WLLF (96.7

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

commercial Commercial may refer to: * a dose of advertising conveyed through media (such as - for example - radio or television) ** Radio advertisement ** Television advertisement * (adjective for:) commerce, a system of voluntary exchange of products and s ...

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 ...

Mercer, Pennsylvania Mercer is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Mercer County, Pennsylvania, Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,982 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Mahoning Vall ...

, and serving the

Youngstown metropolitan area The Youngstown–Warren–Boardman, OH–PA Metropolitan Statistical Area, typically known as the Mahoning Valley (and historically the Steel Valley), is a metropolitan area in Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania the United States, with th ...

. It has 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 format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

, much of it

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of simultaneous broadcast) is the broadcasting of programmes/programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultane ...

with co-owned

WBBW WBBW (1240 AM) is a commercial radio station in Youngstown, Ohio, broadcasting a sports format. The station carries the CBS Sports Radio Network, much of it simulcast with co-owned 96.7 WLLF. WBBW is one of seven radio stations in the Youngst ...

1240 AM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 1240 kHz: 1240 AM is a regional (Class B) frequency outside the coterminous 48 United States (Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, & U.S. Virgin Islands), and ...

, from the

CBS Radio Network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

. It is one of seven radio stations in the Youngstown market owned by

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 ...

. The

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

s and offices are in "The Radio Center" in

Hermitage, Pennsylvania Hermitage is a city contiguous with Sharon, PA in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. Hermitage is located about northeast of Youngstown, about southeast of Cleveland and about northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 16,230 ...

. WLLF carries a variety of local high school and college sports as well as games from the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team, the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team and the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

team.

History

The station was first issued a

construction permit Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...

in March 1984. It

signed on Signing may refer to: * Using sign language * Signature A signature (; from la, signare, "to sign") is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple "X" or other mark that a person writes on do ...

in January 1985 as WKTX. It was purchased in August 1990 by Mercer County Broadcasting, headed by Patrick Engrao. For a time, this station was the co-owned

sister station In broadcasting, sister stations or sister channels are radio or television stations operated by the same company, either by direct ownership or through a management agreement. Radio sister stations will often have different formats, and somet ...

of WKTX

AM 830 AM or Am may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * A minor, a minor scale in music * A.M. (Chris Young album), ''A.M.'' (Chris Young album) * A.M. (Wilco album), ''A.M.'' (Wilco album) * AM (Abraham Mateo album), ''AM'' (Abraham Mateo album) ...

Cortland, Ohio Cortland is a city in central Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. It lies on the eastern shore of Mosquito Creek Lake, north of Youngstown. The population was 7,105 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Youngstown–Warren metropolitan area. ...

. The WLLF call letters originated in 1991, when the station simulcast Youngstown rock station

WNCD WNCD is a commercial radio station serving Youngstown, Ohio, owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasting a mainstream rock format at 93.3 MHz. Its signal covers Youngstown, Warren, and New Castle, PA, and at times even reaches Erie and New Kens ...

"The Wolf", then at 106.1

. The call letters have remained on the station since, including when it was a

Smooth Jazz Smooth jazz is a genre of commercially-oriented crossover jazz and easy listening music that became dominant in the mid 1970s to the early 1990s. History Smooth jazz is a commercially oriented, crossover jazz which came to prominence in the 19 ...

outlet. In April 2010, Cumulus ended the station's long run as "96.7 The River", a satellite-fed

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 ...

format, and launched a new sports format featuring

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". ...

with the

and

radio networks. The station also carries a local sports show originating at sister station

WPIC WPIC (790 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Sharon, Pennsylvania and serving the Youngstown metropolitan area. The station is owned by Cumulus Media and has a talk radio format. WPIC is powered at 1,000 watts by day. To avoid int ...

790 AM The following radio stations broadcast on AM frequency 790 kHz: The Federal Communications Commission classifies 790 AM as a regional broadcast frequency. In Argentina * LR6 Mitre in Buenos Aires * LRA22 in San Salvador de Jujuy, Jujuy * ...

Sharon, Pennsylvania Sharon is a city in western Mercer County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city, located along the banks of the Shenango River on the state border with Ohio, is about northeast of Youngstown, about southeast of Cleveland and about northwest o ...

. WLLF also carries a variety of local high school and college sports. On January 2, 2013, WLLF switched its network to

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 ...

, ending its affiliation with

External links

* LLF Radio stations established in 1985 CBS Sports Radio stations Cumulus Media radio stations 1985 establishments in Pennsylvania LLF {{Pennsylvania-radio-station-stub