WXCX (105.7 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 radi ...

licensed to Siren, Wisconsin. WXCX transmits with 6 kW at 100 meters (class A) from a tower in central Burnett County. The station broadcasts a

classic country Classic country is a music radio format that specializes in playing mainstream country and western music hits from past decades. Repertoire The radio format specializes in hits from the 1950s through the early 1980s, and focus primarily on innov ...

format. It is owned by Zoe Communications, Inc. and has studios in

Shell Lake, Wisconsin Shell Lake is a city in Washburn County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,347 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Washburn County. History A post office called Shell Lake has been in operation since 1880. The city took i ...

History

105.7 was originally assigned the call letters WBEP, which were never used on the air. Casey Communications began test broadcasts of WXCX on December 28, 1999, simulcasting sister station WWLC in

Balsam Lake, Wisconsin Balsam Lake is a village in, and the county seat of Polk County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,009 at the 2010 census. The village is located within the Town of Balsam Lake. History The area in and around Balsam Lake was orig ...

(now WZEZ). At the time, Pine City Broadcasting, owner of WCMP and

WCMP-FM WCMP-FM (100.9 MHz, "Cool Country 100.9 FM") is a radio station licensed to serve Pine City, Minnesota. It airs a country music format. It is owned by Alan R. Quarnstrom, through licensee Q Media Properties, and has studios at 15429 Pokegama Lak ...

in Pine City, Minnesota, operated WWLC and WXCX through a local marketing agreement. WWLC and WXCX shared studios on Main Street in Milltown. WXCX began its own format of 1960s' and '70s'

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 ...

music on February 7, 2000, using programming from ABC's Oldies Radio format. In addition to local news updates and high school sports broadcasts, the station carried newscasts from the Wisconsin Radio Network and Green Bay Packers football beginning in fall 2000. In September 2000, the agreement with Pine City Broadcasting was severed, and Casey Communications took over day-to-day operations of WWLC and WXCX, changing WWLC's callsign to WLMX-FM. WXCX later added agricultural news from the Brownfield Network. Quarnstrom Media purchased WLMX-FM and WXCX in late 2002 and began operating the stations through a local marketing agreement on October 1, 2002. The new owners switched WXCX to

Jones Radio Networks Jones Radio Networks & Jones Media Group were branches of Jones International before being sold to Triton Media Group. JRN and JMN provide local radio stations with satellite-delivered formats. They also offer other services to local radio such ...

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 ...

format in early 2003, and then to JRN's Classic Hits format in early 2004. WXCX dropped programming from WRN and Brownfield, but continued to carry Packers football. In early 2006, WLMX-FM and WXCX moved their studios to their present location in

Luck Luck is the phenomenon and belief that defines the experience of improbable events, especially improbably positive or negative ones. The naturalistic interpretation is that positive and negative events may happen at any time, both due to rand ...

. Later in 2006, Quarnstrom Media agreed to sell WLMX-FM and WXCX, along with seven other stations in Wisconsin and

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

, to

Red Rock Radio Red River Broadcasting is a television broadcasting company based in Fargo, North Dakota. It operates Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox affiliates in the Fargo, North Dakota and Duluth, Minnesota–Superior, Wisconsin television markets. Curtis Squi ...

for $7.5 million. The FCC approved the sale in July 2006. Red Rock Radio later agreed to purchase WCMP-AM-FM in Pine City, restoring the link between WCMP and WXCX. On November 2, 2011 WXCX changed their format from classic hits to adult hits, branded as "Sam 105.7". On August 5, 2015, WXCX changed its format from adult hits to

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, ...

, branded as "105.7 The Fan". Most of WXCX's programming was supplied by the FAN Radio Network, based out of

KFXN-FM KFXN-FM (100.3 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, broadcasting a sports talk format. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, and serves the Twin Cities market. KFXN-FM's transmitter is located in the suburb ...

in Minneapolis, with

NBC Sports Radio NBC Sports Radio was a sports radio network that debuted on September 4, 2012. The network content was produced by the NBC Sports Group division of NBCUniversal and distributed by Westwood One, which is the corporate successor to the remains of ...

programming airing at night and on weekends. WXCX was the FAN Radio Network's first affiliate in Wisconsin; however, despite carrying Minneapolis-based sports talk shows, the station continued to broadcast Green Bay Packers games. On July 20, 2016, Red Rock Radio announced that it would sell WXCX to Zoe Communications as part of a five station deal; the sale was completed on September 30, 2016. On October 10, 2016 WXCX changed their format to classic country, branded as "WILLIE 105.7".

References

External links

* {{Country Radio Stations in Wisconsin XCX Country radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 2000 2000 establishments in Wisconsin