WAYS (AM)

{{short description|Fox Sports Radio station in Conway–Myrtle Beach, South Carolina}}

{{for|the radio station at 1500 AM in Macon, Georgia, that used the WAYS call letters from 2005 to 2020|WAYS (1500 AM)}}

{{Infobox radio station

| name = WAYS

| above = Currently silent

| logo = WRWM FOXSports1050-101.9 logo.png

| city = Conway, South Carolina

| area = Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

| branding = Fox Sports Radio 1050 & 101.9

| frequency = 1050 kHz

| translator = {{Radio Relay|101.9|W270BZ|Conway}}

| airdate = {{Start date and age|1977|2|23}} (as WJAL)

| format = Formerly Sports Radio

| power = {{ubl|5,000 watts day|473 watts night}}

| class = B

| facility_id = 17484

| licensing_authority = FCC

| coordinates = {{coord|33|50|56.6|N|79|5|2.1|W|region:US-SC_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| callsign_meaning =

| former_callsigns = {{ubl|WJAL (1977)|WJXY (1977–2000)|WIQB (2000–2010)|WHSC (2010–2017)|WRWM (2017–2020)}}

| affiliations = Fox Sports Radio

| owner = Cumulus Media

| licensee = Cumulus Licensing LLC

| sister_stations = {{hlist|WDAI|WSYN|WLFF|WSEA}}

| webcast =

| website = {{URL|https://www.thegamemyrtlebeach.com/2013/04/01/fox-sports-radio-whsc-1050-am-101-9-fm/}}

}}

WAYS (1050 kHz) is a silent radio station in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it had previously aired a sports radio format, much of it from Fox Sports Radio. Its studios are on U.S. Highway 17 in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, and its transmitter is located in the station's city of license, Conway, South Carolina. Programming had also been heard on FM translator W270BZ at 101.9 MHz in Conway.

History

WAYS originally signed on February 23, 1977,{{cite book|title=Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1999|year=1999|page=D-394|url=http://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1999/D-Radio-NE-Ter-BC-YB-1999..pdf|access-date=January 14, 2018}} as WJAL. That August, the call sign became WJXY,{{cite web|title=WJXY FCC history cards|url=https://cdbs.recnet.com/corres/?doc=62030|website=CDBS Public Access|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|access-date=January 14, 2018}} a call sign that stayed with the station for many years. WJXY was a daytime-only country music station in the 1970s. An FM sister station at 93.9 was added around 1990, at which time the AM switched to Southern gospel. In 1995, the format changed to adult standards, with most of the music coming from the AM Only satellite format. By this time, the station had a limited nighttime signal.

In Fall 1999, Hurricane Floyd damaged WJXY's studios and transmitter site and forced WJXY-FM, WXJY and WSEA to move to the WSYN/WDAI studios near Inlet Square Mall. At the time, WJXY aired Conway High School football; those games moved to WRNN-FM. WJXY was off the air for several months.Toby Eddings, "WJXY-AM silent thanks to Floyd," The Sun News, October 3, 1999. Early in 2000, the station was back, but not in stereo. Many listeners had complained.Toby Eddings, "Holli Heart replaces Tab Allen at WYAK," The Sun News, January 16, 2000.

The station was assigned the WIQB call letters by the Federal Communications Commission on November 16, 2000.{{cite web |url=http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=17484&Callsign=WAYS|title=Call Sign History|access-date=January 25, 2011}} For a time, WIQB aired the same programming as oldies station WSYN.

On February 15, 2003, WIQB became part of "The Team" all sports format along with WJXY-FM.Ryan Elswick, "ESPN Radio to Return to Strand," The Sun News, January 26, 2003.

On April 30, 2010, WIQB switched to southern gospel and changed its letters to WHSC.

On March 5, 2012, WHSC became the new Myrtle Beach affiliate of Fox Sports Radio. Dan Patrick would air live in the market rather than on tape, and Jim Rome would follow. WHSC became the new station for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.{{cite news|url=http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2012/02/28/2687215/sports-radio-moves-grows-on-the.html|title=ESPN Radio moves, grows on the Grand Strand|last=Kelly|first=Amanda|work=The Sun News|date=February 28, 2012|access-date=February 28, 2012}}

The station changed its call sign to WRWM on December 26, 2017, and to WAYS on February 13, 2020.[https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=17484&Callsign=WAYS17484 Call Sign Changes]

Cumulus applied for WAYS to be temporarily silent in March 2025.{{cite web|url=https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/views/public/amDraftCopy?displayType=html&appKey=25076f919568c801019580b1285608dc&id=25076f919568c801019580b1285608dc&goBack=N|title=Request for Silent Authority of an AM Station Application|publisher=Federal Communications Commission|date=March 10, 2025|access-date=March 11, 2025}} It was one of six Cumulus stations to close the weekend of March 7, as part of a larger shutdown of underperforming Cumulus stations.{{cite news |last1=Venta |first1=Lance |title=Twenty Cumulus & Townsquare Media Stations Cease Operations With More To Come |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/296690/twenty-cumulus-townsquare-media-stations-cease-operations-with-more-to-come/ |access-date=March 14, 2025 |work=RadioInsight |date=March 14, 2025}}