Power 99 watts Facility ID 58538 Frequency 970 kHz Format Talk radio Area Portland ME area Slogan Maine's Talk Radio | Class B Callsign meaning similar to WGAN City of license Portland Owner Saga Communications Branding 970 WZAN | |
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Broadcast area Portland, Maine, metropolitan area First air date July 13, 1925 (as WCSH) | ||
WZAN (970 kHz) is an AM radio station broadcasting a sports format with programming from ESPN Radio. Licensed to Portland, it serves Central and Southern Maine. The station is owned by Saga Communications and operates at 5000 watts. By day, the station uses a non-directional antenna but at night the signal is directional to protect other radio stations on 970 kHz. The transmitter is located in Scarborough, Maine and studios and offices are in South Portland.
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WZAN was a Talk radio station airing nationally syndicated shows from Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham and Dave Ramsey until January 1, 2016, when the station switched to sports. The talk shows were moved over to co-owned 1490 WBAE.
History
WZAN was originally WCSH, "The Voice from Sunrise Land", one of the earliest radio stations in Maine, first going on the air in 1925. WCSH was a charter affiliate of the NBC Red Network. In 1953, WCSH gained a sister station when Channel 6, Portland's NBC affiliate WCSH-TV debuted. From 1975 to 1977, 970 WCSH was an affiliate of NBC Radio's News And Information Service. WCSH continued as an All-news radio station on its own for several years after NIS was discontinued. In the 1980s, WCSH was sold to Saga Communications and it then began simulcasting 100.9 WYNZ as WYNZ-AM. The station changed its calls to WZAN (echoing sister station WGAN) and adopted a hot talk format in the 1990s before shifting its programming focus to more political shows in March 2009.
Current programming
In the 1990s, WZAN carried a hot talk format aimed at young men, featuring Imus in the Morning until Don Imus' controversial statements about the Rutgers University women's basketball team. Also carried were Don & Mike, The Bob & Tom Show, Lex and Terry, NASCAR racing from Motor Racing Network and NFL football from Westwood One. In March 2009, the station changed programming to a more political base with Imus in The Morning re-added to the schedule. In addition, syndicated programs Sean Hannity, Dave Ramsey and Laura Ingraham were on the schedule. Starting January 1, 2016 WZAN was converted into an ESPN Radio affiliate, with its talk programming being shifted to 1490 AM WBAE