WOIC
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| City | Columbia, South Carolina |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Columbia, South Carolina |
| Branding | ESPN Columbia 1230am |
| Frequency | 1230 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 94.9 MHz (W235CH) |
| First air date | January 1, 1947 (as WNOK) |
| Format | Sports |
| Power | 1,000 watts full-time, nondirectional |
| Class | C |
| Facility ID | 73370 |
| Callsign meaning | We Originate In Columbia |
| Former callsigns | WNOK (1947-1988) WODE (1988-1989) |
| Affiliations | ESPN Radio |
| Owner |
Alpha Media (Alpha Media Licensee LLC) |
| Sister stations | WARQ, WHXT, WMFX, WWDM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | espncolumbia.com |
WOIC is a sports radio station licensed to Columbia, South Carolina. It serves the Columbia market. The Alpha Media outlet is licensed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast at 1230 kHz with power of 1,000 watts full-time. The station goes by the name ESPN Columbia. Its studios are on Pineview Road in Columbia, while the transmitter tower is located near Bicentennial Park along the Congaree River in downtown Columbia.
WNOK 1230 AM signed on January 1, 1947 featuring local as well as national programing from the Mutual Broadcasting System. In the early 1950s WNOK had added a UHF TV station on Channel 67, eventually changing to Channel 19 by the early 1960s. (WNOK-TV was sold by 1977, becoming WLTX.) Also, an FM station on 104.7 was added in 1958, which is where WNOK's call letters reside today.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, WNOK programmed various music genres known then as "Block Programming." In the end Top 40 won out and by the mid-1960s it was full-time Top 40. However, after making little headway against WCOS, it tried "The Now Sound" in 1967, a mix of MOR and light rock/pop. It also affiliated with CBS during that time. In late 1970, it returned to Top 40 and briefly gave WCOS a good run for its money. In 1980, the station changed to country and disco formats under the call letters of WXAP. Neither format lasted more than 6 months and the WNOK call letters were reclaimed at the end of the year. The station eventually simulcasted parts of WNOK-FM's Top 40 (now known as CHR) format, although much of the remaining broadcast day was still automated under Adult Contemporary and CHR formats. By the fall of 1985, the automation was finally done away with and WNOK was simulcasting full-time with the FM.
In the fall of 1987, WNOK AM dropped the simulcast, becoming an AOR/Classic rock hybrid as "Rock 1230". However FM station WMFX signed on shortly afterwards with a similar format, taking away the station's potential audience. In September 1988, the station became "Oldies 1230" under the WODE call letters featuring an oldies format. Unfortunately, FM WPRH became WOMG in the spring of 1989 with a similar format, again taking away much of the station's audience.
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