WLOR
| City | Huntsville, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Tennessee Valley |
| Branding | 98.1 The Beat |
| Slogan | Classic Hip Hop and R&B |
| Frequency | 1550 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 98.1 W251AC (Capshaw) |
| First air date | November 1946 (as WHBS at 1490) |
| Format | Classic hip hop |
| Power | 50,000 watts (day) 44 watts (night) |
| Class | D |
| Facility ID | 39508 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 34°51′09″N 86°39′10″W / 34.85250°N 86.65278°W |
| Former callsigns | WHBS (1946-1958) WAAY (1958-1989) WAAJ (1989-1993) |
| Former frequencies | 1490 kHz (1946-1953) |
| Owner | Black Crow Media Group (BCA Radio, LLC (transfer pending)) |
| Sister stations | WAHR, WRTT-FM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 981thebeat.com |
WLOR (1550 AM, "98.1 The Beat") is a radio station licensed to Huntsville, Alabama, USA, that serves the greater Tennessee Valley area. The station carries a classic hip hop format. WLOR is part of the Black Crow Media Group and the broadcast license is held by BCA Radio, LLC, Debtor-in-Possession. Black Crow Media Group sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on January 12, 2010. In November 2011, the company announced reorganization plans that will shift the license to Southern Stone Communications, LLC, under the same parent company. Approved by the FCC on December 19, 2011, the deal now awaits formal consummation.
The station originally started on November 10, 1946, as WHBS on 1490 AM (1000 watts day/250 night), which was owned by The Huntsville Times. It later added an FM simulcast in 1948 on 95.1 FM, which was discontinued around 1957. The station moved to 1550 kHz, with an increase of daytime power to 5000 watts/500 night, on November 4, 1952. From 1958 to 1989, this station used the call letters WAAY as the Top 40-formatted AM sister station of WAAY-TV. The station went to 50,000 watts-daytime power in 1980 (the maximum output permitted for U.S. AM radio stations) and then operated from a separate daytime and nighttime site until 1991. WAAY-AM also was the first station to broadcast in AM stereo in the Huntsville market in 1984, using the Kahn-Hazeltine stereo system. Both WAAY AM/TV stations were owned and operated by Smith Broadcasting, a local family that has since divested its broadcasting interests.
When the AM station was sold, the new owners were required to change the callsign. They chose WAAJ in April 1989 to accompany the station's change to a gospel music and religious format. This format and callsign ran until April 1993 when the station became WLOR. Around 1998 WLOR returned to the air with a black gospel format (daytime only, as the nighttime site had been demolished).
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