WBGG (970 kHz) 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 ...

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

. It carries 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, ...

format Format may refer to: Printing and visual media * Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements * Paper formats, or paper size standards * Newspaper format, the size of the paper page Computing * File format, particular way that informatio ...

and is owned by

iHeartMedia, Inc. iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...

Local sports hosts are heard weekdays from noon to 7 p.m. Other times,

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 ...

programming is heard. 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 located in Green Tree. WBGG transmits with 5,000

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, but to avoid interfering with other stations on 970 AM is uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna which radiates or receives greater power in specific directions allowing increased performance and reduced interference from unwanted sources. Directional antennas provide increased performanc ...

at all times. By day a four-

tower array A tower array is an arrangement of multiple radio towers which are mast radiators in a phased array. They were originally developed as ground-based tracking radars. Tower arrays can consist of free-standing or guyed towers or a mix of them. Tower ...

is employed and at night, it switches to an eight-tower array. The

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the ...

is off McKnight Road in Ross Township, Pennsylvania.

History

Beginnings as WWSW

The station was originally at 1500 (later 1490), and moved to 970 in November 1949, requiring an eight-tower array to use the frequency. This large array was one of the first of its kind in the United States. For many years, this station was WWSW with a MOR music format aimed at older adults. In the early 1970s, General Manager Charles Warner instituted a news-heavy morning show to compete with market leader KDKA.

Country, Talk and Oldies

In 1980, two format changes were instituted at WWSW and its sister station, known for the past seven years at WPEZ. The latter switched from Top 40 to adult contemporary music and proved to be a blueprint for its present-day success. As for the former, a disastrous and abrupt format change to country music (as "Double Country") eventually resulted in the abandonment of the historic call letters and a switch to talk as WTKN, with the moniker "We're Talking Pittsburgh!" Legendary Pittsburgh air personality Doug "Uncle Dougie" Hoerth was among the staff hosts under this format, which proved to be no match for the higher rated KDKA and WTAE. Later, the WWSW calls were reclaimed. In February 1988, WWSW and sister WWSW-FM simultaneously switched to separate

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 w ...

formats, with the FM concentrating more on hits of the 1960s and 1970s, while the AM focused on 1950s and 1960s music. By 1991, the AM became a complete simulcast of the FM station, known as “3WS”, by the end of the decade.

As WBGG

On August 28, 2000, 970 switched call letters to WBGG, breaking away from the simulcast to become a

Fox Sports Radio Fox Sports Radio is an American sports radio network. Based in Los Angeles, California, the network is operated and managed by Premiere Networks in a content partnership with Fox Corporation's Fox Sports division and iHeartMedia, parent compan ...

affiliate. At first, the station was known as "970 The Burgh," but today, the station calls itself "970 ESPN", as it is now an affiliate of

. The two stations had a common bond as, in addition to being co-owned, they were the flagship stations for 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 ...

. The FM outlet for Penguins switched to sister station WXDX-FM in the 2006-07 hockey season while University of Pittsburgh football and basketball switched to WWSW. In addition, WBGG, along with sister station WDVE, is the flagship station for the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

. While WDVE originates the broadcast, the contract with the Steelers specifies that the games also be aired on an AM radio station in the market. Local programming was highlighted by former Steelers Tunch Ilkin and

Craig Wolfley Craig Alan Wolfley (born May 19, 1958) is a former football player and current color analyst for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Along with former teammate Max Starks, he hosts a show on 970 ESPN. College career Wolfley attended Syracuse Univ ...

10a-12p,

Stan Savran Stan Savran (born Stanley George Savransky; February 25, 1947 – June 12, 2023) was an American media personality based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was a member of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and a member of the Pittsburgh ...

12-2p, and Wes Uhler from 4-7p. The online publication (970espn.com) is also the home of several sports blogs including the "Pens Bender Blog" by Rich Miller. On January 1, 2011 WBGG became an affiliate of the ESPN Radio Network as WEAE changed to Radio Disney. On September 9, 2015 it was announced that WBGG Pittsburgh launched an FM translator station, W292DH, located at 106.3, licensed to Uniontown. That translator was sold late in 2020 to Catholic broadcaster

Relevant Radio Relevant Radio (corporate name Relevant Radio, Inc.) is a radio network in the United States, mainly broadcasting talk radio and religious programming involving the Catholic Church. It is the largest Catholic radio network by owned station base. R ...

. Since 2013, WBGG has been the flagship station in the Pittsburgh area for the Robert Morris Colonials

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 ...

, men's basketball, and men's ice hockey teams, as well as select women's basketball and women's ice hockey games. The station also broadcasts the weekly football coach's show with head coach

Bernard Clark Bernard "Tiger" Clark (born January 12, 1967) is an American football coach and former player. He is head football coach at Robert Morris University, a position he has held since the 2018 season. Clark played professionally as a linebacker in th ...

Jr. every Thursday night during college football season, men's basketball coach's show with head coach Andrew Toole every Wednesday night during college basketball season, and men's hockey coach's show with head coach

Derek Schooley Derek Schooley (born October 4,1970) is an American ice hockey head coach and former player. Since 2004 he has been the head coach for Robert Morris, with his tenure interrupted during the program's 2021-23 disbandment. Career Hailing from St. ...

every Tuesday night during college hockey season. The station also broadcasts The Keith Dambrot Show, a weekly show featuring Duquesne men's basketball head coach

Keith Dambrot Keith Brett Dambrot (born October 26, 1958) is an American college basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach of Duquesne University. During his high school head coaching career, he coached future NBA star LeBron James for two ye ...

. During the season for the NHL's

, the station broadcasts a weekly Monday night show called Along the Boards, hosted by

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

Penguins beat writer Jason Mackey and Penguins radio color analyst and former player

Phil Bourque Phillipe Richard Bourque (born June 8, 1962) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He was never selected in the NHL Entry Draft; instead, he was signed as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 4, 1982. He is a dista ...

References

External links

ESPN Pittsburgh FacebookOfficial website
{{IHeartMedia Sports radio stations in the United States BGG Radio stations established in 1931 1931 establishments in Pennsylvania IHeartMedia radio stations ESPN Radio stations