| WUSL | |
 |
|
| City of license | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Delaware Valley |
| Branding | "Power 99FM" |
| Slogan | Philly's #1 Station Bangin' Hip Hop and R&B! |
| Frequency | 98.9 (MHz) |
| First air date | 1975 |
| Format | Mainstream Urban |
| ERP | 27,000 watts |
| HAAT | 204 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 20349 |
| Callsign meaning | W US1 LIN Broadcasting (former brandname and owner) |
| Owner | Clear Channel Communications |
| Sister stations | WDAS-FM, WIOQ, WISX, WRFF, WUBA |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | www.power99.com |
WUSL, known as "Power 99 FM", is a mainstream urban radio station, owned by Clear Channel Communications and licensed to Philadelphia. WUSL broadcasts from a class B signal with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 27,000 watts (27 kilowatts (kW)) on the 98.9 megahertz(MHz) frequency from a tower located in the Roxborough section of Philadelphia. The station features the syndicated The Wendy Williams Experience.
History
In 1961 the 98.9 frequency was signed on as WPBS "Philadelphia's Bulletin Station", under common ownership with the city's largest daily newspaper at the time, The Evening Bulletin. The station was cross-promoted with the newspaper and featured an easy listening format. At one point, WPBS was called "Velvet Stereo". In 1976, the newspaper sold the station to LIN Broadcasting which also owned WFIL 560 at the time. Calls changed to WUSL "US-1" and Program Director Jim Nettleton instituted a Soft Adult Contemporary format mixed with standards which had crossed over to the 1960's/1970's pop charts (i.e Engelbert Humperdinck, Barbra Streisand, etc.). The morning man at this time was Jim Gearhart, who is now on NJ 101.5. On July 3, 1981, the station switched to a "3-in-a-row" country format as "Continuous Country 99 FM". Two months later, co-owned WFIL-AM switched to a more personality and information-leaning country station. Realizing that they were splitting their own audience, WUSL signed off the country format in the early hours of October 9, 1982. The last country song played was "Get Into Reggae, Cowboy" by The Bellamy Brothers. The next day, at 6AM, the station became Urban Contemporary as "Kiss 99" (copying New York's WRKS "Kiss FM"). The station even applied for new calls WPKS "Philadelphia's Kiss", however the owners of 100.3 in Media PA, WKSZ (see below), who at the time hadn't put their station on the air yet, said they were signing on as "Kiss 100" and had already copyrighted the name, and had even started legal action against WUSL.
So, WUSL backed off, dropped the "Kiss" name and was simply "99 FM" for a few weeks, until they began using the name "Power 99FM". Within months, they had surpassed WDAS-FM in the ratings, and other stations around the country began using the "Power" brandname. WUSL continues to be the dominant Urban leader in Philadelphia today. One of the most famous programs to ever air on WUSL is the Carter & Sanborn Morning Show, which was cohosted by both a Black (Brian Carter) and White (Dave Sanborn) personality. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the show was a main draw in Philadelphia among younger members of both demographics. Current WJJZ personality Bill Simpson used the alias Dave Sanborn on the show, which often created confusion with the well-known jazz saxophonist David Sanborn, especially among those who were not regular listeners. The show was briefly revived in 2005 on WDAS, after that station dropped Tom Joyner from its schedule.
"Sunday Morning"
Don Juan Banks hosts the Sunday Morning Gospel Show.
He plays urban gospel for 1 hour every Sunday morning. He also has the "Word of the Day", a few verses from the Bible every week. Also, he has a "Get Your Praise On" segment where people shoutout there church and pastor. The Sunday Morning show used to be from 7AM-12N until just recently. Now it's from 7AM-8AM, cut from 5 hrs to just 1.
External links
- Official Website of Power 99
- "The Wendy Williams Experience" Website
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WUSL
- Radio Locator information on WUSL
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for WUSL
