WMAX (AM)
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| City | Bay City, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Saginaw-Bay City-Midland |
| Branding | Ave Maria Radio |
| Frequency | 1440 kHz |
| First air date | April 23, 1925 |
| Format | Religious; Catholic based talk/sermons |
| Power | 5,000 watts (Daytime) 2,500 watts (Nighttime) |
| Class | B |
| Former callsigns | WUNI (7/30/91-7/30/92) WRDD (?-7/30/91) WBCM (1930-?) WSKC (1925-1930) |
| Owner |
Word Broadcasters (AM Media Services) |
| Website | http://www.avemariaradio.net/ |
WMAX (1440 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Catholic religious format. It is co-owned with WDEO 990 AM in Ypsilanti, Michigan, and features the same programming from the EWTN Global Catholic Radio network.
Licensed to Bay City, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1925 under the WSKC call sign, at 1150 kHz. It was the first radio station in the Tri-Cities and first radio station north of Flint. In 1930, the call sign changed to WBCM, followed by a shift in frquency in 1941 to 1440 kHz. WBCM served the Bay City area as a local station for many years with a variety of formats including MOR and country music.
WBCM began experimenting with FM Radio in 1947, one of the first in the region. WBCM-FM was located at 96.1 mHz and broadcast from an over 300 foot Blaw-Knox tower at the station's Bay City east side studio, initially signing on in 1947. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, 96.1 FM broadcast a beautiful music format. On August 27, 1973 the calls were changed to WHNN and the station adopted a Top 40 format as "Super Win." It would later be bought by Liggett Communications, where the tower was moved east to Quanicassee and the power upped to a legal maximum of 100,000 watts.
Liggett would sell WBCM-AM to a local broadcaster, and a new directional site was built along M-84 in southern Frankenlust Township, Michigan. WBCM would change call letters to WMAX in 1992 and simulcast sports-talk station WTRX of Flint. WMAX is of no relation to WMAX-FM 96.1, a IHeartMedia-owned radio station in Holland, Michigan. The simulcast only lasted about ten years when it was then sold to the current Catholic radio operator.
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