AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmissions, but also on the longwave and shortwave radio bands.
129-677: WSAI (1360 AM ) is a Cincinnati, Ohio commercial radio station. Owned and operated by iHeartMedia , its studios, as well as those of iHeartMedia's other Cincinnati stations, are in the Towers of Kenwood building next to I-71 in the Kenwood section of Sycamore Township , and its transmitter site is in Mount Healthy . WSAI is known as "Fox Sports 1360", and airs the entire Fox schedule, including The Dan Patrick Show , Rich Eisen , and Colin Cowherd . It
258-465: A "chain". The Radio Corporation of America (RCA), General Electric , and Westinghouse organized a competing network around its own flagship station, RCA's WJZ (now WABC) in New York City, but were hampered by AT&T's refusal to lease connecting lines or allow them to sell airtime. In 1926 AT&T sold its radio operations to RCA, which used them to form the nucleus of the new NBC network. By
387-841: A 10 shilling receiver license fee. Both highbrow and mass-appeal programmes were carried by the National and Regional networks. The period from the early 1920s through the 1940s is often called the "Golden Age of Radio". During this period AM radio was the main source of home entertainment, until it was replaced by television. For the first time entertainment was provided from outside the home, replacing traditional forms of entertainment such as oral storytelling and music from family members. New forms were created, including radio plays , mystery serials, soap operas , quiz shows , variety hours , situation comedies and children's shows . Radio news, including remote reporting, allowed listeners to be vicariously present at notable events. Radio greatly eased
516-557: A central station to all parts of the United States", he was unable to overcome the inherent distance limitations of this technology. The earliest public radiotelegraph broadcasts were provided as government services, beginning with daily time signals inaugurated on January 1, 1905, by a number of U.S. Navy stations. In Europe, signals transmitted from a station located on the Eiffel Tower were received throughout much of Europe. In both
645-596: A concerted attempt to specify performance of AM receivers through the 1993 AMAX standard, a joint effort of the EIA and the NAB, with FCC backing... The FCC rapidly followed up on this with codification of the CQUAM AM stereo standard, also in 1993. At this point, the stage appeared to be set for rejuvenation of the AM band. Nevertheless, with the legacy of confusion and disappointment in the rollout of
774-617: A consortium, the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), established on 18 October 1922, which was given a monopoly on broadcasting. This enterprise was supported by a tax on radio sets sales, plus an annual license fee on receivers, collected by the Post Office. Initially the eight stations were allowed regional autonomy. In 1927, the original broadcasting organization was replaced by a government chartered British Broadcasting Corporation . an independent nonprofit supported solely by
903-552: A continuous-wave (CW) transmitter. Fessenden began his research on audio transmissions while doing developmental work for the United States Weather Service on Cobb Island, Maryland. Because he did not yet have a continuous-wave transmitter, initially he worked with an experimental "high-frequency spark" transmitter, taking advantage of the fact that the higher the spark rate, the closer a spark-gap transmission comes to producing continuous waves. He later reported that, in
1032-1066: A deal which was finalized in January 1997. Argyle merged with the broadcasting unit of the Hearst Corporation to form Hearst-Argyle Television in August 1997. Hearst had owned WDTN (the former WLWD) since 1981, but was not allowed to keep both stations due to a since-repealed FCC rule prohibiting common ownership of stations with overlapping city-grade signals. In 1998, Hearst traded WDTN and WNAC-TV in Providence, Rhode Island to Sunrise Television in exchange for KSBW in Salinas, California , WPTZ in Plattsburgh, New York , and WNNE in Hartford, Vermont . WLWT's licensee name under Multimedia and Gannett ownership, "Multimedia Entertainment, Inc.", survives to this day as
1161-415: A distant signal like WTWO, as it does not have the rights to carry any NBC affiliate closest to them. The substitution of WTWO in place of WLWT lasted until July 19, 2012, when a carriage deal was reached between Hearst and Time Warner. In 2014, the station aired a Thursday Night Football game from NFL Network (produced by CBS Sports ) in lieu of CBS affiliate WKRC-TV , who exercised their option of
1290-568: A few " telephone newspaper " systems, most of which were established in Europe, beginning with the Paris Théâtrophone . With this in mind, most early radiotelephone development envisioned that the device would be more profitably developed as a "wireless telephone" for personal communication, or for providing links where regular telephone lines could not be run, rather than for the uncertain finances of broadcasting. The person generally credited as
1419-463: A few hundred ( Hz ), to increase its rotational speed and so generate currents of tens-of-thousands Hz, thus producing a steady continuous-wave transmission when connected to an aerial. The next step, adopted from standard wire-telephone practice, was to insert a simple carbon microphone into the transmission line, to modulate the carrier wave signal to produce AM audio transmissions. However, it would take many years of expensive development before even
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#17328918202271548-512: A given region had to make timesharing agreements to assign operating timeslots. In May 1923 the Department of Commerce set aside a band of "Class B" frequencies reserved for stations that had quality equipment and programming, and the Cincinnati region was assigned exclusive use of 970 kHz. WSAI began operating on this new frequency, sharing time with another Cincinnati station, WLW . In May 1924
1677-512: A home audio device prior to the introduction of the high-fidelity , long-playing record in the late 1940s. Listening habits changed in the 1960s due to the introduction of the revolutionary transistor radio (Regency TR-1, the first transistor radio released December 1954), which was made possible by the invention of the transistor in 1948. (The transistor was invented at Bell labs and released in June 1948.) Their compact size — small enough to fit in
1806-469: A listening site at Plymouth, Massachusetts. An American Telephone Journal account of the December 21 alternator-transmitter demonstration included the statement that "It is admirably adapted to the transmission of news, music, etc. as, owing to the fact that no wires are needed, simultaneous transmission to many subscribers can be effected as easily as to a few", echoing the words of a handout distributed to
1935-479: A majority of early broadcasting stations operated on mediumwave frequencies, whose limited range generally restricted them to local audiences. One method for overcoming this limitation, as well as a method for sharing program costs, was to create radio networks , linking stations together with telephone lines to provide a nationwide audience. In the U.S., the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T)
2064-503: A national scale. The introduction of nationwide talk shows, most prominently Rush Limbaugh 's beginning in 1988, was sometimes credited with "saving" AM radio. However, these stations tended to attract older listeners who were of lesser interest to advertisers, and AM radio's audience share continued to erode. In 1961, the FCC adopted a single standard for FM stereo transmissions, which was widely credited with enhancing FM's popularity. Developing
2193-679: A new set. In the mid-2000s through the early 2010s, the station maintained a weather beacon atop the Radisson Hotel in Covington dubbed the "Weather Lights". The station's signal is multiplexed : NBC Weather Plus ceased network operations in late 2008; however, WLWT continued to broadcast local weather programming as "News 5 Weather Plus" on its digital subchannel until June 30, 2011. The subchannel switched to MeTV on July 1, 2011. WLWT discontinued regular programming on its analog signal, over VHF channel 5, on June 12, 2009, as part of
2322-399: A policy allowing AM stations to simulcast over FM translator stations. Translators had previously been available only to FM broadcasters, in order to increase coverage in fringe areas. Their assignment for use by AM stations was intended to approximate the station's daytime coverage, which in cases where the stations reduced power at night, often resulted in expanded nighttime coverage. Although
2451-588: A power reduction from 5,000 to 500 watts. WSAI was run as a locally oriented station, while the higher powered sister station WLW — with programs from NBC Radio and the Mutual Broadcasting System — aimed for the whole region. On March 29, 1941, with the implementation of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement , stations on 1330 kHz, including WSAI, were moved to 1360 kHz. The August 1941 adoption of
2580-433: A prototype alternator-transmitter would be ready, and a few years beyond that for high-power versions to become available. Fessenden worked with General Electric 's (GE) Ernst F. W. Alexanderson , who in August 1906 delivered an improved model which operated at a transmitting frequency of approximately 50 kHz, although at low power. The alternator-transmitter achieved the goal of transmitting quality audio signals, but
2709-423: A result, AM radio tends to do best in areas where FM frequencies are in short supply, or in thinly populated or mountainous areas where FM coverage is poor. Great care must be taken to avoid mutual interference between stations operating on the same frequency. In general, an AM transmission needs to be about 20 times stronger than an interfering signal to avoid a reduction in quality, in contrast to FM signals, where
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#17328918202272838-427: A result, the stations all lost their grandfathered protection, which led to an ownership conflict situation which Hearst-Argyle (predecessor to today's Hearst Television) would encounter two decades later (the FCC has since relaxed its adjacent-market ownership rules). All of the "WLW Network" TV stations except for flagship WLWT would change their call signs, leaving WLWT as the only one with any physical evidence that it
2967-452: A shirt pocket — and lower power requirements, compared to vacuum tubes, meant that for the first time radio receivers were readily portable. The transistor radio became the most widely used communication device in history, with billions manufactured by the 1970s. Radio became a ubiquitous "companion medium" which people could take with them anywhere they went. The demarcation between what is considered "experimental" and "organized" broadcasting
3096-427: A short-range "wireless telephone" demonstration, that included simultaneously broadcasting speech and music to seven locations throughout Murray, Kentucky. However, this was transmitted using induction rather than radio signals, and although Stubblefield predicted that his system would be perfected so that "it will be possible to communicate with hundreds of homes at the same time", and "a single message can be sent from
3225-406: A sports on July 2, 2007, as "Cincinnati's ESPN 1360". As an all-network companion to sister station WCKY, which airs local talk during the day and carries various play-by-play, WSAI aired the entire ESPN Radio programming lineup. WSAI and WCKY stations swapped network affiliations on February 15, 2010, with WCKY affiliating with ESPN Radio as "ESPN 1530", while WSAI became "Fox Sports 1360", carrying
3354-729: A third Class B station was established in Cincinnati, WFBW (now WKRC ), which the next month became WMH. WLW was unhappy with having to split time with two other stations, so in June 1924 government regulators moved WLW to 710 kHz, sharing time with WBAV (now WTVN ) in Columbus. At the Third National Radio Conference, held in October 1924, the Radio Corporation of America 's (RCA) vice president and general manager, David Sarnoff , announced that his company planned to embark on
3483-461: A widespread audience — dates back to the founding period of radio development, even though the earliest radio transmissions, originally known as "Hertzian radiation" and "wireless telegraphy", used spark-gap transmitters that could only transmit the dots-and-dashes of Morse code . In October 1898 a London publication, The Electrician , noted that "there are rare cases where, as Dr. [Oliver] Lodge once expressed it, it might be advantageous to 'shout'
3612-406: Is comparable to or better in audio quality than a standard analog broadcast". Despite the various actions, AM band audiences continued to contract, and the number of stations began to slowly decline. A 2009 FCC review reported that "The story of AM radio over the last 50 years has been a transition from being the dominant form of audio entertainment for all age groups to being almost non-existent to
3741-497: Is largely arbitrary. Listed below are some of the early AM radio broadcasts, which, due to their irregular schedules and limited purposes, can be classified as "experimental": People who weren't around in the Twenties when radio exploded can't know what it meant, this milestone for mankind. Suddenly, with radio, there was instant human communication. No longer were our homes isolated and lonely and silent. The world came into our homes for
3870-645: Is simpler than later transmission systems. An AM receiver detects amplitude variations in the radio waves at a particular frequency, then amplifies changes in the signal voltage to operate a loudspeaker or earphone . However, the simplicity of AM transmission also makes it vulnerable to "static" ( radio noise , radio frequency interference ) created by both natural atmospheric electrical activity such as lightning, and electrical and electronic equipment, including fluorescent lights, motors and vehicle ignition systems. In large urban centers, AM radio signals can be severely disrupted by metal structures and tall buildings. As
3999-443: Is the Cincinnati affiliate for University of Louisville Cardinals football and basketball (if Kentucky is on ESPN 1530), NFL on Westwood One , NCAA college basketball on Westwood One , NCAA college football on Westwood One , and Columbus Blue Jackets hockey. WSAI also airs FC Cincinnati games if ESPN 1530 is airing NFL on Westwood One games at the same time. WSAI was first authorized, by telegram, on March 19, 1923, and
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4128-655: The AFC North . WLWT briefly aired UPN programming as a secondary affiliation during the early morning hours on weekends at certain points in 1998 (the network was then limited to a six-hour weekly schedule), after that netlet was displaced from its previous affiliate WSTR-TV (channel 64) by The WB . The expected lower ratings in a late night time slot on WLWT (along with low promotion of UPN programming outside of Star Trek: Voyager ) saw UPN capitulate and affiliate with former WB affiliate WBQC-CA (channel 25) in September 1998 as
4257-770: The Crosley Broadcasting Corporation , owners of WLW (700 AM), one of the United States' most powerful radio stations. Crosley Broadcasting was a subsidiary of the Crosley Corporation, which became a subsidiary of the Aviation Corporation (later known as Avco ) in 1945. After starting experimental broadcasts in 1946 as W8XCT on channel 1 , the station began commercial broadcasts on February 9, 1948, on VHF channel 4, making it Cincinnati's first television station and Ohio's second (after WEWS , Cleveland ). The station's studios were housed with WLW in
4386-676: The Crosley Square building, a converted Elks lodge in downtown Cincinnati. WLWT counts itself as the first television station outside the Eastern U.S. (other than network-owned stations) to become a primary NBC television affiliate, but originally carried programming from all the major television networks of the time: NBC, ABC , CBS and DuMont . WLWT later affiliated exclusively with NBC in 1949, after WKRC-TV (originally on channel 11, now on channel 12) and WCPO-TV (originally on channel 7, now on channel 9) signed on during that year. Following
4515-556: The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) with the intention of helping AM stations, especially ones with musical formats, become more competitive with FM broadcasters by promoting better quality receivers. However, the stereo AM and AMAX initiatives had little impact, and a 2015 review of these events concluded that Initially the consumer manufacturers made
4644-615: The Emergency Alert System (EAS). Some automakers have been eliminating AM radio from their electric vehicles (EVs) due to interference from the electric motors , but the lawmakers argue that this is a safety risk and that car owners should have access to AM radio regardless of the type of vehicle they drive. The proposed legislation would require all new vehicles to include AM radio at no additional charge, and it would also require automakers that have already eliminated AM radio to inform customers of alternatives. AM radio technology
4773-479: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) expressed concerns that this would reduce the effectiveness of emergency communications. In May 2023, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the United States introduced legislation making it illegal for automakers to eliminate AM radio from their cars. The lawmakers argue that AM radio is an important tool for public safety due to being a component of
4902-431: The electrolytic detector and thermionic diode ( Fleming valve ) were invented by Reginald Fessenden and John Ambrose Fleming , respectively. Most important, in 1904–1906 the crystal detector , the simplest and cheapest AM detector, was developed by G. W. Pickard . Homemade crystal radios spread rapidly during the next 15 years, providing ready audiences for the first radio broadcasts. One limitation of crystals sets
5031-502: The federally mandated transition from analog to digital television . The station's digital signal remained on its pre-transition UHF channel 35, using virtual channel 5. As part of the SAFER Act or called by most "Nightlight" service of 30 days past the DTV transition date, WLWT kept its analog signal on the air until July 12 to inform viewers of the digital television transition through
5160-456: The right of first refusal . The station today airs up to four Cincinnati Bengals games a year, usually as part of NBC Sunday Night Football or ESPN's Monday Night Football (WLWT parent Hearst holds a 20 percent interest in the ESPN joint venture with Disney ). The latter (if not a national simulcast on ABC through WCPO-TV) means a delay of The Voice to overnight hours, with voting limited to
5289-430: The " capture effect " means that the dominant signal needs to only be about twice as strong as the interfering one. To allow room for more stations on the mediumwave broadcast band in the United States, in June 1989 the FCC adopted a National Radio Systems Committee (NRSC) standard that limited maximum transmitted audio bandwidth to 10.2 kHz, limiting occupied bandwidth to 20.4 kHz. The former audio limitation
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5418-731: The "WLW Network", and their call letters were stylized with hyphens to further reflect their connections to each other—the Cincinnati station, the group's flagship, was known as "WLW-T". Crosley also owned WLWA (now WXIA-TV ) in Atlanta (purchased in 1953 and sold in 1962) and WOAI-TV in San Antonio (acquired in 1965, sold in 1974). The three WLW television stations in Ohio were NBC affiliates, and carried common programming along with WLWI in Indianapolis (an ABC affiliate). Most of these shows were produced at
5547-587: The 1930s, most of the major radio stations in the country were affiliated with networks owned by two companies, NBC and CBS . In 1934, a third national network, the Mutual Radio Network , was formed as a cooperative owned by its stations. A second country which quickly adopted network programming was the United Kingdom, and its national network quickly became a prototype for a state-managed monopoly of broadcasting. A rising interest in radio broadcasting by
5676-660: The 1940s two new broadcast media, FM radio and television , began to provide extensive competition with the established broadcasting services. The AM radio industry suffered a serious loss of audience and advertising revenue, and coped by developing new strategies. Network broadcasting gave way to format broadcasting: instead of broadcasting the same programs all over the country, stations individually adopted specialized formats which appealed to different audiences, such as regional and local news, sports, "talk" programs, and programs targeted at minorities. Instead of live music, most stations began playing less expensive recorded music. In
5805-420: The 1950s and received much of the programming previously carried by radio. Later, AM radio's audiences declined greatly due to competition from FM ( frequency modulation ) radio, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), satellite radio , HD (digital) radio , Internet radio , music streaming services , and podcasting . Compared to FM or digital transmissions , AM transmissions are more expensive to transmit due to
5934-472: The 1960s and 1970s, headed by personalities like Larry Gordon (America's Youngest Disk Jockey), Jim Scott, Robin Mitchell, Bob Goode, Buddy Baron, Roy Cooper, Ted McAllister, Jack Stahl, Dusty Rhodes, Casey Piotrowski, Larry Clark, Gary Allyn, Steve Kirk (later of WING , Dayton), Bob Harper, Mark Edwards, Dick Wagner, Bob Wayne, Steve Young, Bob White, Paul Purtan, Ron "King B" Britain (later of WCFL Chicago), and
6063-690: The 1995 season. WLWT returned to broadcasting Reds games in 2024 , albeit only the Opening Day game, in a simulcast with Bally Sports Ohio . In 1968, when the Cincinnati Bengals were enfranchised by the American Football League , channel 5 became the station of record for the team as Avco acquired broadcast rights to the team's preseason games, which were also distributed to Dayton, Columbus, and Indianapolis. WLWT would also carry most regular-season Bengals games through NBC's contracts with
6192-588: The AFL and the National Football League through the end of the 1997 season , when NBC lost its broadcast rights to the American Football Conference to CBS . In the present-day WLWT airs Bengals games when they are featured on NBC's Sunday Night Football as well as ESPN 's Monday Night Football , a benefit of WLWT owner Hearst's 20 percent stake in the sports network. The station has aired
6321-528: The AM radio industry in the United States developed technology for broadcasting in stereo . Other nations adopted AM stereo, most commonly choosing Motorola's C-QUAM, and in 1993 the United States also made the C-QUAM system its standard, after a period allowing four different standards to compete. The selection of a single standard improved acceptance of AM stereo , however overall there was limited adoption of AM stereo worldwide, and interest declined after 1990. With
6450-595: The Bengals' appearances in Super Bowls XXIII and LVI . WLWT presently broadcasts 42 hours of locally produced newscasts each week (with 6 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours each weekday, 4 + 1 ⁄ 2 hours on Saturdays and five hours on Sundays). As of February 2012 , WLWT generally had the third-rated local newscasts in the Cincinnati market; however, it has been showing steady ratings growth in its newscasts in recent years. WLWT now places #1 or #2 in all newscasts in
6579-579: The Bengals' rights after the 1999 season, as its parent company AMFM merged with Clear Channel and both stations were split up. WCKY slowly gained respect by gaining the radio rights to the Cincinnati Bengals via a three-way arrangement with WLW and WOFX . "1360 Homer" served as the AM flagship when the Bengals and the Cincinnati Reds baseball team share the season schedule. After the Reds' season ends,
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#17328918202276708-521: The British public pressured the government to reintroduce the service, following its suspension in 1920. However, the government also wanted to avoid what it termed the "chaotic" U.S. experience of allowing large numbers of stations to operate with few restrictions. There were also concerns about broadcasting becoming dominated by the Marconi company. Arrangements were made for six large radio manufacturers to form
6837-419: The FCC enacted its "one-to-a-market" rule , which enforced a ban on common ownership of AM radio stations and television stations with overlapping coverage areas under certain conditions while grandfathering some already existing instances. Avco's ownership of WLW radio (a 50,000- watt , clear-channel station ) and WLWT, and the Columbus, Dayton and Indianapolis television stations was initially protected under
6966-477: The Federal Communications Commission's "duopoly" rule restricted licensees from operating more than one radio station in a given market. At this time the Crosley Corporation owned both WLW and WSAI, so to conform with the new regulation in 1944 WSAI was sold to Marshall Field. Like many AM stations of their era, WSAI began playing popular music, which segued into a Top 40 format. The transmitter
7095-411: The Twenties when radio exploded can't know what it meant, this milestone for mankind. Suddenly, with radio, there was instant human communication. No longer were our homes isolated and lonely and silent. The world came into our homes for the first time. Music came pouring in. Laughter came in. News came in. The world shrank, with radio. The idea of broadcasting — the unrestricted transmission of signals to
7224-513: The U.S., for example) subject to international agreements. WLWT WLWT (channel 5) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio , United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television . The station's studios are located on Young Street, and its transmitter is located on Chickasaw Street, both in the Mount Auburn neighborhood of Cincinnati. WLWT was established by
7353-662: The United States and France this led to a small market of receiver lines geared for jewelers who needed accurate time to set their clocks, including the Ondophone in France, and the De Forest RS-100 Jewelers Time Receiver in the United States The ability to pick up time signal broadcasts, in addition to Morse code weather reports and news summaries, also attracted the interest of amateur radio enthusiasts. It
7482-522: The WCKY calls were moved to 550 AM, the WSAI call letters and standards format moved to 1530 AM, and the former WSAI at AM 1360 became WAOZ, with a children's music format on April 18 of that year. On August 30, 1996, WAOZ changed its call letters to WAZU, with a news/talk format. That format, in turn, changed back to sports talk as "1360 Homer" on December 12, 1997. The WAZU call letters were changed to WCKY, following
7611-567: The WLWT studios on Crosley Square, and included The Ruth Lyons 50-50 Club (later hosted by Bob Braun after Lyons' retirement in 1967), the Paul Dixon Show and Midwestern Hayride ; some of these programs were syndicated regionally to other stations outside of the Crosley group. In 1957, WLWT became the first station in the Cincinnati market to begin color television broadcasts. It later became
7740-573: The agreement with XM ended in the summer of 2008. WLWT and WLW shared news and weather operations for years while both were owned by Crosley Broadcasting, but eventual separate ownerships of the two stations (WLWT to Argyle, then Hearst Television; WLW to Clear Channel ) led to WLW radio using the resources of WKRC-TV for several years until the renewed partnership with its former television sister. The modern WLW-WLWT partnership ended on March 31, 2010; WLWT currently provides news and weather to several Cincinnati radio stations. The transmission tower seen at
7869-523: The antenna wire. This meant that the full transmitter power flowed through the microphone, and even using water cooling, the power handling ability of the microphones severely limited the power of the transmissions. Ultimately only a small number of large and powerful Alexanderson alternators would be developed. However, they would be almost exclusively used for long-range radiotelegraph communication, and occasionally for radiotelephone experimentation, but were never used for general broadcasting. Almost all of
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#17328918202277998-474: The audience has continued to decline. In 1987, the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine requirement meant that talk shows, which were commonly carried by AM stations, could adopt a more focused presentation on controversial topics, without the distraction of having to provide airtime for any contrasting opinions. In addition, satellite distribution made it possible for programs to be economically carried on
8127-616: The beginning of the 1978–1982 CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati actually belonged to WLWT—it was located at the WLWT transmitter at 2222 Chickasaw Street. That red and white tower stood side by side with WLWT's current strobed tower until 2005, when it was dismantled. On July 9, 2012, WLWT's parent company Hearst Television was involved in a dispute with Time Warner Cable , leading to WLWT being pulled from Time Warner Cable and temporarily replaced with Nexstar Broadcasting Group station WTWO in Terre Haute, Indiana ; Time Warner opted for such
8256-492: The call letters only mentioned at the top of the hour), while AM 1530 as WCKY switched formats from oldies to liberal talk as radio stations were pressured to include left-leaning stations to balance the right leaning stations they also programmed. On July 7, 2006, WCKY and WSAI switched formats, with the "Homer" sports/talk format moving to WCKY at 1530 AM, while WSAI picked up the liberal/ progressive talk as "1360 WSAI: The Revolution of Talk Radio". This did not last long, as
8385-404: The characteristics of arc-transmitters . Fessenden attempted to sell this form of radiotelephone for point-to-point communication, but was unsuccessful. Fessenden's work with high-frequency spark transmissions was only a temporary measure. His ultimate plan for creating an audio-capable transmitter was to redesign an electrical alternator , which normally produced alternating current of at most
8514-403: The commission estimated that fewer than 250 AM stations were transmitting hybrid mode signals. On October 27, 2020, the FCC voted to allow AM stations to eliminate their analog transmissions and convert to all-digital operation, with the requirement that stations making the change had to continue to make programming available over "at least one free over-the-air digital programming stream that
8643-767: The company had to obtain a temporary waiver of an FCC cross-ownership rule which prohibited common ownership of a television station and a newspaper or a cable television provider in the same market in order for Gannett to close on the Multimedia group. When the waiver expired in December 1996, Gannett opted to keep the Enquirer (as well as sister newspaper The Niagara Gazette , which would later be sold) and swap WLWT and KOCO-TV to Argyle Television Holdings II in exchange for WGRZ in Buffalo, New York and WZZM in Grand Rapids, Michigan ,
8772-515: The construction of a 50,000 watt station for New York City. At this time 1,000 watts was the maximum permitted, so this brought up fears by smaller stations that a group of powerful stations would monopolize the airwaves. In late 1924 Western Electric began selling radio transmitters capable of operating at 5,000 watts, but the Commerce Department, wary of the high-powered sets overwhelming local receivers, did not immediately allow stations to use
8901-475: The continued migration of AM stations away from music to news, sports, and talk formats, receiver manufacturers saw little reason to adopt the more expensive stereo tuners, and thus radio stations have little incentive to upgrade to stereo transmission. In countries where the use of directional antennas is common, such as the United States, transmitter sites consisting of multiple towers often occupy large tracts of land that have significantly increased in value over
9030-437: The continuous wave AM transmissions made prior to 1915 were made by versions of the arc converter transmitter, which had been initially developed by Valdemar Poulsen in 1903. Arc transmitters worked by producing a pulsating electrical arc in an enclosed hydrogen atmosphere. They were much more compact than alternator transmitters, and could operate on somewhat higher transmitting frequencies. However, they suffered from some of
9159-671: The deal was approved in November of that year, the FCC ruled that Gannett would have to divest WLWT, WMAZ-TV in Macon, Georgia , and KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma , due to ownership restrictions; Gannett ultimately retained ownership of WMAZ-TV after the FCC allowed companies to own more television stations. As Gannett had owned The Cincinnati Enquirer since 1979 (and remains the newspaper's owner to this day) and had recently acquired Oklahoma City-based cable provider Multimedia Cablevision,
9288-434: The decades, to the point that the value of land exceeds that of the station itself. This sometimes results in the sale of the transmitter site, with the station relocating to a more distant shared site using significantly less power, or completely shutting down operations. The ongoing development of alternative transmission systems, including Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB), satellite radio, and HD (digital) radio, continued
9417-567: The decline of the popularity of the traditional broadcast technologies. These new options, including the introduction of Internet streaming, particularly resulted in the reduction of shortwave transmissions, as international broadcasters found ways to reach their audiences more easily. In 2022 it was reported that AM radio was being removed from a number of electric vehicle (EV) models, including from cars manufactured by Tesla, Audi, Porsche, BMW and Volvo, reportedly due to automakers concerns that an EV's higher electromagnetic interference can disrupt
9546-569: The demonstration witnesses, which stated "[Radio] Telephony is admirably adapted for transmitting news, stock quotations, music, race reports, etc. simultaneously over a city, on account of the fact that no wires are needed and a single apparatus can distribute to ten thousand subscribers as easily as to a few. It is proposed to erect stations for this purpose in the large cities here and abroad." However, other than two holiday transmissions reportedly made shortly after these demonstrations, Fessenden does not appear to have conducted any radio broadcasts for
9675-469: The entire Fox Sports Radio lineup on a 24/7 basis. AM broadcasting The earliest experimental AM transmissions began in the early 1900s. However, widespread AM broadcasting was not established until the 1920s, following the development of vacuum tube receivers and transmitters. AM radio remained the dominant method of broadcasting for the next 30 years, a period called the " Golden Age of Radio ", until television broadcasting became widespread in
9804-645: The expectation is that listeners will primarily be tuning into the FM signal rather than the nominally "primary" AM station. A 2020 review noted that "for many owners, keeping their AM stations on the air now is pretty much just about retaining their FM translator footprint rather than keeping the AM on the air on its own merits". In 2018 the FCC, led by then-Commission Chairman Ajit Pai , proposed greatly reducing signal protection for 50 kW Class A " clear channel " stations. This would allow co-channel secondary stations to operate with higher powers, especially at night. However,
9933-445: The fall of 1900, he successfully transmitted speech over a distance of about 1.6 kilometers (one mile), which appears to have been the first successful audio transmission using radio signals. However, at this time the sound was far too distorted to be commercially practical. For a time he continued working with more sophisticated high-frequency spark transmitters, including versions that used compressed air, which began to take on some of
10062-407: The first station in the nation to broadcast entirely in color, giving Cincinnati the nickname "Colortown U.S.A." by 1962. For a period during the 1970s, the station's slogan was "5, The Originator", in reference to all of the local programming that was produced by the station. The Crosley broadcast division took the name of its parent company in 1968, becoming Avco Broadcasting Corporation. In 1969,
10191-401: The first time. Music came pouring in. Laughter came in. News came in. The world shrank, with radio. Following World War I, the number of stations providing a regular broadcasting service greatly increased, primarily due to advances in vacuum-tube technology. In response to ongoing activities, government regulators eventually codified standards for which stations could make broadcasts intended for
10320-527: The first two stations in the nation transmitting with the full 5,000 watts. A Cincinnati Post writer investigated the effect of WSAI and WLW's May 11 introduction of the use of 5,000 watts, and found that despite claims that their "superpower broadcasting" would eliminate static within 500 miles, it was only "a start in the right direction". Listeners reported that the stations now sounded about twice as strong, and also noted that KDKA in Pittsburgh's 10,000 watts
10449-688: The full power. Instead stations could start operating with up to 1,500 watts, then, only if approved by the region's Radio Supervisor, increase powers in successive 500 watt steps, while ensuring that it was not causing excessive interference. In early 1925, WSAI and WMH moved to 920 kHz. The Commerce Department's cautious approach toward power increases was based on the assumption that station transmitters were located in heavily populated areas. However, in May 1925 it recognized that WSAI's Mason, Ohio and WLW's Harrison transmitter sites were both far enough from population centers that they could immediately begin operating as
10578-523: The games moved to WLW. For several years the station operated as Original Hits 1530, WSAI and featured a nostalgia format featuring former TV personalities Bob Braun, Nick Clooney and Wirt Cain. In January 2003, WSAI's Top 40 roots were revived on a sister station as "Real Oldies 1530 WSAI", which featured some of the original WSAI "good guys" from that era such as Dusty Rhodes, Jack Stahl, Ted McAllister and Casey Piotrowski as well as longtime Cincinnati Oldies personalities "Dangerous" Dan Allen, Marty (with
10707-487: The games to a network of stations that covered Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia , and Tennessee (and included some of its Crosley-owned sister stations). It continued originating Reds games long after most "Big Three" stations dropped local sports programming. The station also aired any nationally televised Reds games through NBC's MLB broadcast contract from its 1948 sign-on until 1989, including their back-to-back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976 . Waite Hoyt
10836-620: The general public, for example, in the United States formal recognition of a "broadcasting service" came with the establishment of regulations effective December 1, 1921, and Canadian authorities created a separate category of "radio-telephone broadcasting stations" in April 1922. However, there were numerous cases of entertainment broadcasts being presented on a regular schedule before their formal recognition by government regulators. Some early examples include: Because most longwave radio frequencies were used for international radiotelegraph communication,
10965-417: The general public, or to have even given additional thought about the potential of a regular broadcast service, and in a 1908 article providing a comprehensive review of the potential uses for his radiotelephone invention, he made no references to broadcasting. Because there was no way to amplify electrical currents at this time, modulation was usually accomplished by a carbon microphone inserted directly in
11094-679: The internet during the program's normal timeslot. WLWT clears most of the NBC programming schedule. However, the station airs the network's Saturday lineup out of pattern. WLWT delays NBC's educational block, The More You Know , by one hour due to a 10 a.m. newscast. The station also airs the Saturday edition of NBC Nightly News on a half-hour tape delay at 7 p.m. due to an hour-long 6 p.m. newscast. The Cincinnati Reds baseball team, also owned by Crosley until 1961, broadcast its games over WLWT from 1947 through 1995 . The station also fed
11223-541: The isolation of rural life. Political officials could now speak directly to millions of citizens. One of the first to take advantage of this was American president Franklin Roosevelt , who became famous for his fireside chats during the Great Depression . However, broadcasting also provided the means to use propaganda as a powerful government tool, and contributed to the rise of fascist and communist ideologies. In
11352-413: The key adult demographics. It was the number one rated newscast in the city for several years when Jerry Springer served as anchorperson. On April 20, 2013, WLWT became the fourth and final Cincinnati television station to begin broadcasting its local newscasts in high definition . Prior to the upgrade, its newscasts aired in 16:9 widescreen standard definition . With the switch to HD, WLWT debuted
11481-411: The lack of any way to amplify the signals meant they were somewhat weak. On December 21, 1906, Fessenden made an extensive demonstration of the new alternator-transmitter at Brant Rock, Massachusetts, showing its utility for point-to-point wireless telephony, including interconnecting his stations to the wire telephone network. As part of the demonstration, speech was transmitted 18 kilometers (11 miles) to
11610-419: The late 1960s and 1970s, top 40 rock and roll stations in the U.S. and Canada such as WABC and CHUM transmitted highly processed and extended audio to 11 kHz, successfully attracting huge audiences. For young people, listening to AM broadcasts and participating in their music surveys and contests was the social media of the time. In the late 1970s, spurred by the exodus of musical programming to FM stations,
11739-679: The licensee name for WGRZ. In June 1996, WKRC-TV and WCPO-TV traded networks, leaving WLWT as the only Cincinnati television station to never change its affiliation. Additionally, the purchase by Hearst made WLWT sister stations with Hearst flagship stations WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh and WBAL-TV in Baltimore , leading to all three stations to have a friendly rivalry with each other during the NFL season, as all three local NFL teams (Cincinnati Bengals, Pittsburgh Steelers , Baltimore Ravens ) are division rivals in
11868-399: The marketplace decide" which was best. The lack of a common standard resulted in consumer confusion and increased the complexity and cost of producing AM stereo receivers. In 1993, the FCC again revised its policy, by selecting C-QUAM as the sole AM stereo implementation. In 1993, the FCC also endorsed, although it did not make mandatory, AMAX broadcasting standards that were developed by
11997-419: The merger of Jacor with iHeartMedia (then known as Clear Channel Communications) that allowed WKRC to be restored on 550 AM. "Homer" was initially seen by many as an also-ran in the market when compared to Cincinnati Reds flagship WLW, and against crosstown sports talk rival — and Bengals flagship — WBOB . However, WBOB — which simulcast the games with sister WUBE-FM — did not renew
12126-432: The message, spreading it broadcast to receivers in all directions". However, it was recognized that this would involve significant financial issues, as that same year The Electrician also commented "did not Prof. Lodge forget that no one wants to pay for shouting to the world on a system by which it would be impossible to prevent non-subscribers from benefiting gratuitously?" On January 1, 1902, Nathan Stubblefield gave
12255-448: The multiple incompatible AM stereo systems, and failure of the manufacturers (including the auto makers) to effectively promote AMAX radios, coupled with the ever-increasing background of noise in the band, the general public soon lost interest and moved on to other media. On June 8, 1988, an International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-sponsored conference held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil adopted provisions, effective July 1, 1990, to extend
12384-537: The necessity of having to transmit a high power carrier wave to overcome ground losses, and the large antenna radiators required at the low broadcast frequencies, but can be sent over long distances via the ionosphere at night; however, they are much more susceptible to interference, and often have lower audio fidelity. Thus, AM broadcasters tend to specialize in spoken-word formats, such as talk radio , all-news radio and sports radio , with music formats primarily for FM and digital stations. People who weren't around in
12513-417: The network expanded to a ten-hour schedule that month which would have likely seen program rejections from WLWT due to lack of schedule room. In June 1999, WLWT moved its studios from Crosley Square to the Mount Auburn neighborhood, in a building that once served as the corporate headquarters of WKRC-TV's founding owners Taft Broadcasting . This is because after abandoning local non-news program production,
12642-405: The new frequencies. It was now estimated that the expanded band could accommodate around 300 U.S. stations. However, it turned out that the number of possible station reassignments was much lower, with a 2006 accounting reporting that, out of 4,758 licensed U.S. AM stations, only 56 were now operating on the expanded band. Moreover, despite an initial requirement that by the end of five years either
12771-428: The new policy, by 2011 there were approximately 500 in operation, and as of 2020 approximately 2,800 of the 4,570 licensed AM stations were rebroadcasting on one or more FM translators. In 2009 the FCC stated that "We do not intend to allow these cross-service translators to be used as surrogates for FM stations". However, based on station slogans, especially in the case of recently adopted musical formats, in most cases
12900-547: The new rule. While WLWT's channel 5 potential coverage area covered a large amount of the Dayton and Columbus markets, the station was forced by the FCC to transmit with a shorter broadcast tower, thus reducing the signal overlap between WLWT, WLWC, and WLWD. In the mid-1970s, Avco decided to exit broadcasting and sold all of its stations to separate buyers. WLWT was the next to last to be sold, going to Multimedia, Inc. in March 1976. As
13029-458: The oldies format. In 1992 WSAI became the first station in the market to have a sports talk format, but this did not last long. Charles Reynolds became the new owner of WSAI, but the station was leased out to Jacor Communications and the format was changed to adult standards. Jacor Communications then acquired the intellectual property of WCKY 1530 AM, and merged it with WLWA 550 AM (the former — and current — WKRC ). On April 14, 1994,
13158-411: The original station or its expanded band counterpart had to cease broadcasting, as of 2015 there were 25 cases where the original standard band station was still on the air, despite also operating as an expanded band station. HD Radio is a digital audio broadcasting method developed by iBiquity . In 2002 its "hybrid mode", which simultaneously transmits a standard analog signal as well as a digital one,
13287-433: The overheating issues of needing to insert microphones directly in the transmission antenna circuit. Vacuum tube transmitters also provided high-quality AM signals, and could operate on higher transmitting frequencies than alternator and arc transmitters. Non-governmental radio transmissions were prohibited in many countries during World War I, but AM radiotelephony technology advanced greatly due to wartime research, and after
13416-528: The party) Thompson and Tom "Cat" Michaels. Some of the original 1960s jingles from the station's Top 40 days were used in addition to a sampling of some Drake -styled production values and the voice of CKLW veteran announcer Charlie Van Dyke voicing station IDs and promotional "liners" in-between songs. On January 17, 2005, WCKY and WSAI swapped their call letters back to the original dial positions, with AM 1360 returning to WSAI, and AM 1530 returning to WCKY, although WSAI retained its sports format (albeit with
13545-441: The primary early developer of AM technology is Canadian-born inventor Reginald Fessenden . The original spark-gap radio transmitters were impractical for transmitting audio, since they produced discontinuous pulses known as " damped waves ". Fessenden realized that what was needed was a new type of radio transmitter that produced steady "undamped" (better known as " continuous wave ") signals, which could then be "modulated" to reflect
13674-455: The ratings for liberal radio in Cincinnati were far below the previous music formats. Jerry Springer 's show came to an end on December 11, 2006, and so did WSAI's progressive talk format. WSAI relaunched that day as "1360thesource.com", still carrying a talk format but heavily programmed with advice and consumer awareness-driven shows such as Clark Howard and Dr. Laura Schlessinger . The new format lasted just six months, and WSAI went back to
13803-637: The reception of AM transmissions and hurt the listening experience, among other reasons. However the United States Congress has introduced a bill to require all vehicles sold in the US to have an AM receiver to receive emergency broadcasts. The FM broadcast band was established in 1941 in the United States, and at the time some suggested that the AM band would soon be eliminated. In 1948 wide-band FM's inventor, Edwin H. Armstrong , predicted that "The broadcasters will set up FM stations which will parallel, carry
13932-748: The release of the FCC 's Sixth Report and Order in 1952, all of Cincinnati's VHF stations changed channels. WLWT was reassigned to channel 5, as the previous channel 4 allocation was shifted north to Columbus and given to sister station WLWC (now WCMH-TV ), which began operations in April 1949. In addition to WLWT and WLWC, Crosley also operated stations in nearby markets, WLWD (channel 2, now WDTN ) in Dayton , which signed-on in March 1949; and WLWI (channel 13, now WTHR ) in Indianapolis , which opened in October 1957. These four inter-connected stations were branded on-air as
14061-799: The same deficiencies. The lack of any means to amplify electrical currents meant that, like the alternator transmitters, modulation was usually accomplished by a microphone inserted directly in the antenna wire, which again resulted in overheating issues, even with the use of water-cooled microphones. Thus, transmitter powers tended to be limited. The arc was also somewhat unstable, which reduced audio quality. Experimenters who used arc transmitters for their radiotelephone research included Ernst Ruhmer , Quirino Majorana , Charles "Doc" Herrold , and Lee de Forest . Advances in vacuum tube technology (called "valves" in British usage), especially after around 1915, revolutionized radio technology. Vacuum tube devices could be used to amplify electrical currents, which overcame
14190-400: The same program, as over their AM stations... eventually the day will come, of course, when we will no longer have to build receivers capable of receiving both types of transmission, and then the AM transmitters will disappear." However, FM stations actually struggled for many decades, and it was not until 1978 that FM listenership surpassed that of AM stations. Since then the AM band's share of
14319-410: The sounds being transmitted. Fessenden's basic approach was disclosed in U.S. Patent 706,737, which he applied for on May 29, 1901, and was issued the next year. It called for the use of a high-speed alternator (referred to as "an alternating-current dynamo") that generated "pure sine waves" and produced "a continuous train of radiant waves of substantially uniform strength", or, in modern terminology,
14448-408: The station found that Crosley Square, with its two-story ballrooms and basement newsroom, was built more for live entertainment broadcasts than a news operation. In June 2007, WLWT announced that it would partner with WLW (AM) to provide news and weather for the radio station. As a consequence, WLWT's news and weather updates were heard nationwide on WLW's XM Satellite Radio channel, at channel 173;
14577-502: The station's youngest DJ, Michael Owens. In 1978 WSAI switched to country music, which was replaced by a simulcast of soft rock FM station WWNK (formerly WSAI-FM) on August 26, 1985, that included a call letter change by the AM station to WWNK. (The WSAI call sign was transferred to 100.9 FM in October 1985, but was dropped after one year for WIZF .) On March 23, 1987, WWNK dropped the simulcast of WWNK-FM and became oldies as "K-Rock". In 1988, AM 1360 returned to WSAI, which enhanced
14706-411: The technology for AM broadcasting in stereo was challenging due to the need to limit the transmissions to a 20 kHz bandwidth, while also making the transmissions backward compatible with existing non-stereo receivers. In 1990, the FCC authorized an AM stereo standard developed by Magnavox, but two years later revised its decision to instead approve four competing implementations, saying it would "let
14835-401: The translator stations are not permitted to originate programming when the "primary" AM station is broadcasting, they are permitted to do so during nighttime hours for AM stations licensed for daytime-only operation. Prior to the adoption of the new policy, as of March 18, 2009, the FCC had issued 215 Special Temporary Authority grants for FM translators relaying AM stations. After creation of
14964-548: The transmitter site of WLWT television. On November 11, 1928, under the provisions of the Federal Radio Commission 's General Order 40 , WSAI was assigned to 800 kHz. However, now classified as a "limited time" station, WSAI could only operate until sunset at the location of the frequency's primary stations, most notably WBAP in Fort Worth, Texas. To gain fulltime operation, in early 1929 WSAI moved to 1330 kHz, with
15093-492: The upper end of the Region 2 AM broadcast band, by adding ten frequencies which spanned from 1610 kHz to 1700 kHz. At this time it was suggested that as many as 500 U.S. stations could be assigned to the new frequencies. On April 12, 1990, the FCC voted to begin the process of populating the expanded band, with the main priority being the reduction of interference on the existing AM band, by transferring selected stations to
15222-548: The war the availability of tubes sparked a great increase in the number of amateur radio stations experimenting with AM transmission of news or music. Vacuum tubes remained the central technology of radio for 40 years, until transistors began to dominate in the late 1950s, and are still used in the highest power broadcast transmitters. Unlike telegraph and telephone systems, which used completely different types of equipment, most radio receivers were equally suitable for both radiotelegraph and radiotelephone reception. In 1903 and 1904
15351-404: The youngest demographic groups. Among persons aged 12–24, AM accounts for only 4% of listening, while FM accounts for 96%. Among persons aged 25–34, AM accounts for only 9% of listening, while FM accounts for 91%. The median age of listeners to the AM band is 57 years old, a full generation older than the median age of FM listeners." In 2009, the FCC made a major regulatory change, when it adopted
15480-565: Was 15 kHz resulting in bandwidth of 30 kHz. Another common limitation on AM fidelity is the result of receiver design, although some efforts have been made to improve this, notably through the AMAX standards adopted in the United States. AM broadcasts are used on several frequency bands. The allocation of these bands is governed by the ITU 's Radio Regulations and, on the national level, by each country's telecommunications administration (the FCC in
15609-474: Was approved by the FCC for use by AM stations, initially only during daytime hours, due to concerns that during the night its wider bandwidth would cause unacceptable interference to stations on adjacent frequencies. In 2007 nighttime operation was also authorized. The number of hybrid mode AM stations is not exactly known, because the FCC does not keep track of the stations employing the system, and some authorized stations have later turned it off. But as of 2020
15738-496: Was connected to WLW radio, a station that ironically would be a sister station to WLWT's rival WKRC-TV years later. Multimedia would later acquire Avco Program Sales and with it, the regional syndication rights to Braun's program, along with The Phil Donahue Show ; the resulting subsidiary, Multimedia Entertainment , was initially based at WLWT. In July 1995, the Gannett Company announced that it would acquire Multimedia. Once
15867-412: Was even better. In mid-1927, WSAI was assigned to 830 kHz. In May 1928 the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation began leasing WSAI, and also began to consolidate WSAI's operations with WLW. This included WLW moving its transmitter site from Harrison to sharing WSAI's facility at Mason. Crosley moved the WSAI transmitter to a hilltop site overlooking downtown Cincinnati on Chickasaw Street, which later became
15996-400: Was immediately recognized that, much like the telegraph had preceded the invention of the telephone, the ability to make audio radio transmissions would be a significant technical advance. Despite this knowledge, it still took two decades to perfect the technology needed to make quality audio transmissions. In addition, the telephone had rarely been used for distributing entertainment, outside of
16125-553: Was initially operated by the United States Playing Card Company . The station originally broadcast from company facilities on Beech Street in Norwood, Ohio . The WSAI call letters were randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available call signs. Its first authorization was for operation on the shared "entertainment" wavelength of 360 meters (833 kHz). The single entertainment wavelength meant that stations within
16254-717: Was moved to the Daly Road site in Mount Healthy , where it is currently located. The studio was moved to 8th and Matson with a commanding view of downtown Cincinnati from the Price Hill Overlook. WSAI featured Cincinnati's largest radio news staff headed by National Broadcasters Hall Of Fame inductee Rod Williams , who won numerous awards including a commendation from the Ohio General Assembly for combat reporting in Vietnam. WSAI became Cincinnati's AM Top 40 powerhouse during
16383-418: Was the first organization to create a radio network, and also to promote commercial advertising, which it called "toll" broadcasting. Its flagship station, WEAF (now WFAN) in New York City, sold blocks of airtime to commercial sponsors that developed entertainment shows containing commercial messages . AT&T held a monopoly on quality telephone lines, and by 1924 had linked 12 stations in Eastern cities into
16512-406: Was the lack of amplifying the signals, so listeners had to use earphones , and it required the development of vacuum-tube receivers before loudspeakers could be used. The dynamic cone loudspeaker , invented in 1924, greatly improved audio frequency response over the previous horn speakers, allowing music to be reproduced with good fidelity. AM radio offered the highest sound quality available in
16641-504: Was the original play-by-play announcer on WLWT, in a simulcast with WLW Radio. George Bryson Sr. replaced him in 1956. When Ed Kennedy became the play-by-play announcer in 1961, he would remain for 11 seasons, working with Frank McCormick for eight seasons. Also calling games on WLWT were Ken Wilson , Charlie Jones , Bill Brown , Ray Lane , Johnny Bench , and Joe Morgan . Citing economic reasons along with declining ratings and pressure from NBC, WLWT did not renew its contract following
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