WSPT (97.9 FM) 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 radio ...

that is licensed to

Stevens Point, Wisconsin Stevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The city was incorporated in 1858. Its 2020 population of 25,666 makes it the largest city in the county. Stevens Point forms the core of the United States Census Bur ...

, United States and serves the

Stevens Point Stevens Point is the county seat of Portage County, Wisconsin, United States. The city was incorporated in 1858. Its 2020 population of 25,666 makes it the largest city in the county. Stevens Point forms the core of the United States Census Bur ...

Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Wisconsin. The population was 18,877 at the 2020 census. The city also forms one of the core areas of the United States Census Bureau's Marshfield-Wisconsin Rapids Micropolit ...

area. The station is owned by Richard L. Muzzy, through licensee Muzzy Broadcast Group, LLC and broadcasts a

classic hits Classic hits is a radio format which generally includes songs from the top 40 music charts from the late 1960s to the early 2000s, with music from the 1980s serving as the core of the format. Music that was popularized by MTV in the early 1980s ...

format.

History

The station first signed on May 1, 1961, as WSPT-FM. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, it was a dominant

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

station in the Wausau-

market, originally

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 ...

ing its AM sister station

WSPT WSPT (97.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station that is licensed to Stevens Point, Wisconsin, United States and serves the Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Stevens Point-Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Rapids area. The station is owned by Rich ...

(1010 AM). In April 1968, Peter A. Bernard sold WSPT-AM-FM to Sentry Corp., a subsidiary of Stevens Point-based

Sentry Insurance Sentry Insurance is a mutual insurance company specializing in business insurance. The company’s home office is in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, where about half the company’s approximately 4,500 employees are located. Sentry offers property and ...

, for $465,000. The simulcast ended in late 1977 when WSPT (AM) flipped to country music as WXYQ; the FM outlet retained the top 40 format and adjusted its

call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assigne ...

to WSPT. Through the early 1990s, WSPT's ratings were second only to Wausau-based rival

WIFC WIFC (95.5 FM) is a top 40 (CHR) radio station located in Wausau, Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated locally by Midwest Communications, previously owned by Journal Communications Journal Media Group (formerly Journal Communication ...

. In the early 1990s, the station switched to an

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 ...

(AC) format, branding itself as "Sunny 98". By the middle of the decade, this was adjusted to a

modern AC 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, quiet s ...

presentation as "Today's Music Revolution, 98 WSPT"; in 1996, the station changed its call sign back to WSPT-FM. In the 2000s, WSPT-FM segued to

hot AC 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, quiet s ...

as "97.9 WSPT". In 2005, the station flipped to ABC Radio's fledging syndicated adult hits format, "

Jack FM Jack FM is a radio network brand, licensed by Sparknet Communications, with the exception of the European Union where it is licensed by Oxis Media. It plays an adult hits radio format, format, in most cases not using disc jockey, DJs. Format c ...

", reverting to the "97.9 WSPT" branding when it flipped 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 ...

featuring programming from

The True Oldies Channel Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel (also known more recently as ''The True Oldies Channel: Greatest Hits'') is a radio network begun in the spring of 2004. Originally distributed by ABC Radio Networks via satellite, the service plays a hybrid ol ...

. In 2012, the station dropped the -FM suffix to become simply WSPT. Later, On June 30, 2014, WSPT segued to a

format. Syndicated programming on WSPT includes ''America's Greatest Hits'', a weekly show hosted by

Scott Shannon Michael Scott Shannon (born July 25, 1947) is an American radio disc jockey who hosted the morning show for WCBS-FM in New York City from 2014 to 2022 as well as ''Scott Shannon Presents America's Greatest Hits'' which is syndicated nationally wi ...

References

External links

* * SPT Classic hits radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1961 1961 establishments in Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-radio-station-stub