Audacy will swap frequencies of AC “Magic 98.9” WSPA-FM Spartanburg and News/Talk “WORD 106.3” WYRD-FM Simpsonville SC on March 28.
The move will place the News/Talk on the 100kw/581m 98.9 signal adding coverage of Asheville NC. It marks the second move for the brand as it first moved from 950 WORD Spartanburg and 1330 WYRD Greenville to 106.3 in 2008.
“Magic 106.3” will shift to the 25kW/100m signal that reaches Greenville and Spartanburg.
WSPA-FM ranked third in the January 2023 Nielsen Audio ratings with a 5.9 share inflated by its Christmas music run in the fall. WYRD-FM was sixth in the market with a 4.4 share. It has a direct format competitor in Salem’s “94.5 The Answer” WGTK-FM, which had a 2.5 share.
Audacy announces WYRD-FM (106.3 WORD) in Greenville-Spartanburg will flip frequencies with sister station WSPA-FM (Magic 98.9), effective March 28.
106.3 WORD will move to 98.9 FM and be branded as News/Talk 98.9 WORD, “The Voice of the Carolinas,” while retaining the WYRD-FM call letters. The move will increase broadcast signal coverage from 25,000 to 100,000 watts and 250,000 to 500,000 adults 35+ from the South Carolina/Georgia border to Asheville, NC, while covering parts of four South Carolina congressional districts and several North Carolina congressional districts.
Magic 98.9 will move to Magic 106.3 and continue branding as “Today’s Hits and Yesterday’s Favorites” while retaining the WSPA-FM call letters. The move will allow WSPA-FM to shift its primary focus to businesses and listeners in Greenville and Spartanburg counties.
“We are committed to delivering quality audio and content with our massive reach to our audiences,” said Steve Sinicropi, Senior Vice President and Market Manager, Audacy Greenville-Spartanburg. “There is a tremendous demand for news/talk content in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson-Asheville area. The signal flip allows us to maximize our reach even further across the region and more broadly meet the needs of our listeners and advertisers across the Carolinas.”
106.3 WORD first aired on FM in 2008 as 106.3 FM in Greenville and Spartanburg counties and had previously broadcast on 1330 AM and 950 AM. WORD signed on September 1, 1940 at 910 AM as Spartanburg’s second radio station. On March 28, WYRD-FM will complete an 83-year journey from a 5,000-watt AM radio station serving Spartanburg to a 100,000-Watt FM station serving dozens of counties and cities in South Carolina and North Carolina at News Talk 98.9 WORD The Voice of The Carolinas.
Magic 98.9 first aired in 2002 and, before its rebranding, was the first station in the Southeast to broadcast in stereo and number six worldwide to do so. Magic 106.3, “Today’s Hits and Yesterdays Favorites” plays a variety of genres from past and present artist favorites and is known as the Upstate’s Christmas Station during November and December.
This story first appeared on radioinsight.com