadcast tower used by the station is located in the Roxborough ...
later that year. WOGL had moved away from pre-1964 oldies, and Greater Media sought to win away listeners who preferred music of that era. Artists featured on WPEN included
Sam Cooke Samuel Cook (January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964), known professionally as Sam Cooke, was an American singer and songwriter. Considered to be a pioneer and one of the most influential soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred ...
,
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...
,
Billy Stewart William Larry Stewart II (March 24, 1937 – January 17, 1970) was an American rhythm and blues singer and pianist who was popular during the 1960s. Biography Stewart was 12 years old when he began singing with his younger brothers Johnny, James ...
,
Bill Haley William John Clifton Haley (; July 6, 1925 – February 9, 1981) was an American rock and roll musician. He is credited by many with first popularizing this form of music in the early 1950s with his group Bill Haley & His Comets and million-sel ...
,
Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...
,
Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...
, Billy & The Essentials,
Marvelettes The Marvelettes were an American girl group that achieved popularity in the early to mid-1960s. They consisted of schoolmates Gladys Horton, Katherine Anderson, Georgeanna Tillman, Juanita Cowart (now Cowart Motley), and Georgia Dobbins, who w ...
,
Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...
,
Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the Rhythm and blues, R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Rol ...
,
Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...
, The Four Seasons,
Jackie Wilson Jack Leroy Wilson Jr. (June 9, 1934 – January 21, 1984) was an American singer and performer of the 1950s and 60s. He was a prominent figure in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. Nicknamed "Mr. Excitement", he was considered a mas ...
,
Bobby Vee Robert Thomas Velline (April 30, 1943 – October 24, 2016), known professionally as Bobby Vee, was an American singer who was a teen idol in the early 1960s and also appeared in films. According to '' Billboard'' magazine, he had thirty-e ...
, and others. Unfortunately, ratings declined even more. The station also continued its paid programming during the day on Saturdays and Sundays. There were plans to end these infomercials and specialty talk shows once advertising grew, but this never happened. By November 2004, WPEN began to add more late 1960s music by
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
,
Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...
,
The 5th Dimension The 5th Dimension is an American popular music vocal group, whose repertoire includes pop, R&B, soul, jazz, light opera, and Broadway. Formed as the Versatiles in late 1965, the group changed its name to "the 5th Dimension" by 1966. Betwee ...
,
Young Rascals Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American roc ...
,
The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...
, along with many one hit wonders. The station also added a lot of '60s Philadelphia-based soul. The station's long-awaited signal upgrade partially became reality in 2005, as its nighttime power was increased from 5,000 to 21,000 watts and the Montgomery County towers of daytimer
WWDB WWDB (860 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its studios and offices in the "555 Building" on City Avenue in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. It is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group and broadcasts most ...
became WPEN's new nighttime transmitter site. The station began to gain some ratings, but the growth was not fast enough.


Sports talk comes to 950 AM

In August 2005, WPEN announced that they would be ending the oldies format in favor of sports talk. The change became effective on October 3, 2005. WPEN affiliated with
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 ...
. In early 2007, WPEN was able to increase its daytime power from 5,000 to 25,000 watts. Previously nondirectional during daylight hours, it switched to directional operation, using the three towers it had previously used for nighttime broadcasting at its longtime transmitter site in the Overbrook Park section of Philadelphia. In June 2008, WPEN was granted a construction permit for a second daytime power increase, this time to 43,000 watts. On March 2, 2007, a blogger reported the possibility that the station could change their slogan to "Sports Radio 950", after discovering the registrations of the domains mysportsradio950.com and sportsradio950online.com. On March 12, 2007, WPEN started calling itself "Sports Radio 950" or "Philly's Sports Radio 950". On April 1, 2008, WPEN dropped Fox Sports and became the new home of
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". ...
in Philadelphia, replacing the former WPHY (now WCHR 920 AM in
Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.State Farm Home Run Derby, the
All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...
and
World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...
(the latter two coming over from
WPHT WPHT (1210 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its transmitter and broadcast tower are in Moorestown, New Jersey. The radio studios ...
), the NBA, the
Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of American college football, including ...
and
Mike and Mike in the Morning ''Mike & Mike'' (formerly ''Mike and Mike in the Morning'') was an American sports-talk radio show that was hosted by Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic on ESPN networks from 2000–2017. The show aired on ESPN Radio, and was simulcast on televi ...
(simulcast with ESPN2).


97.5 The Fanatic

On October 9, 2009, WPEN's sports format began to be simulcasted on
WPEN-FM WPEN (97.5 MHz, "97.5 The Fanatic") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Burlington, New Jersey, in the Philadelphia radio market. The station is owned by the Beasley Broadcast Group through licensee Beasley Media Group, LLC and ...
(formerly WNUW) under the identity of "97.5 The Fanatic." Most, if not all, of their programming was simulcast, with few programming from ESPN. The on-air lineup included Mike & Mike in the Morning (from
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
Radio), Brian Baldinger, Harry Mayes, Tony Bruno, Mike Missanelli, Jon Marks and Tom Byrne. 97.5 The Fanatic also became the flagship station of the Philadelphia 76ers and Philadelphia Flyers in 2012.


Sale to Family Radio

Greater Media announced on September 21, 2012 that it would sell 950 WPEN to
Family Radio Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
, which began carrying its
Christian radio Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk progra ...
programming on the station on December 21, 2012 at 6:00p.m., ending the simulcast of WPEN-FM. At that time, after 83 years of broadcasting in Philadelphia, WPEN signed off for the last time, and the station then returned to the air under the call letters WKDN, a call sign previously used in the market on 800 AM (now
WTMR WTMR (800 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a religious format. Licensed to Camden, New Jersey, United States, it serves the Philadelphia area. The station is currently owned by Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc., through licensee Beasley Media Gr ...
) and 106.9 FM (now
WKVP WKVP (106.9 FM, "K-LOVE") is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Camden, New Jersey, serving the Philadelphia media market. The station is owned and operated by Educational Media Foundation and is an affiliate of K-LOVE, EMF's cont ...
). 106.9 was Family Radio's previous Philadelphia station. On January 31, 2018, the FCC granted WKDN a construction permit authorizing the station to resume nighttime operations from the Overbrook Park transmitter site. The permit calls for the station to reduce its nighttime power to 650 watts, using three of its four daytime towers.


References


External links


FCC History Cards for WKDN

WKDN daytime siteWKDN nighttime site
{{Family Radio KDN KDN Radio stations established in 1929 1929 establishments in Pennsylvania Family Radio stations