WWIL (AM)

WWIL (1490 AM) was a radio station broadcasting a Gospel format, licensed to Wilmington, North Carolina, United States. The station was last owned by James and Maxzine Utley, through licensee CLI Radio, LLC.

WWIL
Frequency1490 kHz
Programming
FormatDefunct (was Gospel)
Ownership
Owner
  • James and Maxzine Utley
  • (CLI Radio, LLC)
WLTT
History
First air date
1964
Former call signs
WHSL (1964–1977)[1]
Call sign meaning
WILmington
Technical information
Facility ID20662
ClassC
Power1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates
34°13′52.00″N 77°57′18.00″W
Translator(s)W285FQ (104.9 MHz, Wilmington)

History

From 1964 to 1977, the station had the call sign WHSL.[1] In 1970, WHSL was joined by a sister F.M. station on 97.3 MHz: WHSL-FM (today’s WMNX).

R. Darryl Davis was host of "Fat Man's Blues Shop" on WWIL; he later played "Blues in the Night" on WHQR.[2]

Family Radio Network Inc. purchased WWIL in 1992 from a Jacksonville church. Before that, the station was R&B. WWIL began calling itself "Family Radio" in 1993.[3] Jim Stephens worked for a Raleigh Christian station but vacationed in Wilmington. When he turned on the radio, he found no Christian stations, so he took over WWIL. Stephens struggled financially after moving to Wilmington but he got numerous cards and letters from people who enjoyed the Contemporary Christian music and nationally syndicated ministers. Stephens needed for these listeners to prove their support with cash, and they did.[4] WWIL added a 20,000-watt FM signal in 1995. As of 1999, the AM station aired "God's Country" during the day, including Ricky Skaggs, The Gatlin Brothers and traditional Southern gospel. At night and early in the morning, the station played urban gospel such as Andrae Crouch and Shirley Caesar.[3]

On August 16, 2022, WWIL’s license was cancelled by the Federal Communications Commission, due to having been silent for more than a year. FM translator W285FQ’s license was also cancelled.[5]

References
  1. History Cards for WWIL, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
  2. Richard Myers, "Radio Personality: Fat Man Spins Blues As Darryl Davis Works to Help His Community; Part-Time Disc Jockey Has Consulting Firm," Star-News November 27, 1994.
  3. Ben Steelman, "Praise Radio; It's the Gospel Truth: Christian Radio Is Gaining Popularity," Star-News, December 14, 1999.
  4. Frank Maley, "Christian Radio; He's Sending a Message," Star-News, February 19, 1995.
  5. "FCC Report 8/28: Owner Death Leads to Demise of Two Wilmington NC AMs". radioinsight. August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.


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