WWIL (AM)

WWIL
Wilmington, North Carolina;
Frequency	1490 kHz
Programming
Format	Defunct (was Gospel)
Ownership
Owner	James and Maxzine Utley; (CLI Radio, LLC);
Sister stations	WLTT
History
First air date	1964
Former call signs	WHSL (1964–1977)
Call sign meaning	WILmington
Technical information
Facility ID	20662
Class	C
Power	1,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates	34°13′52.00″N 77°57′18.00″W / 34.2311111°N 77.9550000°W
Translator(s)	W285FQ (104.9 MHz, Wilmington)

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.

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.^[5] FM translator W285FQ’s license was also cancelled.^[6]^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b History Cards for WWIL, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Ben Steelman, "Praise Radio; It's the Gospel Truth: Christian Radio Is Gaining Popularity," Star-News, December 14, 1999.
^ Frank Maley, "Christian Radio; He's Sending a Message," Star-News, February 19, 1995.
^ "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. August 16, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
^ "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. August 16, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2024.
^ "FCC Report 8/28: Owner Death Leads to Demise of Two Wilmington NC AMs". radioinsight. August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022.

External links

FCC Station Search Details: DWWIL (Facility ID: 20662)
FCC History Cards for WWIL (covering 1959-1981)

For the Wilmington, Delaware radio market, see Template:Wilmington (DE) Radio
For the Wilmington, North Carolina radio market, see Template:Wilmington (NC) Radio

This article about a radio station in North Carolina is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[HistoryCards-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.

[steelman-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] "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. August 16, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2024.

[6] "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. August 16, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2024.

[7] "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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v t e Religious radio stations in the state of North Carolina
Stations	WAAE – New Bern WADE – Wadesboro WAGR – Lumberton WBFJ – Winston-Salem WBFJ-FM - Winston-Salem WBKU – Ahoskie WBKZ – Havelock WBLA - Elizabethtown WCGC – Belmont WCLW – Eden WCRU – Dallas WDRU – Wake Forest WDVV – Wilmington WEAL - Greensboro WGAS – Gastonia WGHJ – Fair Bluff WGHW – Lockwoods Folly Town WGTI – Windsor WHGW-LP – Morganton WHPE-FM – High Point WHPY – Clayton WIAM – Williamston WICE-LP – Henderson WJCV – Jacksonville WJOF-LP – Liberty WJRM – Troy WKFV – Clinton WKJW – Black Mountain WLGP – Harkers Island WLGT – Washington WLLY – Wilson WLXN – Lexington WLXZ – Pinehurst WMIT – Black Mountain WOBX – Wanchese WOGR – Charlotte WOGR-FM – Salisbury WOTJ – Morehead City WPCM – Burlington–Graham WPET – Greensboro WPFJ – Franklin WPIP – Winston-Salem WPJL – Raleigh WRAE – Raeford WSKY – Asheville WSTK - Aurora WSTS – Fairmont WTRU – Kernersville WUBN-LP – Wilson WUIT-LP – Durham WVRL – Elizabeth City WVRP – Roanoke Rapids WWIL-FM – Wilmington WWOL – Forest City WWQT – Tryon WWQY – Yadkin County WXBE – Beaufort WYAL – Scotland Neck WYBJ – Newton Grove WYDU – Red Springs WYFL – Henderson WYFQ – Charlotte WYFQ-FM – Wadesboro WYHW - Wilmington WYTR – Robbins WYZD – Dobson WZKB – Wallace
Defunct	WDLV-LP – Simpson WFWC-LP – Fremont WPTP-LP – Marble WVBS – Burgaw WWIL – Wilmington
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in North Carolina See also Classical Jazz Religious Spanish Smooth Jazz Other