Radio Station Call Letters- Where did they come up with them

Started by roadman65, January 31, 2015, 02:15:53 PM

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The High Plains Traveler

Quote from: kendancy66 on January 31, 2015, 02:30:14 PM
I heard that KFWB is acronym for Keep Filming Warner Brothers
WB was definitely Warner Brothers, but they also had KDWB in Minneapolis. There was also KEWB, but I don't know where that was (currently licensed near Redding, CA).

In Los Angeles, KMPC was based on McMillan Petroleum Company.

In Minneapolis, WCCO was Washburn Carlson Company (now Pillsbury).

Lots of stations with the location name incorporated into the call signs.

A local UHF TV station near the Twin Cities, KXLI, was on Channel 41. (Notice the Roman numerals).
"Tongue-tied and twisted; just an earth-bound misfit, I."


bing101

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/WWJ_(AM)

A second CBS O&O WWJ-AM Detroit has evidence that they signed on 3 months before KDKA went on the air.

bing101

KDIS Los Angeles named after Disney radio

KSPN Los Angeles named after ESPN Radio

KSAC named after the city of Sacramento.

dfwmapper

KNTU is named for the University of North Texas. For some reason they decided to rearrange the letters. :-D

bing101

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KAMU-TV

Well KAMU Means Texas A&M University.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KUT

KUT means University of Texas.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KUHT

University of Houston.

bing101

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KKYX

Wikipedia Claims that KABC Used to exist in Texas before Los Angeles 790 Got KABC?

golden eagle

Many stations in Mississippi are named after the cities they serve:

WVBG Vicksburg
WJXN Jackson
WCLD Cleveland
WTUP Tupelo

We also have some named for the colleges they located at (WJSU-Jackson State University and WUSM-University of Southern Mississippi).

Re: the K-W anomaly, there was a station licensed to Sardis, MS, named KBUD. I don't know how this ever came to be because it wasn't licensed to any community west of the Mississippi, and the station came in the air in the 2000s. They've changed calls since and it now begins with a W.

Roadrunner75

Soon after I read some of this thread, this article popped up on the Asbury Park Press:
http://www.app.com/story/entertainment/2015/01/29/faye-gade-owner-of-whtg-and-alt-rock-pioneer-dies/22558427/
Now I know where they got the "HTG" in WHTG.

I used to listen to this station a lot in college in the 90s, when it was still "Modern Rock at the Jersey Shore".  They played a good dose of local and up and coming bands.  Matt Pinfield, later of MTV and VH1 fame, got his start here.  They later switched over to a much more commercial rock format, and eventually went down the tubes as expected, before reinventing themselves as a country station.

In TV land, WGTW (the more recent of channel 48s in the Philadelphia market) used to identify themselves as "Good Television to Watch".


roadman65

WMMR in Philadelphia, like KNEW is named for Metro Media Radio.

Also anybody care to comment on WKTU in NYC?  It has been used twice, first on the station that was once K Rock (forgot its call letters) and then later applied to another NYC market station.  I remember in the 70's it was the Tri State area's Disco Station. In fact it was called Disco 92, WKTU.  Then when disco died and rap came into existence (as the station was classified as Urban Contemporary) the Disco name was dropped only to use Ninety- Two WKTU extending the "U" at the end.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

SteveG1988

WOGL 98.1 in Philly is Old GoLd, it's an oldies station
WTAF-29 now WTXF (FOX29) used to mean W TAFt for Taft commnications, the owners prior to FOX.
WHYY-12 (PBS) Wider Horizons for You and Yours
WDPB-64 (PBS/Satellite Station for WHYY) W-Delaware Public Broadcasting
WPSG-57, W-Paramount Stations Group, former owners under UPN.
WPPX-61 Philadelpia PaX
WUVP-65 UniVision Philadelphia
WPHL-17 Philadelphia

Roads Clinched

I55,I82,I84(E&W)I88(W),I87(N),I81,I64,I74(W),I72,I57,I24,I65,I59,I12,I71,I77,I76(E&W),I70,I79,I85,I86(W),I27,I16,I97,I96,I43,I41,

Pete from Boston

Quote from: roadman65 on February 03, 2015, 06:45:11 AM
WMMR in Philadelphia, like KNEW is named for Metro Media Radio.

KNEW is named for Metromedia?  WNEW in New York was a Metromedia station, but it was named for New York, not Metromedia.  In fact, the WNEW letters predate Metromedia.

SidS1045

Quote from: Pete from Boston on February 03, 2015, 10:14:08 AM
WNEW in New York was a Metromedia station, but it was named for New York, not Metromedia.

No it wasn't.

John Zarpaylic, an engineer for the station, claimed years ago to having been privy to a conversation between the station's original owners, Milton Biow and Arde Bulova (yes, he also ran a watch-making business), during the construction of the transmitter site in Carlstadt NJ, concerning what to call the station.  Biow supposedly said, "We haven't had a station built in this area since 1928.  I think the best call letters we could have are WNEW, which says new.  New in the metropolitan area.  The newest thing in radio."
"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." - Edward R. Murrow

spooky

Quote from: roadman65 on February 03, 2015, 06:45:11 AM
Also anybody care to comment on WKTU in NYC?  It has been used twice, first on the station that was once K Rock (forgot its call letters) and then later applied to another NYC market station.  I remember in the 70's it was the Tri State area's Disco Station. In fact it was called Disco 92, WKTU.  Then when disco died and rap came into existence (as the station was classified as Urban Contemporary) the Disco name was dropped only to use Ninety- Two WKTU extending the "U" at the end.

K Rock was WXRK. It went to WFNY (for Free New York) when it went to an all-talk format following Howard Stern's departure in 2006. It went back to WXRK within a year or two, then eventually to WNOW, and now is WBMP, branded as Amp 92.3.

US71

KOAM-TV Pittsburg, KS   "Kansas/Oklahoma/Arkansas/Missouri"

There's a series of stations "KSN--" Kansas State News --".

KSNW Wichita

Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Pete from Boston

Quote from: SidS1045 on February 03, 2015, 11:17:06 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on February 03, 2015, 10:14:08 AM
WNEW in New York was a Metromedia station, but it was named for New York, not Metromedia.

No it wasn't.

John Zarpaylic, an engineer for the station, claimed years ago to having been privy to a conversation between the station's original owners, Milton Biow and Arde Bulova (yes, he also ran a watch-making business), during the construction of the transmitter site in Carlstadt NJ, concerning what to call the station.  Biow supposedly said, "We haven't had a station built in this area since 1928.  I think the best call letters we could have are WNEW, which says new.  New in the metropolitan area.  The newest thing in radio."

If you dare argue with the great and infallible Wikipedia then I shall have to ask you to step outside!

But seriously, I think we all just assumed when I was growing up that it as New York.  So it's not New York, and it's not Metromedia.


6a


Quote from: SidS1045 on February 01, 2015, 10:55:10 PM
This map shows all the current K/W anomalies on the AM band (excluding Louisiana and Minnesota, which are divided by the Mississippi River):


The key to the colors:
Purple: 1920-1921 anomaly--KDKA.
Blue: pre-January 1923 boundary shift--WBAP, WDAY, WEW, WHB, WJAG, WKY, WNAX, WOAI, WOC, WOI, WTAW.
Gray: ex-portable--WBBZ, WIBW, WMBH.
Dark Green: moved to other side of the Mississippi-- KSGM.
Red: requested call--KFNS, KWAM, WDBQ, WHO, WMT, WSUI, WUMY.
Light Green: government assigned call--KTGG.
Black: reason unknown--KFIZ, KQV, KYW.

In addition to these AM anomalies I know of WRR-FM in the Dallas/Fort Worth area

golden eagle


jwolfer

Quote from: Roadrunner75 on February 03, 2015, 12:31:14 AM
Soon after I read some of this thread, this article popped up on the Asbury Park Press:
http://www.app.com/story/entertainment/2015/01/29/faye-gade-owner-of-whtg-and-alt-rock-pioneer-dies/22558427/
Now I know where they got the "HTG" in WHTG.

I used to listen to this station a lot in college in the 90s, when it was still "Modern Rock at the Jersey Shore".  They played a good dose of local and up and coming bands.  Matt Pinfield, later of MTV and VH1 fame, got his start here.  They later switched over to a much more commercial rock format, and eventually went down the tubes as expected, before reinventing themselves as a country station.

In TV land, WGTW (the more recent of channel 48s in the Philadelphia market) used to identify themselves as "Good Television to Watch".
FM106.3...listened to it all thru the end of hs and college.. Great music back in the day.

Pete from Boston

WKRP either stands for nothing or for "crap," but were a compromise because the preferred choices were being used by real radio stations.

roadman65

It was fictional and in real life such a station would not work.  A boss that does nothing in his office except play childish games.  An overpaid secretary who does not even type or take notes.  A nieve news reporter who reports things that the general public cares hardly anything.  A narcissistic salesman who gets the station into trouble with sleazy clients.  Then a space cowboy DJ who is out of it.

The only two normal people in the office were Andy Travis and Venus Flytrap who really had no quirks, but if it were not for the former that station would have never made it to the point they did.

Even though not practical, a very funny sitcom though.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

empirestate

Quote from: roadman65 on February 04, 2015, 09:46:58 AM
It was fictional and in real life such a station would not work.  A boss that does nothing in his office except play childish games.  An overpaid secretary who does not even type or take notes.  A nieve news reporter who reports things that the general public cares hardly anything.  A narcissistic salesman who gets the station into trouble with sleazy clients.  Then a space cowboy DJ who is out of it.

The only two normal people in the office were Andy Travis and Venus Flytrap who really had no quirks, but if it were not for the former that station would have never made it to the point they did.

Even though not practical, a very funny sitcom though.

Can anyone think of a show that's both funny and practical?

Pete from Boston


Quote from: empirestate on February 04, 2015, 10:03:54 AM
Quote from: roadman65 on February 04, 2015, 09:46:58 AM
It was fictional and in real life such a station would not work.  A boss that does nothing in his office except play childish games.  An overpaid secretary who does not even type or take notes.  A nieve news reporter who reports things that the general public cares hardly anything.  A narcissistic salesman who gets the station into trouble with sleazy clients.  Then a space cowboy DJ who is out of it.

The only two normal people in the office were Andy Travis and Venus Flytrap who really had no quirks, but if it were not for the former that station would have never made it to the point they did.

Even though not practical, a very funny sitcom though.

Can anyone think of a show that's both funny and practical?

I find these foolish sitcoms most impractical.

roadman65

Funny not practical, I said.    Yes it was funny because it made you laugh especially when Les Nesman butchered the famous golfer's name Chi Chi Rodriguez with Ch-eye Ch-eye Rod rig ooh wiz.  The fact that he is supposed to be professional at his job and know a simple name like Rodriquez and hardly knew it made it laughable.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

hbelkins



Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Henry

And while we're on the subject of fictional radio stations, the call letters KACL in the sitcom Frasier stood for the last names of the show's creators: Angell, Casey and Lee. Easy to remember.
Go Cubs Go! Go Cubs Go! Hey Chicago, what do you say? The Cubs are gonna win today!



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