WLAY-FM (100.1

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 ...

, "Shoals Country") 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 radi ...

licensed A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...

to serve

Littleville, Alabama Littleville is a town located on the southern border of Colbert County, Alabama, United States, and extends into Franklin County. It is part of the Florence - Muscle Shoals Metropolitan Statistical Area known as "The Shoals". As of the 2010 cens ...

, United States. The station is owned by Mike Self and

Parker Griffith Rolf Parker Griffith Jr. (born August 6, 1942) is an American retired physician, entrepreneur and politician who served in the Alabama State Senate from 2006 to 2008 and then as the U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. A lifelong member o ...

, through licensee Singing River Media Group, LLC WLAY-FM broadcasts 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 to the greater

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

/ Muscle Shoals, Alabama, area. Programming includes the syndicated '' Rick and Bubba Show'' in the morning, mid-days with Kelli Karlson, afternoons with Kevin Whorton and nights with Whitney Allen. The current Program and Music Director for the radio station is Brian Rickman.

History

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 jurisdicti ...

issued the original construction permit for a new FM station in

Russellville, Alabama Russellville is a city in Franklin County in the U.S. state of Alabama. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 10,855, up from 9,830 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Franklin County. History After the War of 1812, t ...

, to broadcast with 3,000

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 ...

s of

effective radiated power Effective radiated power (ERP), synonymous with equivalent radiated power, is an IEEE standardized definition of directional radio frequency (RF) power, such as that emitted by a radio transmitter. It is the total power in watts that would h ...

at 97.7

on March 10,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

. The new station was assigned the call letters WZMX by the FCC on June 6, 1986. In June 1986, Rambo Broadcasting reached an agreement to assign the permit for this station to Mountain Top Broadcasting, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on August 25, 1986, and the transaction was consummated on September 22, 1986. WZMX received its license to cover from the FCC on November 4, 1987. In April 1990, David E. Morrow agreed to transfer control of this station's licensee to James Michael Self. The deal was approved by the FCC on June 25, 1990, and the transaction was consummated on the same day. The station's callsign was changed to WSHK on July 13, 1990. In November 1997, D. Mitchell Self Broadcasting, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to US South Broadcasting Company, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on January 15, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on February 20, 1998. The new owners had the FCC change the call letters to WKGL on July 27, 1998. In November 1998, US South Broadcasting Company, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to

Cumulus Broadcasting Cumulus Media, Inc. is an American broadcasting company and is the third largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States behind Audacy and iHeartMedia. As of June 2019, Cumulus lists ownership of 428 stations in 87 ...

through their Cumulus Licensing Corp. subsidiary. The three-station deal was publicly valued at $6.3 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 31, 1998, and the transaction was consummated on March 1, 1999. In August 2000, Cumulus Broadcasting's subsidiary Cumulus Licensing Corp. reached an agreement to sell this station and four others in the area to Clear Channel Communications through their Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc., subsidiary. This deal was part of a larger exchange of 45 Cumulus-owned stations for 4 Clear Channel-owned stations and an unspecified amount of cash for a total deal value of $52 million. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 19, 2000, and the transaction was consummated on January 18, 2001. On April 21, 2003, the station's call letters were changed to WMXV and the station adopted a "V103.5" branding. In October 2004, Clear Channel Broadcasting Licenses, Inc., reached an agreement to sell this station to

URBan Radio Broadcasting URBan Radio Broadcasting, LLC, (typically written with the first three letters of the word 'urban' capitalized) is an American media company that specializes in radio stations. The markets where they own radio stations include Columbus, Mississipp ...

subsidiary Urban Radio Licenses, Inc. The deal was approved by the FCC on December 21, 2004, and the transaction was consummated on May 13, 2005. While the sale was pending, Clear Channel applied to the FCC to change WMVX's

community of license In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator. In North American broad ...

from Russellville to

, and the broadcast frequency from 97.7

to 103.5 MHz. (This was part of a multi-station frequency swap by Clear Channel that saw the 97.7 MHz frequency reassigned to WKXM-FM in

Winfield, Alabama Winfield is a city in Marion and Fayette counties in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population was 4,845 at the 2020 census, the second largest city in Marion County. History Winfield is a small city situated in northwest Alabama, east of the ...

.) The application proposed a technical change only as no move of the transmitter site was requested or required. The station was granted a construction permit on January 19, 2005. The station received its license to cover this change on January 25, 2007.

had the FCC change the station's call letters to WJOR-FM on March 3, 2006, before having the FCC change it again one week later on March 10, 2006, to the current WLAY-FM. WLAY-FM moved its broadcast frequency again effective August 29, 2016, from 103.5 MHz to 100.1 MHz. Effective April 1, 2019, URBan Radio sold WLAY-FM and five sister stations to Singing River Media Group, LLC for $1.275 million.

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References

External links

WLAY official website
* {{Country Radio Stations in Alabama LAY-FM Country radio stations in the United States Florence–Muscle Shoals metropolitan area Radio stations established in 1986 1986 establishments in Alabama