WTRX (1330 AM, "Sports XTRA 1330") is an American

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 ...

broadcasting 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 ...

format in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

. It is the Flint affiliate for

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

football and men's basketball, and

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 ...

. Its studios are located in Mundy Township near

U.S. 23 } U.S. Route 23 or U.S. Highway 23 (US 23) is a major north–south U.S. Highway between Jacksonville, Florida, and Mackinaw City, Michigan. It is an original 1926 route which originally reached only as far south as Portsmouth, Ohio, and has sinc ...

and Hill Road and its transmitter is in Burton near Dort Highway and Bristol Road.

History

The station began broadcasting October 13, 1947, under the WBBC call sign. It was owned by Booth Radio Stations, Incorporated and was a Mutual affiliate. WBBC was also briefly a

CBS Radio CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broadc ...

affiliate in 1959, after WJR in Detroit briefly dropped its CBS affiliation to become an independent. In 1960, WBBC was purchased by Robert E. Eastman, who changed the call letters to WTRX and installed a

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 ...

format to compete with WTAC. By early 1968, the station had evolved into 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 ...

(or "bright

MOR Mor or MOR may refer to: Names and titles * Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor * Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór * Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac Radio and television * Middle of the road (music) genre * ...

" as then-station manager Johnny Nogaj described it in

Billboard magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

) format, which would last for the next 21 years. During this time, the station was also an affiliate of ''

American Top 40 ''American Top 40'' (previously abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally syndicated, independent song countdown radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs. The program is currently hosted by Ryan Seacr ...

'', until 1986 when the show moved to Saginaw-based

WIOG WIOG (102.5 FM) is a radio station airing a Top 40 (CHR) format, licensed to Bay City, Michigan and serving the Greater Tri-Cities areas. History From the 1970s until September 1986, WIOG operated on 106.3 MHz licensed to Saginaw. 106. ...

on its new 102.5 mhz frequency. In 1989, the station was auctioned at Flint Hyatt Regency where David Lee Shure a Flint area businessman won the bid on the station and property. Days after the paperwork was filed it became an affiliate of

Satellite Music Network Satellite Music Network was the first satellite delivered network to provide complete live 24-hour-a-day music programming to local stations, under several different formats. History Affiliate stations, mostly in small and medium markets, co ...

Z-Rock Z Rock was a nationally syndicated radio network based in Dallas, Texas, United States that, from the mid-1980s through the mid-1990s, played heavy metal and hard rock music. The format was one of several 24-hour satellite-delivered music for ...

format as WDLZ. The station subsequently failed, largely due to the downward spiral in the local economy and the migration of many AM stations in the area to non-music formats. After a period of silence after WDLZ went off the air in 1990, WTRX came back on the air with its legendary call sign restored, but with no original programming. WTRX spent the first few years simulcasting Bay City station

WMAX (AM) WMAX (1440 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Catholic religious format. It is co-owned with WDEO 990 AM in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and features the same programming from the EWTN Global Catholic Radio network. History Licensed to Bay City, Mic ...

's all-sports format until it established its own all-sports programming. The station became what it is today in 1996. In 2001, WTRX's studio was moved from its transmitter location on Bristol Road in Burton to the studios and offices of co-owned

WFBE WFBE (95.1 MHz "B95") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Flint, Michigan. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it broadcasts a country music format. Its studios are on Taylor Drive in Mundy Township, using a Flint address. In mornin ...

on Miller Road in Flint Township. Cumulus Media purchased WTRX in 2011. It relocated its studios and offices to 6317 Taylor Drive in Mundy Township on March 2012. In addition to its Flint sister stations mentioned on the infobox, WTRX's other sister stations in the

Flint/Tri-Cities Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said to resemble a mitten, and Mid Michigan corre ...

area are

WHNN WHNN (96.1 FM, "96.1 WHNN") is a radio station serving the Saginaw, Bay City, Midland and Flint, Michigan areas with an adult contemporary format. History Super Win and Sunny 96 WBCM-FM was one of Michigan's pioneer FM stations, initially si ...

WKQZ WKQZ (93.3 FM broadcasting, FM The Rock Station, Z93) is an active rock radio station serving east-central Michigan, owned by Cumulus Media. The station is licensed to Midland, Michigan, although its studios are in Saginaw, Michigan, Saginaw. WK ...

and

WILZ WILZ (104.5 FM, "Wheelz 104.5") is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format in Saginaw, Michigan, owned by Cumulus Media. The station is the local affiliate of morning comedy program ''The Bob and Tom Show'', music show ''Nights with ...

, all licensed to the Tri-Cities; of the four, only WHNN and WIOG also cover the Flint area under normal listening conditions.

References

External links

Michiguide.com - WTRX History
{{Cumulus Media TRX Cumulus Media radio stations Radio stations established in 1947 CBS Sports Radio stations 1947 establishments in Michigan