WYCD
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| WYCD | |
 |
|
| City of license | Detroit, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | [1] |
| Branding | 99.5 WYCD |
| Slogan | Detroit's Best Country |
| First air date | May 4, 1960 |
| Frequency | 99.5 MHz  |
| Format | Country |
| Power | 17,500 watts |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | Young Country Detroit |
| Former callsigns | WOWF (9/92-7/93) WDFX (7/88-9/92) WDTX (1985-7/88) WCLS (1984-1985) WABX (1960-1984) |
| Owner | CBS Radio |
| Website | http://www.wycd.com |
WYCD is a FM radio station in Detroit, Michigan. The station currently broadcasts on 99.5 MHz and is one of three country music stations in the Detroit area (the others being 106.7 The Fox and W4 Country in Ann Arbor).
WYCD is licensed for HD Radio operations; its secondary channel is called "The Wolf" which features "future" Country music hits.
Contents |
[edit] Early History
The station began broadcasting around 1960 as WABX, beginning as a classical music station before adopting the MOR format in 1964.
[edit] WABX Rock/Pop years
On February 1, 1968, "play lists" of acceptable tunes went out: the DJ's picked their own music, and Century Broadcasting Corporation bit its tongue. With a freeform progressive rock format, WABX became a springboard for the new music that no other station in the market (least of all CKLW and the other Top 40 stations) would touch.
The ABX revolution was one of style as well as sound. The station made itself a community catalyst for fun: free concerts and movies, kite-flys, bike-ins, and conferences. Also, the station played a role in giving many artists the recognition that they did not have at the time, including The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Iron Butterfly, and The J. Geils Band.
In 1983, the Detroit radio market had become saturated with rock stations. In response to the success of the "Hot Hits" format at WHYT-FM 96.3, WABX moved to a more pop-oriented sound as "Detroit's New Music", with a rock-based top 40 playlist featuring a lot of New Wave material, but longtime WABX listeners did not accept the change and ratings fell.
[edit] The WCLS/WDTX/WDFX Years
WABX's long-term reign as a high-rolling rock station came to an end with the song "When the Music's Over" by The Doors in 1984, and then the station became "Class FM", WCLS, with a soft rock format. The following year the station became "Pop Radio 99 DTX", reverting to a rock-based CHR format similar to the WABX "Detroit's New Music" era and meant to be a radio version of MTV. Eventually the format evolved into mainstream CHR. In 1988 the station changed its call letters to WDFX, known as "99.5 The Fox". The station maintained a Top 40 format while adding some hip hop to compete with WHYT. "99.5 The Fox" did well ratings-wise, and even surpassed WHYT in the ratings by 1989, but advertising revenue was poor and the station soon went bankrupt.
[edit] The failed attempt at FM talk
At the end of the year in 1992, the station started stunting by having a character named "Cowboy Hugh Chardon" (played by Dr. Don Carpenter) play Garth Brooks' "Friends In Low Places" repeatedly (for his good buddy Bobby Stalls in Birmingham) and try to kill "The Fox" using various methods suggested by "listeners". This was followed by an automated countdown that started on Christmas Day at Midnight, began at 63,752 and ended with number one on December 28, 1992 (this was apparently done so they could rebuild the studios). Instead of changing formats when the countdown ended it stunted for another week with a six hour loop of novelty songs they called "goofy loops" played repeatedly. This continued until the early morning of January 4 1993 (the first Monday after the holiday week) when the station finally finished changing formats and became "WOW-FM" WOWF (the call letters had actually been in place since October, 1992), a news/talk station with broadcasters like Art Vuolo and Ed Tyll coming to the station. (However, by popular demand, the "goofy loops" track was brought back on the weekend for the life of the station.)
[edit] The WYCD Years
A few months later on May 28, 1993, at 3pm, the station dropped the talk format in favor of "Young Country", starting with Dr. Don's afternoon show. WYCD positioned itself as a younger-leaning alternative to crosstown WWWW-FM 106.7 ("W4"). Although WWWW typically had higher ratings with country than did WYCD, lack of advertiser revenue lead WWWW to switch to a classic-rock format in September of 1999.
With the country format all to itself in Detroit from 1999 to 2006, WYCD has coonsistently been a top 10-rated station, although the station's tendency to feature pop and rock crossover hits that most other country stations don't play, such as "Heaven" by Los Lonely Boys, has drawn the ire of fans of "real" country music. In the spring of 2006, WYCD had its best ratings book ever when it tied for first place 12+ with hip-hop station WJLB.
The high ratings at WYCD are probably what led 106.7 FM WDTW-FM to switch formats back to country in May, 2006 (although they claim the format was chosen by the listeners). In another strange twist the new name at 106.7 FM (also chosen by the listeners) is "The Fox", which used to be the name at 99.5 FM when it was a Top 40 station in the late 80s. So it could be said that Dr. Don has one more chance to "kill The Fox."
Whether or not 99.5 will once again be able to "kill The Fox" remains to be seen. WDTW-FM's first ratings period as "The Fox" saw it making a ratings gain of nearly a full point while WYCD tumbled from first place to a tie for seventh, but The Fox's ratings have dropped since. Still, the stage may be set for a country radio war the likes of which Detroit hasn't seen since 106.7's days as "W4 Country."
[edit] Airstaff
Current DJ's: Dr. Don, Rachael Hunter & Steve Grunwald (formerly of DRQ), Jason The 300lb Cowboy, Mike Scott, Chuck Edwards & Linda Lee, Jyl Forsyth, Mike Williams, Kevin Scollin, Michelle Metcalf, Ron Brand (formerly of W4 Country), & Music Director Ron Chatman.
Detroit native Tim Roberts has served as Program Director/Operations Manager of the station since November of 2005. In addition to serving as Music Director, Ron Chatman has been the Assistant Program Director since September of 1999.
[edit] On-Air Schedule
| Program | Times |
|---|---|
| Ron Chatman | 12:00 AM-5:00 AM |
| The Dr. Don Show: Dr. Don, Rachael Hunter, Steve Grunwald |
5:00 AM-10:00 AM |
| Mike Scott | 10:00 AM-3:00 PM |
| Edwards & Lee In The Afternoon: Chuck Edwards, Linda Lee |
3:00 PM-7:00 PM |
| Jyl Forsyth | 7:00 PM-12:00 AM |
[edit] Legal Issues
In 2005, a six-woman Detroit jury awarded 10.6 million dollars to former employee and top-rated radio personality Erin Weber. Weber claimed that she was intentionally exposed to toxic perfume by another radio personality, Linda Lee, which caused severe complications to her and was responsible for her taking a three-month medical leave back in 2000.
The verdict awarded her $7 million in punitive damages, $2 million in mental anguish and emotional distress and $1.6 million for past and future compensation
The suit maintained that while Weber made WYCD aware of the threat of Linda Lee and her purposely exposing her to the perfume, the station did not do enough to protect her and instead fired her in 2001.
In a May 2001 e-mail to the station manager, presented as evidence, Weber said Lee's perfume caused her to lose her voice and that Lee intentionally walked by her at the Downtown Detroit Hoedown -- a popular annual country music festival. "Linda nearly brushed past me and a cloud of perfume trailed behind me", Weber wrote.[citation needed]
"To have brought the perfume with her suggests forward planning. This appears to be a premeditated attack which was entirely unprovoked by me in anyway", Weber wrote. "Please tell me what steps you plan to take to ensure my safety."
The station, owned by CBS Radio is planning to file an appeal.
[edit] Old Logos
[edit] Sources
[edit] External links
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