View source for WTDY-FM

{{Short description|Hot adult contemporary radio station in Philadelphia}}
{{Use American English|date=February 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name                = WTDY-FM
| logo                = WTDY-FM New 96.5 logo.png
| logo_upright        = .8
| city                = [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]
| country             = US
| area                = [[Delaware Valley]]
| frequency           = {{frequency|96.5|[[MHz]]}} {{HD Radio}}
| branding            = ''The New 96.5''
| language            = [[American English|English]]
| format              = [[Hot adult contemporary]]
| subchannels         = HD2: [[Channel Q]]
| affiliations        = [[Premiere Networks]]
| owner               = [[Audacy, Inc.]]
| licensee            = Audacy License, LLC
| sister_stations     = {{hlist|[[KYW (AM)|KYW]]|[[WBEB]]|[[WIP-FM]]|[[WOGL]]|[[WPHI-FM]]|[[WPHT]]}}
| airdate             = {{start date and age|1948}}
| former_callsigns    = {{ubl|WHAT-FM (1945–1968)|WWDB (1968–1998)|WWDB-FM (1998–2000)|WPTP (2000–2003)|WLDW (2003–2004)|WRDW-FM (2004–2015)|WZMP (2015–2017)}}
| former_frequencies  = {{ubl|103.5&nbsp;MHz (1945–1947) [[Construction permit|(CP)]]|105.3&nbsp;MHz (1947–1958)}}
| callsign_meaning    = "Today" (previous branding)
| licensing_authority = [[FCC]]
| facility_id         = 51434
| class               = B
| erp                 = {{ubl|{{val|9600|u=watts|fmt=commas}} (analog)| {{val|460|u=watts|fmt=commas}} (digital)}}
| haat                = {{Convert|337.8|m|ft|sp=us}}
| coordinates         = {{coord|40|2|30.4|N|75|14|9.6|W|type:landmark_region:US-PA_source:FCC|name=WTDY-FM|display=inline,title}}
| webcast             = {{Audacy.com|new965philly}}
| website             = {{url|https://www.audacy.com/new965philly}}
}}
'''WTDY-FM''' (96.5 [[MHz]]) is a commercial radio station in [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]. The station is owned by [[Audacy, Inc.]] and broadcasts a [[hot adult contemporary]] format.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://965tdy.radio.com/playlist|title=Playlist|website=96.5 TDY|access-date=March 9, 2019}}</ref> WTDY-FM features programming from [[Premiere Networks]].

WTDY-FM's studios are co-located with located within Audacy's corporate headquarters in [[Center City, Philadelphia]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://todays965.cbslocal.com/2017/01/26/contact-us/|title=Todays965.CBSlocal.com|website=cbslocal.com|access-date=March 9, 2019}}</ref> while its [[transmitter]] is situated off Domino Lane in the [[Roxborough-Manayunk|Roxborough]] section of Philadelphia, a site where other local FM and TV towers are located.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=WTDY-FM|title=WTDY-FM Radio Station Coverage Map|website=radio-locator.com|access-date=March 9, 2019}}</ref>

==History==
===1945-1958: Early years===
Independence Broadcasting Company, the owners of [[WHAT (AM)|WHAT]] (1340 AM), applied to the [[Federal Communications Commission]] for a construction permit for a new FM station on 103.5&nbsp;MHz on October 5, 1945. The FCC granted the permit on July 10, 1947, while reassigning the station to 105.3&nbsp;MHz. The FCC granted permission on December 2, 1948, for the station to begin broadcasting, by which time it had been assigned the WHAT-FM call sign.<ref name="historycards">{{cite web|url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=83562 |title=History Cards for WTDY-FM |website=fcc.gov |publisher=[[Federal Communications Commission]] |access-date=June 27, 2020}}</ref>

In 1956, a young disc jockey known as [[Sid Mark]] took the airwaves for the first time in Philadelphia on WHAT-AM-FM, beginning a multi-decade career.

On July 24, 1957, Independence Broadcasting applied to the FCC for a construction permit to change the station's frequency to 96.5&nbsp;MHz. The FCC granted the permit on October 30, 1957, followed by a new license effective September 26, 1958.<ref name="historycards"/>

===1958-1975: Jazz===
WHAT-FM became a full-time [[jazz]] station in 1958, the first of its kind on the FM dial. On November 18, 1968, the [[call sign]] was changed to WWDB,<ref name="historycards"/> referring to the brother and sister owners of the station, William and Dolly Banks. In the early 1970s, WWDB experimented with playing [[adult contemporary music]], but eventually went back to jazz.

===1975-2000: Talk===
In 1975, the station's format was changed to [[talk radio|all talk]], making WWDB the first full-time talk station in the United States that was exclusively on the FM dial.<ref>[http://www.phillytalkradioonline.com/comment/gil_gross.html, Retrieved on 2009-03-12.]</ref> On-air talk personalities included [[Irv Homer]], Bernie McCain, [[Frank Ford (broadcaster)|Frank Ford]], [[Phil Valentine]], [[Tom Marr]], and Bernie Herman. The station called itself "WWDB, The Talk Station". Originally, the station carried no [[radio syndication|syndicated]] shows, but came to air the syndicated Rush Limbaugh Show in the early 1990s. Nearly all twenty-four hours a day of talk radio programming with local and national news updates, came from the WWDB programming  staff. Meanwhile, WHAT continued on as one of Philadelphia's radio stations aimed at the local African-American community.

After her brother William died in 1979, Dolly Banks took over as general manager. William Banks had no children, so several distant relatives filed lawsuits, fighting for ownership of twin stations WWDB/WHAT. In 1985, Dolly Banks retired after the African-American employees of sister station WHAT, along with the Black Media Caucus in Washington, D.C., sued the estate, receiving millions of dollars and forcing an estate sale of WWDB. The sale, which was overseen by the [[U.S. Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC), required the stations to be sold to a Black owner. WWDB was sold to Ragan Henry, a Black Philadelphia attorney, for an undervalued amount of $6&nbsp;million. Henry's law firm had worked for the Banks family. Irv Homer had to testify before the FCC.

After a few months of ownership, in 1986, Regan Henry flipped WWDB, selling it to the decidedly not Black Charles Schwartz, who ran it under the name of Panache Broadcasting. Ten years later,  Mercury Broadcasting purchased WWDB for $48&nbsp;million.

After having been nearly 100% local programming, WWDB under Mercury ownership, added more nationally syndicated personalities such as [[Rush Limbaugh]] and [[Dr. Laura]].

===2000-2003: 1980s hits===
[[Beasley Broadcasting]] of Florida purchased WWDB for $65&nbsp;million from Mercury Broadcasting in 1997. At first, Beasley said that the talk format would continue, but the high salaries earned by the veteran talk hosts became an expense the new owners did not want to pay. To earn extra money, the station began airing extended [[infomercial]]s. After lawsuits filed by the Gay Alliance of Philadelphia, Beasley decided to change the format with no notice given ahead of time. On November 3, 2000, Beasley registered the new call sign WPTP for the station. At 9&nbsp;a.m. on November 6, the day before the [[U.S. Presidential Election, 2000|U.S. Presidential Election]], the station began [[stunting (broadcasting)|stunting]] with [[Microsoft Mary]]'s computer-generated voice counting down to 5&nbsp;p.m. that day.

At that time, WWDB's format was changed to [[1980s in music|1980s hits]], branded as "96-5 The Point". The first song was "[[Don't You (Forget About Me)]]" by [[Simple Minds]]. The buyout of the WWDB hosts' contracts is said to have cost Beasley $5&nbsp;million.<ref>Kevin L. Carter, "Talk silenced as WWDB shifts to '80s musical hits," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', November 7, 2000.</ref><ref>[http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2000/RR-2000-11-10.pdf American Radio History] {{dead link|date=September 2023}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIXqF2hw1-A Irv Homer] YouTube</ref> The WPTP call sign went into effect on November 22, 2000. Due to low ratings, WPTP shifted to [[hot adult contemporary]] in early 2003. The format tweak did little to improve the station's ratings. (WPTP's closest rival with the format, [[WBEN-FM|WMWX]], also had low ratings during this time.)

===2003-2015: Rhythmic Contemporary===
On November 17, 2003, at 7:50&nbsp;am, WPTP began stunting with [[Christmas music]] as "Snowy 96.5". At 5&nbsp;p.m. that day, after a bit with then-morning host Paul Barsky, WPTP changed to [[rhythmic contemporary]] as "Wild 96.5", and changed call signs to WLDW.<ref>Michael Klein, "Adult pop is out, hip-hop and R&B in at the Point," ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', November 18, 2003.</ref> The station launched with "[[Get Low (Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz song)|Get Low]]" by [[Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz]];<ref>[http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/2000s/2003/RR-2003-11-21.pdf American Radio History] {{dead link|date=September 2023}}</ref> however, Clear Channel Communications (now [[iHeartMedia]]), owners of the [[copyright]]ed "Wild" moniker, threatened Beasley with a lawsuit for [[copyright infringement]]. To avoid this, in February 2004, WLDW became "Wired 96.5" and the call sign changed to WRDW-FM. (The -FM suffix was necessary because of the existence of AM station [[WRDW (AM)|WRDW]] in [[Augusta, Georgia]], which was also owned by Beasley.)

During its tenure as "Wired", the station would occasionally shift back and forth between Rhythmic and [[contemporary hit radio|Mainstream Top 40]], while still placing an emphasis on Rhythmic and Dance currents/recurrents, and avoiding most rock-leaning product.

On October 2, 2014, Beasley Broadcast Group announced that it would trade five radio stations located in Miami and Philadelphia (including WRDW-FM) to [[CBS Radio]] in exchange for 14 stations located in [[Tampa]] and [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]]. Because CBS already owned two AM stations in Philadelphia, Beasley would acquire WIP, which today is [[WTEL (AM)|WTEL]].<ref name=radio-cbsbeasley>[http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/90319/cbs-and-beasley-swap-philadelphiamiami-for-charlottetampa/ CBS And Beasley Swap Philadelphia/Miami For Charlotte/Tampa] from Radio Insight (October 2, 2014)</ref> The swap was completed on December 1, 2014. Shortly after the trade was consummated, WRDW-FM shifted to a more Mainstream Top 40 direction, though still favoring Rhythmic and Dance currents/recurrents.

===2015-2017: Top 40===
During and after the trade, rumors abounded online that CBS would flip the station to [[all-news]], this time as a simulcast of [[KYW (AM)|KYW]]. This was partially due to WRDW-FM's continued low ratings; in the February 2015 Philadelphia PPM ratings report, WRDW-FM held a 2.4 share of the market, as compared to direct competitor [[WIOQ]]'s 4.1 share. In the spring of 2015, CBS registered domain names towards a possible rebranding as "96.5 AMP Radio", joining similar stations in [[WINS-FM|New York]], [[WDZH|Detroit]], [[WBGB (FM)|Boston]], [[WQMP|Orlando]] and [[KNX-FM|Los Angeles]] with the "AMP" name. On April 5, 2015, WRDW-FM began running without airstaff and promoting a significant change using the hashtag #965Friday5PM to come at 5&nbsp;p.m. on April 10. At that time, after playing "[[Motownphilly]]" by [[Boyz II Men]], the rebrand to "AMP Radio" took place. The first song on "AMP" was "[[Get Low (Dillon Francis and DJ Snake song)|Get Low]]" by [[Dillon Francis]] and [[DJ Snake]]. The changeover also resulted in morning host Chunky and afternoon host/program director Buster being released.<ref>[http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/netgnomes/92487/cbs-to-amp-up-philadelphia/ "96.5 AMP Radio Debuts In Philadelphia"] from Radio Insight (April 10, 2015)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://formatchange.com/wired-96-5-becomes-amp-radio/|title=Wired 96.5 Becomes Amp Radio - Format Change Archive|date=April 10, 2015|website=formatchange.com|access-date=March 9, 2019}}</ref> On April 20, 2015, WRDW-FM changed its call sign to WZMP to match the "AMP" moniker.

During its tenure as "AMP", the station's ratings improved, mostly to a low to mid-3 share of the market, but did not dethrone WIOQ. In the December 2016 Philadelphia PPM ratings report, WZMP held a 3.0 share as compared to WIOQ's 3.6 share. Around Christmas of 2016, morning host Jason Cage and afternoon host Mike Adam left the station.

===2017-2018: Adult contemporary===
[[File:WTDY Today's96.5 logo.png|thumb|right|WTDY-FM's first logo from January 5, 2017, to March 16, 2018]]
On January 5, 2017, at 10&nbsp;am, after playing "[[Time of Our Lives (Pitbull and Ne-Yo song)|Time of Our Lives]]" by [[Pitbull (rapper)|Pitbull]], WZMP flipped to mainstream [[adult contemporary]] as ''Today's 96.5'', launching with "[[Raise Your Glass]]" by [[Doylestown, Pennsylvania|Doylestown]] native [[P!nk]]. At launch, the new format would compete against market leader [[WBEB]], as well as hot-AC formatted [[WISX]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/110141/wzmp-philadelphia-flips-to-ac-todays-96-5/|title=WZMP Philadelphia Flips To AC "Today's 96.5"|date=January 5, 2017|work=RadioInsight|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> (WISX suffered low ratings against the newly formatted WZMP later in the year, leading WISX to make a format switch to [[rhythmic AC]] five months later.)<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/118603/whats-going-mix-106-1-philadelphia/|title=WISX Philadelphia Gets Real With Throwbacks|date=June 29, 2017|work=RadioInsight|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> On January 13, 2017, WZMP changed its call sign to WTDY-FM to better match the new format.

On February 2, 2017, CBS announced that it would merge its radio division (which included WTDY-FM) with [[Bala Cynwyd]]-based [[Entercom]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/116299/cbs-radio-to-merge-with-entercom/|title=CBS Radio To Merge With Entercom|date=February 2, 2017|website=radioinsight.com|access-date=March 9, 2019}}</ref> The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.<ref>[http://www.entercom.com/entercom-receives-fcc-approval-for-merger-with-cbs-radio Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio]</ref><ref>[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/121072/entercom-completes-cbs-radio-merger/  Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger]</ref>

===2018–present: Hot AC; return to CHR, and return to Hot AC===
On March 16, 2018, the station rebranded as ''96.5 TDY'', shifting to a hot adult contemporary format with a larger emphasis on current music. The switch also restored a hot AC-formatted station to the market for the first time since WISX's aforementioned flip, and returned the format to the 96.5 frequency since the flip to rhythmic in 2003.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/167155/todays-96-5-philadelphia-flips-to-hot-ac-96-5-tdy/|title=Today's 96.5 Philadelphia Flips To Hot AC 96.5 TDY|date=March 16, 2018|work=RadioInsight|access-date=March 16, 2018|language=en-US}}</ref>

On November 12, 2018, WTDY-FM launched a new morning show, ''Coop & Casey in the Morning'', hosted by Sean 'Coop' Tabler and Casey Reed.<ref name="ri-wtdyamshow">{{cite news |last1=Venta |first1=Lance |title=Coop & Casey Take Mornings At 96.5 TDY Philadelphia |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/171974/coop-casey-take-mornings-at-96-5-tdy-philadelphia/ |access-date=November 28, 2018 |work=RadioInsight |date=November 13, 2018}}</ref> The station also shifted back to a Top 40/CHR format, a move that followed Entercom's acquisition of former AC competitor WBEB.<ref name="ri-wtdychragain">{{cite news |last1=Venta |first1=Lance |title=A Year In, Has Entercom's Massive Revamps of CBS Radio Stations Paid Off? |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/172157/a-year-in-has-entercoms-massive-revamps-of-cbs-radio-stations-paid-off/ |access-date=November 28, 2018 |work=RadioInsight |date=November 19, 2018}}</ref>

In March 2020, in response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]] and cost cutting measures, Casey Reed of ''Coop & Casey in the Morning'' was let go, with longtime radio and morning show host Sean "Coop" Tabler remaining.

For the weekend of May 11 through 15, 2023, the station temporarily rebranded as "96.5 TAY" (pronounced "Ninety-Swift-Five T-A-Y"), playing only music by [[Taylor Swift]] ahead of her [[Eras Tour]] stopping in Philadelphia for that period, promoting that the station would broadcast on site from her performances at [[Lincoln Financial Field]]. WTDY-FM also began running sweepers announcing that at 9&nbsp;a.m. on May 15, "96.5 will begin a new era."<ref>[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/251982/wtdy-goes-all-taylor-swift-for-four-days/ WTDY Goes All Taylor Swift for Four Days]</ref> At that date and time, WTDY-FM shifted back to hot adult contemporary and re-branded as "The New 96.5", with "[[I'm Good (Blue)]]" by [[David Guetta]] and [[Bebe Rexha]] being the first song played.

==HD Radio==
===WTDY-FM HD2===
In 2007, WRDW added an [[HD Radio|HD2]] subchannel, carrying non-stop [[dance music]] under the moniker "Hot Wired". The music and imaging was similar to co-owned Miami rhythmic station [[WPOW]]'s HD2 channel, now defunct. In 2012, the format changed to foreign language programming as "VDC Radio". In May 2013, Hot Wired returned, while VDC moved to [[WXTU]]-HD3. "Hot Wired" was later renamed "WirEDM", referring to [[Electronic Dance Music]]. In 2015, the WirEDM name was phased out with the rebranding to AMP Radio, with the HD2 subchannel rebranding as "Pulse". The format aired mainly dance music from 2005 to 2012 with a few current songs in the mix. In November 2017, the HD2 format flipped to acoustic rock with a few alternative songs mixed in as "Alt 96.5 HD2". Roughly a year later, the format was shifted to a more traditional [[alternative rock]] playlist. The HD3 format soon moved over to HD2.

===WTDY-FM HD3===
In September 2015, WTDY-HD3 aired ''Popecast'', a temporary station produced by [[KYW (AM)|KYW]] to cover [[Pope Francis's 2015 visit to North America|Pope Francis's visit to North America]] (which concluded in Philadelphia).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Philly Gets Pop-Up Pope Station.|url=http://www.insideradio.com/free/philly-gets-pop-up-pope-station/article_bb0946b4-5bcb-11e5-be23-dbd619496adc.html|access-date=August 30, 2019|website=Insideradio.com|date=September 15, 2015 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=September 13, 2015|title=iHeart To Launch Philadelphia Papal Pop-Up Format|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/94529/iheart-to-launch-philadelphia-papal-pop-up-format/|access-date=August 30, 2019|website=RadioInsight|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Papal Visit Prompts WDAS-A (Smooth Jazz 'JJZ)/Philadelphia To Air 'Pope Info Radio' 9/19-27|url=https://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/145596/papal-visit-prompts-wdas-a-smooth-jazz-jjz-philade|access-date=August 30, 2019|website=All Access|language=en}}</ref>

In August 2019, WTDY-HD3 began airing programming from "[[Channel Q]]", Entercom's [[talk radio|Talk]]/[[electronic dance music|EDM]] service for the [[LGBTQ]] community. Previously, it aired a [[travelers' information station|travelers' information]] loop as "Hear Philly". The HD3 subchannel has moved to HD2 and has since been turned off.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commonscat}}
* {{Official website|https://www.audacy.com/new965philly}}
* {{FM station data|51434|WTDY-FM}}

{{Philly Radio}}
{{Adult Contemporary Radio Stations in Pennsylvania}}
{{Entercom}}

[[Category:1948 establishments in Pennsylvania]]
[[Category:Audacy, Inc. radio stations]]
[[Category:Hot adult contemporary radio stations in the United States]]
[[Category:Radio stations established in 1948]]
[[Category:Radio stations in Philadelphia|TDY-FM]]