WRAL (FM)

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This article is about the radio station. For the television station, see WRAL-TV.
WRAL
WRAL-FM Mix 101.5 Logo.png
CityRaleigh, North Carolina
Broadcast areaRaleigh/Durham
Research Triangle
Frequency101.5 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingMix 101.5
Programming
FormatAnalog/HD1: Adult contemporary
SubchannelsHD2: Contemporary Christian music ("Cornerstone Radio")
HD3: Sports (Buzz Sports Radio)
Ownership
OwnerCapitol Broadcasting Company
(WRAL-FM, Inc.)
WCLY, WCMC-FM, WDNC, WRAL-TV, WRAZ, WARZ-CD
History
First air date
September 6, 1946[1]
Former call signs
WRAL-FM (1946–1974)
Former frequencies
95.3 (1946–1947)
Call sign meaning
RALeigh
Technical information
Facility ID73920
ClassC
ERP98,000 watts
4,000 watts (digital)
HAAT606 meters (1,988 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
35°40′35.6″N 78°32′7.0″W / 35.676556°N 78.535278°W / 35.676556; -78.535278Coordinates: 35°40′35.6″N 78°32′7.0″W / 35.676556°N 78.535278°W / 35.676556; -78.535278
Translator(s)W243DK-FM 96.5 MHz - Durham, NC (Buzz Sports Radio) FM Relay
Links
WebcastListen Live
Listen Live (HD2)
Websitewww.wralfm.com

WRAL (101.5 FM, "Mix 101.5") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Raleigh, North Carolina. The station is owned by Capitol Broadcasting Company and broadcasts an adult contemporary format. The station switches to a Christmas music format during November and December. Its broadcast tower is located southeast of Raleigh near Garner, North Carolina at (

 WikiMiniAtlas
35°40′35.1″N 78°32′7.2″W / 35.676417°N 78.535333°W / 35.676417; -78.535333).[2]

WRAL studios are located in the Highwoods office complex in Raleigh, along with WCMC-FM, a sports talk station that signed on in October 2005. Both stations are owned and operated by Capitol Broadcasting Company, which also owns area NBC affiliate WRAL-TV, Fox affiliate WRAZ-TV, and the Durham Bulls minor-league baseball team, among other properties.

WRAL uses HD Radio[3] and broadcasts a Contemporary Christian music format branded as "Cornerstone Radio" on its HD2 subchannel. The WRAL HD3 Subchannel Simulcasts WDNC-AM'S Buzz Sports Radio.

WRAL carries the audio of the Six O'Clock News broadcast on sister station WRAL-TV.

History[]

WRAL-FM signed on for the first time September 6, 1946 at 95.3, with an ERP of 1,000 watts.[1] It was the second FM station to operate in North Carolina, and the first to operate on the new 88–108 MHz FM band (FM stations had previously used the 42–50 MHz band[4]). It was a sister station to WRAL radio (AM 1240, now WPJL),[5] which was sold off in the 1950s.[6] The studios were located at 130 Salisbury Street, with the transmitter on Davie Street Extension.

WRAL-FM offered its own programming, rather than simulcast a sister AM station, in the form of easy listening music and extensive agricultural reports. Together with WCEC in Rocky Mount and WGBR in Goldsboro, WRAL helped establish a statewide radio network named the Tobacco Radio Network, which connected communities throughout North Carolina. It became the precursor to today's North Carolina News Network, originally based at the WRAL studios (and sold to Curtis Media Group in 2009). WRAL would move to 101.5[5] in 1947; it concurrently increased its ERP to 54,000 watts.[7]

In 1948, Jesse Helms became the news director. From 1960 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1972, the station offered the audio portion of commentaries by Helms which aired as the "Viewpoint" segment on WRAL-TV.[8] The station increased its ERP to 250,000 watts in 1963.[7]

WRAL-FM switched its format to adult contemporary in the early 1970s, branding itself as "WRAL-Stereo 101" and later "WRAL-FM 101.5." The format continues to this day, though at one point the station leaned hot adult contemporary.[5] The "-FM" suffix was dropped from the call sign on October 1, 1974.[7] Famous Bob Inskeep (FBI) started as morning host in 1975. The show included news and information as well as the puppet Zoot, mailman Mr. Snailspace and tax consultant H.R. Blockhead.[9]

On December 10, 1989, an early morning winter ice storm caused the tower it shared with WRAL-TV near Auburn, North Carolina, along with a separate tower for WPTF-TV (now WRDC) to collapse. The station moved its transmission signal to WPTF's former tower near Apex until a new tower was built at the same site the following year. Its effective radiated power was dropped to 96,000 watts to conform to FCC standards since its antenna was situated farther up the tower than before.[5] Even with the power reduction, the station still has one of the largest coverage areas of any station in North Carolina. It provides at least secondary coverage as far west as Asheboro, as far east as Greenville and as far south as Elizabethtown.[10]

On December 20, 2002, the station became the first licensed commercial radio station on the east coast to broadcast using HD Radio. WRAL-HD1 simulcast the analog signal, while WRAL-HD2 offered a more modern-leaning playlist. On Monday, June 27, 2005, WRAL became the first commercial station in North Carolina[11] and only the second commercial station in the nation (WUSN in Chicago was the first[5]) to utilize the "multicasting" capabilities of HD Radio technology to broadcast multiple digital channels.[11]

On April 23, 2007, WRAL-FM became the flagship station for the NC State Wolfpack, beginning with the 2007–2008 school year.[12][13] The broadcast rights to football and basketball games belong to Wolfpack Sports Properties, which is jointly owned by Capitol Broadcasting and Learfield Sports.[14][15] The weekly coaches' shows with Dave Doeren and Kevin Keatts air separately on sister station WCMC-FM.

WRAL-FM was the second station in Raleigh to air the nationally syndicated Delilah nighttime radio show, which it carried from November 2007 until October 2009. WRSN ("Sunny 93.9") had carried the program before that station flipped to Rhythmic AC as "93.9 Kiss FM".

On August 22, 2009, WRAL-FM started to air the Rick Dees Weekly Top 30 Countdown show on Saturdays at 7 am – 10 am.[16] It also replaced the Delilah program with the John Tesh Radio Show beginning October 5, 2009. Both Dees and Tesh are veterans to Triangle radio, having both worked at WKIX back in the early 1970s,[17] along with former WRAL-TV morning and noon anchor Bill Leslie.

On March 5, 2013, morning radio personality Bill Jordan announced his retirement after 23 years with the station.[18]

On April 2, 2013, WRAL-HD2 changed formats to Contemporary Christian music, an expansion of the "Cornerstone" program normally heard on Sunday mornings on the main channel from 7 am to noon.[19] "Cornerstone" has been hosted by Jami Caskey since it first aired in 1984, and is the station's longest-running program. When the main channel switches to all-Christmas music after Thanksgiving, HD2 airs the adult contemporary format heard during the rest of the year.

On July 28, 2014, "The Gene and Julie Show" began airing, with husband and wife Gene and Julie Gates.[20] In 2015, the couple won the Marconi Award for Large Market Personality of the Year. Even with the bump in ratings, Gene & Julie eventually parted ways with WRAL-FM on August 15, 2016.[21] The following week, WRAL-FM debuted a new morning show called "Two Men & A Mom". The hosts were Kyle Smelser and Bryan Lord, who came from WNOW-FM in Indianapolis, along with Raleigh native Sarah King, who worked at WKNC while a student at N.C. State.[22]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ceremonies Mark Debut Of WRAL-FM Raleigh" (PDF). Broadcasting-Telecasting. September 9, 1946. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  2. ^ "FM Query Results for WRAL". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2017-07-04.
  3. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2017-07-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ Frost, Gary (2010). Early FM Radio: Incremental Technology in Twentieth-Century America. Baltimore, Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 134. ISBN 9780801894404.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Raleigh-Durham FM Dial". Archived from the original on 2003-02-01. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  6. ^ "Raleigh-Durham AM Dial". Archived from the original on 2002-10-15. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c "WRAL history cards" (PDF). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  8. ^ http://www.unctv.org/senatorno/peopleevents/events.html, Retrieved on 2008/04/23. Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Leonard, Teresa (2016-08-17). "Morning men woke up the Triangle". News & Observer.
  10. ^ Coverage map
  11. ^ Jump up to: a b "HD Radio". WRAL-FM. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12. Retrieved 2007-11-24.
  12. ^ http://www.gopack.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9200&ATCLID=876362, Retrieved on 2008/04/23.[dead link]
  13. ^ Chip Alexander, "Pack, WPTF Part Ways: Wolfpack Moves Football and Men's Basketball from Longtime AM Partner to FM Station, The News & Observer, April 26, 2007.
  14. ^ http://www.cbc-raleigh.com/division/wsm.asp, Retrieved on 2008/04/23.
  15. ^ "NC State Wolfpack".
  16. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-08-24. Retrieved 2009-08-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. ^ "The Jeff Smith collection". reelradio.com. Retrieved 2010-05-05.
  18. ^ "Mix 101.5's Bill Jordan announces retirement". WRAL.com. 2013-03-05. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-07-31. Retrieved 2013-04-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ^ "Husband, wife team to take over Mix mornings". WRAL-FM. 7 July 2014.
  21. ^ "WRAL (Mix 101.5)/Raleigh's Gene & Julie Morning Show Exits". AllAccess.com. 2016-08-15. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  22. ^ "Mix 101.5 Raleigh Debuts Two Men & A Mom In Mornings". RadioInsight.com. 2016-08-22. Retrieved 2016-08-22.

External links[]

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