WPEK (880

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 a commercial AM daytimer radio station, known as "ESPN Asheville." It is licensed to Fairview, North Carolina and serves the Asheville metropolitan area. The station airs an all-sports radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. Most programming comes 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". ...

. WPEK is largely simulcast on

WMXF WMXF (1400 AM), known as "ESPN Asheville", is a sports radio station licensed to Waynesville, North Carolina which mostly airs the programming of WPEK in Asheville. History WHCC was the only radio station in Waynesville for many years. It went o ...

(1400 AM) in

Waynesville, North Carolina Waynesville is a town and the county seat of Haywood County, North Carolina. It is the largest town in North Carolina west of Asheville. Waynesville is located about southwest of Asheville between the Great Smoky and Blue Ridge Mountains. As ...

. WPEK broadcasts with 5,000 watts by day using a non-directional antenna. Because 880 AM is a United States clear channel frequency reserved for 50,000 watt Class A WCBS in New York City, WPEK must

sign-off A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonwealth countries exce ...

at night to avoid interference. The transmitter is on Sales Farm Drive in Asheville. WPEK can be heard around the clock on 180-watt FM translator station W225CJ at 92.9 MHz in Asheville.

History

In 1988, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) granted 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 ...

for a new radio station in Fairview, North Carolina, on 880 AM, but it took nine years to build it. On July 4, 1997, the station

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 ...

as WTZY. It was owned by EEI Communications and aired a talk radio format. It was the second Asheville area station to air '' The Rush Limbaugh Show'' (after WSKY). WTZY was an

affiliate Affiliation or affiliate may refer to: * Affiliate (commerce), a legal form of entity relationship used in Business Law * Affiliation (family law), a legal form of family relationship * Affiliate marketing * Affiliate network or affiliation pla ...

of CBS Radio News. When the station's talk programming was moved to WWNC, WTZY became WPEK "The Peak", a classic country station. Later, the format was adult standards. WPEK therevolution880 logo

In 2004, the format was switched to progressive talk. For several years, much of the programming came from Air America Media. Later, WPEK had its own schedule of syndicated progressive talk hosts, including

Bill Press William H. Press (born April 8, 1940) is an American talk radio host, podcaster, liberal pundit and author. He was chairman of the California Democratic Party from 1993 to 1996, and is a senior political contributor on CNN. He hosts ''The Bill ...

, Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann and Norman Goldman. In 2010, WPEK dropped Thom Hartmann, who moved to WPVM-LP, added to a schedule that included weekday hosts Lesley Groetsch and Blake Butler, whose "Local Edge Radio" includes "politics, arts and entertainment, live music and local listener call-ins." Weekend programming included ''Mountain Music Time'', a program of traditional bluegrass and mountain music broadcast on Saturday mornings, followed by an hour of the Errington Thompson Show. On June 11, 2018, WPEK flipped to sports, branded as "ESPN Asheville," with programming from

. The progressive talk programming, still branded "The Revolution", was moved to W266CP (101.1 FM)/WKSF-HD3.ESPN Returns to Asheville as Revolution Moves to FM
Radioinsight - June 11, 2018 The progressive talk format ultimately ended in late 2018, when W266CP/WKSF-HD3 switched to alternative rock.

References

External links

WPEK Official Website
* * {{coord, 35, 32, 48, N, 82, 28, 15, W, type:landmark_region:US_source:FCC, display=title PEK Sports radio stations in the United States IHeartMedia radio stations Radio stations established in 1997 1997 establishments in North Carolina PEK