Frequency 1450 kHz Power 1000 watts | Format News, Talk, and Sports Class C | |
City Gastonia, North Carolina Slogan "News, Talk and Sports!" | ||
WGNC (1450 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News, Talk, and Sports format. Licensed to Gastonia, North Carolina, USA, it serves the Gastonia area.
The station is an affiliate of the Atlanta Braves radio network, the largest radio affiliate network in Major League Baseball and is also an affiliate of the Washington Redskins radio network.
History
Doug McSwain's father Pat McSwain started the AM station in 1939 and the FM station in 1947. The younger McSwain was vice president and general manager of WGNC when the family sold both stations to Beasley Broadcast Group in 1986.
Six years after buying WCSL in Cherryville, Calvin Hastings bought WGNC and started KTC Broadcasting. In 1992 he bought WOHS in Shelby and began calling the three stations Piedmont Superstations.
WCSL, WGNC and WOHS began airing Atlanta Braves baseball in 1993. WGNC had served as the radio home of the Gastonia Rangers minor league team from 1990 to 1992.
On April 1, 1993, KTC took over WLON in Lincolnton in a lease agreement. WLON's Tim Biggerstaff would remain as morning DJ, and his show would be heard on all four KTC stations. News for the entire area would be expanded. The four stations aired UNC football and basketball, Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins NFL football, and CBS coverage of such events as The World Series and The Super Bowl.
The four stations added the NFL Carolina Panthers when the team began playing in 1995. They also aired games of the NBA Charlotte Hornets In 2000, the stations began airing the Redskins again instead of the Panthers (WGNC aired the Panthers if there was no conflict).
Late in 1999, the four stations changed from country music to "super oldies." Biggerstaff, the program director, said country had moved away from its traditional sound. Lillie White remained as midday host, and Andy Foster was afternoon host. Local and sports remained important, and the stations aired the One-on-One sports radio network at night.
In 2004, Biggerstaff was still hosting his show on WCSL and WLON despite diabetes-related health problems. Later he moved to Lincolnton-based Hometown Radio's Shelby operation. On WADA he played classic country music, and he hosted a "Swap Shop" show on WGNC and WOHS. By this time he had experienced a kidney transplant and two pancreas transplants. On Memorial Day 2007, while on the air, Biggerstaff had a seizure and asked for help on the air, and a listener called 911. He ended up being interviewed by BBC London, Today and People Magazine.
On Saturday November 22, 2014, Sports on Tap w/ Kuveikis and The Dude debuted on WGNC.
In the summer of 2016 WGNC added an Fm signal on 101.1 FM. Now the station can be heard on 1450 AM and 101.1 FM.
On Saturday August 20th 2016, The Sports Brunch w/ Mojo and Kuveikis debuted on WGNC.
On Friday February 3rd 2017, WGNC became an affiliate for NBC Sports Radio.