WSEG

WSEG (1400 AM, "ESPN Radio FM 104.3") is a radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Savannah, Georgia, USA, the station serves the Savannah area. The station is currently owned by William Dorminy, through licensee Southern Media Interactive LLC, and features programming from ESPN Radio.^[1] In April 2011, WSEG started simulcasting on FM frequency 104.3 MHz in Savannah (translator W282AR licensed to Savannah).

History

The A.C. Neff Company made an application to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to build a new station in Savannah, in the waning days of World War II. Neff was granted a construction permit for a station to operate at 1400 on the AM dial, with 250 watts full-time. The station, assigned the call letters WDAR, took to the air in mid-1946. Their studios were located at 34 E. Bryan Street, a second floor suite of offices, located over the Georgia State Bank building. WDAR/WSGA had no network affiliation until early 1961, when it picked up the ABC affiliation previously held by WFRP/WSOK.

Less than two years later, Neff built WDAR-FM, at 96.5 on the dial with just over 13,000 watts ERP.

By the time Neff sold the AM station to Donald Jones in 1956, WDAR-FM had surrendered its license. When Jones bought the station, the call letters were immediately changed to WSGA (Savannah, GeorgiA), and the station eventually moved to the Liberty Street studios.

Under Jones' operation, WSGA had an adult pop/block format--MOR/pop early mornings, more pop in middays, top-40 between 3 & 6 p.m., and after 8 at night. The station played "dinner music" weeknights from 6 'till 8, and signed off each night at midnight.

The all top-40 era of The Goodtimer, WSGA, began in October 1968. The station was known as "One Forty, WSGA" from 1968-1982. In September 1982, WSGA was seeing competition from FM top-40 stations and changed its format to "The Music of Your Life," then changed the format to a CNN station before going dark for a couple of years in the 1990s. WSGA returned to the air in the late 1990s an FM simulcast station for sister FM station WZAT, when it broadcast an Alternative format. WSGA became as a Christian talk radio station, before selling to Gilliam Communications which changed the station name to WHGM.

In 2007, Gilliam Communications Inc. sold WHGM to MarMac Communications. The station's format at the time was gospel.^[2] On January 1, 2013, WSEG changed to all-sports featuring programming from ESPN Radio after former sister station WZAT changed to CBS Sports Radio. They will have a local show beginning January 7.

Effective March 19, 2013, MarMac sold WSEG and sister stations WFNS and WSFN to Southern Media Interactive LLC, at a purchase price of $1.3 million.

Personalities

The air staff over those Top 40 years included many personalities who would go on to the majors. The credit to the overall operation and management of WSGA Radio goes to Owner Albert Weis, and long-time programmer Jerry Rogers. WSGA was a "Radio Farm Team" for the major leagues.

• Chris O'Brien - Mornings WSGA / WMET Chicago
• Jack Murphy - Mornings WSGA / Z100 New York City / KKLQ San Diego
• David Blair - Mid-days WSGA / KSLQ St. Louis
• Denis Reid - Nights WSGA / WCMS Norfolk, Virginia / WXLO New York
• Chuck Cannon - Nights WSGA / KKLQ San Diego / KFRC San Francisco
• Mark Thompson - Mornings WSGA / KLOS Los Angeles "Mark & Brian"
• "Danny" Kramer - "DK the DJ" was the number one show in Savannah in the early 1960s.

Callsign history

The station was assigned the call letters WHGM on October 14, 1999. On June 27, 2007, the station changed its call sign to the current WSEG.^[3]

Previous Logo

(WSEG's logo under previous "Star 1400" branding)

References

External links

• Query the FCC's AM station database for WSEG
• Radio-Locator Information on WSEG
• Query Nielsen Audio's AM station database for WSEG
• Query the FCC's FM station database for W282AF
• Radio-Locator information on W282AF
• TheGoodTimer.com - WSGA history