WTEM (980 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Washington, D.C. Owned by Audacy, Inc., the station services the Washington–Baltimore metropolitan area with a sports radio format. WTEM is the co-flagship station of the Maryland Terrapins (shared with Audacy-owned WJZ-FM in Baltimore), and is the Washington affiliate of Fox Sports Radio.
History WRC era
The station was originally licensed in April 1923 as WRC—the call sign having represented the original owner's name, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). The station's original frequency was 469 meters (equal to 640 kHz). It was shared time with another Washington station, WCAP. The time-sharing arrangement between the two stations continued until 1926, when RCA purchased WCAP's share.
WRC was a charter network affiliate of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) when it launched in November 1926. NBC split its programming into two networks two months later and WRC was assigned to the Red Network. NBC's other radio chain, the Blue Network, had no affiliate in the national capital until RCA entered into a lease agreement with WMAL in 1933. WRC and WMAL would become de facto sister stations during the lease term, which ran for eight years. WRC moved its frequency to 950 AM in 1928, and then shifted to 980 AM in 1941 as a result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA).
RCA/NBC later launched WNBW television (channel 4, now WRC-TV) and WRC-FM (93.9 MHz, now WKYS), with both stations signing on in 1947. For its first couple of decades, WRC-FM mostly simulcast WRC. One popular WRC show featured Willard Scott and Ed Walker as the Joy Boys from 1955 to 1972. WRC also carried the Monitor radio program on weekends. From 1972 to 1975, WRC broadcast a contemporary hit radio format and was known as the Great 98. A popular DJ on WRC was Doug Tracht, known as the "Greaseman," who would later host mornings for many years on WWDC-FM and in radio syndication.
News and talk WRC switched to an all-news radio format, using the "NBC News and Information Service" (NIS) from 1975 to 1977. After the NIS network was discontinued, the station aired its own all-news format, competing with established all-news station WTOP. It switched to a news/talk format in 1979. The talk programming included the first pairing of political writers Pat Buchanan and Tom Braden, who became the original hosts of CNN's Crossfire, as well as satirist Mort Sahl, psychologist Karen Shanor and former Philadelphia talk-show host Jerry Williams. Jack Doniger hosted an evening sports-talk show.
The AM's former Top 40 format was moved to WRC-FM and later evolved into a disco music format in the late 1970s as WKYS "Kiss FM". When the disco format cooled, WKYS evolved to an urban contemporary format.
NBC sold WRC to Greater Media in 1984 as it began its exit from radio ownership. FCC rules at the time did not allow two separately-owned stations to share a call sign. Since NBC retained WRC-TV and the right to the call sign, the AM station became WWRC. The station remained the Washington affiliate of the NBC Radio Network well into the late 1980s. With the sale, the station changed to a full-service middle of the road format, of popular music, talk and information, on September 1, 1984. During the early 1990s, WWRC was the home to popular shows hosted by Joe Madison, Mark Davis and Joel A. Spivak. It was also one of the brief homes for the last radio show to be hosted by Morton Downey, Jr. (the other being WRC's former sister station WTAM in Cleveland). By the mid-1990s, WWRC was a full-time talk station.
Two weeks prior to swapping call signs and formats, in February 1998, WWRC dropped its talk radio format for a financial news and talk format, one that would last over to a second dial position move to 1260 kHz.
SportsTalk Radio 570 - The Team
Before moving to 980 kHz, WTEM was known as Sports Radio 570 - The Team and on the frequency of 570 kHz. It previously had been used by classical music station WGMS. WTEM made its debut at 3:30 p.m. on May 24, 1992, right after the Indianapolis 500.Roxanne Roberts (May 23, 1992), Whaddaya mean Rypien's a bum!?, The Washington Post.Leonard Shapiro (May 27, 1992), WTEM is born babbling, The Washington Post. At the beginning, WTEM emulated the program lineup and even imported the jingles from New York City's WFAN, the first all-sports radio station in the United States.
At the beginning, Paul Harris hosted the morning show between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. The Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser took over in late mornings, and CBS Sports announcer/WUSA sportcaster James Brown hosted early afternoons. Kevin Kiley and Rich "The Coach" Gilgallon hosted Kiley and the Coach during afternoon drive time, which emulated WFAN's highly successful Mike and the Mad Dog radio program. Jean Fugett and Ira Mellman anchored the night-time hours. WTEM also acquired the radio rights to broadcast Washington Redskins football between 1992 and 1994.
However, the ratings of WTEM struggled in the beginning. Harris was quickly replaced by Bruce Murray and Bob Berger in late 1992. WTEM introduced the syndicated Imus in the Morning on July 19, 1993, to replace Murray and Berger in the 6–10 a.m. morning slot. For cost-cutting reasons, WTEM canceled Kiley and the Coach, and shows hosted by Phil Wood (8 p.m. to midnight) and Rob Weingarten (midnight to 6 a.m.) at the end of 1994.Leonard Shapiro (December 9, 1994), All-sports station's survival requires a team effort, The Washington Post. After Kiley and the Coach was canceled, WTEM tried several afternoon-drive shows before it settled on Kornheiser live between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and then replayed between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. to boost the afternoon drive-time ratings until the show moved to ESPN Radio in January 1998. After his contract was not renewed by WMAL, Ken Beatrice and his show, Sports Call, moved to WTEM in late 1995.
When The Tony Kornheiser Show launched in 1992, because Tony needed to focus on writing his "Style" column in The Washington Post weekly, he usually did not host the show on Thursdays. Usually Andy Pollin, the sports director at WTEM, would guest-host Tony's show on Thursdays. Between November 1995 and December 1996, Warner Wolf was the guest host of The Tony Kornheiser Show on Thursdays until he moved to New York as a sports anchor on WCBS-TV.Warner Wolf and Larry Weisman (2000), Let's go to the videotape: all the plays and replays from my life in sports, Warner Books (). Tony started to host on Thursdays when he was on ESPN Radio.
When The Tony Kornheiser Show was on hiatus between November 14, 1997, and January 5, 1998, WTEM filled the 10 a.m.-1 p.m. slot with Kevin Kiley and the 4–7 p.m. slot with comedian Chuck Booms and Scott Linn. Booms joined WTEM as part of a stunt revolving the Comedy Central show Comics on Delivery, where viewers were asked write in and enlist the aid of comedians to help them get through experiences from daily life. Because of on-air wildness and inexperience, Booms was later paired with the experienced Kiley.
When The Tony Kornheiser Show on ESPN Radio debuted on January 5, 1998, the show aired between 1–4 p.m. WTEM filled the 10 a.m.–1 p.m. time slot with Rick "Doc" Walker and Al Koken hosting The Doc and Al Show and the 4–7 p.m. time slot with Kiley and Booms.
SportsTalk 980 On March 9, 1998, WTEM and WWRC swapped dial positions, with WTEM moving to the stronger 980 frequency.Leonard Shapiro (March 6, 1998), Watts up next week at WTEM, The Washington Post. After the move, WTEM was branded as SportsTalk 980. The lineups on March 9, 1998, are Imus in the Morning (6–10 a.m.), The Doc and Al Show (10 a.m.–1 p.m.), The Tony Kornheiser Show on ESPN Radio (1–4 p.m.), Kevin Kiley and Chuck Booms (4–7 p.m.) and Ken Beatrice's Sports Call (7–10 p.m.).
Because of poor ratings, Kiley and Booms were canceled on November 13, 1998, which happened to be Friday.Frank Ahrens (December 17, 1998), Kiley, Booms fired up, The Washington Post. WTEM moved the highly rated The Tony Kornheiser Show to the 4–7 p.m. slot as a tape delay show to replace Kiley and Booms. Kornheiser did not like the idea because he would lose the callers from the WTEM broadcasting area. WTEM moved The Doc and Al Show into the 1–4 p.m. slot and created a new show hosted by Rich Cook and Kris O'Donnell in the 10 a.m.–1 p.m. slot.
When John Thompson resigned as the head coach of the men's basketball team at Georgetown University, WTEM moved The Doc and Al Show into the 10 a.m.–12 p.m. slot and invited Thompson to host a one-hour show within The Doc and Al Show (10:30–11:30 a.m.) called Timeout with Thompson starting March 3, 1999, before the 1999 NCAA Tournament began. At the same time, WTEM introduced The Jim Rome Show, assigned it into the 12–3 p.m. slot. Between The Jim Rome Show and The Tony Kornheiser Show, there was a one-hour program called The Playground hosted by WTEM news anchors.
After the 1999 NCAA Tournament, because of the positive reviews, Thompson was named the host of The John Thompson Show airing 10 a.m.–12 p.m. with Walker and Koken as co-hosts, replacing The Doc and Al Show.
On September 13, 1999, ESPN Radio moved The Tony Kornheiser Show to his favorite 10 a.m.–1 p.m. slot to make room for The Dan Patrick Show. WTEM accommodated the move by moving The John Thompson Show to 3–5 p.m., reducing The Jim Rome Show to two hours and creating a new program called The Sports Reporters hosted by Andy Pollin between 5–7 p.m.
After the new lineup was announced, Jim Rome voiced his displeasure on the air, attacked Kornheiser and demanded WTEM to get his third hour back. In The Sports Reporters, Steve Czaban began as a news anchor. Later on, Czaban became the co-host with Andy Pollin.
On April 20, 2000, veteran sports talk personality Ken Beatrice retired.Leonard Shapiro (April 21, 2000), He could talk the talk, The Washington Post. His show, Sports Call, was replaced by Steve Czaban in the 7 p.m.–10 p.m. slot.
On April 9, 2001, WTEM became a secondary Fox Sports Radio affiliate, picking up ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning (6–9 a.m.) and Fox's The Tony Bruno Extravaganza (9–10 a.m.). Both shows replaced Imus in the Morning, which moved to WTNT to boost the station's ratings. Czaban's evening program would also be picked up nationwide by Fox Sports Radio later that year; the show would be moved by the network to morning drive in January 2005, with WTEM followed suit later that year.
On May 23, 2002, WTEM celebrated its tenth anniversary as a sports talk station with a special Sports Reporters show starting at 5 p.m.
From December 2003 until January 2005, WWRC (1260 AM) carried a complementary sports/talk format as "SportsTalk 1260". WWRC carried the majority of Fox Sports Radio's lineup, simulcast WTEM's afternoon programming, and picked up Jim Rome in its entirety, enabling WTEM to become an exclusive ESPN Radio outlet (save for Czaban's syndicated program).
In December 2005, the station's studios were moved from Bethesda, Maryland, to 1801 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland, to consolidate Clear Channel's Washington operation.
Because of Tony Kornheiser's preparation for ESPN's Monday Night Football, The Tony Kornheiser Show on WTEM ended on April 28, 2006, and Kornheiser eventually left for WTWP. Starting on May 1, 2006, The Sports Reporters with Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban filled in the 9 a.m.–12 p.m. slot, a new show hosted by Brian Mitchell and Bram Weinstein aired between 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., and The John Thompson Show was extended through 7 p.m.
In early June 2006, The Brian Mitchell Show changed again. Bram Weinstein left WTEM and was replaced by Kevin Sheehan.
Starting February 12, 2007, The Brian Mitchell Show moved to the 10 a.m.–1 p.m. slot, The John Thompson Show moved to the 1 p.m.–4 p.m. slot and The Sports Reporters with Andy Pollin and Steve Czaban filled in the 4 p.m.–7 p.m. slot.