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Call letter origins: Officially, call letters are issued by the FCC so that radio stations can be identified and distinguished from each other. However, since the begining of broadcasting, station owners have requested, traded, and even bought "personalized" call letters much like vanity license plates. The meanings of these call letters range from the owner's initials to obscure personal references.
The following list demonstrates some of the meanings, many of which are rich with history, that are hidden in current and former Philadelphia call letters. |
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Current calls: |
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KYW - Young Warriors |
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WDAS - Dannenbaum And Steppacher (original owners) |
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WPHT - We're Philadelphia's Talk Station |
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WHAT - William Penn's HAT |
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WURD - The WORD (religiously speaking) |
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WHYY - Wider Horizons for You and Yours |
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WIOQ - IOQ looks (sort of) like 102, the dial position |
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WIP - Wireless In Philadelphia |
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WJJZ - JazZ |
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WMGK- MaGic (former programming format) |
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WMMR - MetroMedia Radio (former owner) |
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WOGL - Old GoLd |
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WPEN - William PENn Broadcasting (former owner) |
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WPLY - PhilLY |
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WTEL - TELevision |
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WUSL - USL looks like U.S. 1 (the highway) |
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WWDB - William and Dolly Banks (former owners) |
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WYSP - Your Station in Philadelphia |
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WZZD - WiZZarD (former programming format) |
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Former call letters: |
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WFLN (95.7) - FrankLiN Broadcasting Company (former owners) |
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WGMP (1210) - The GaMe in Philadelphia |
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WIBF (103.9) - William, Irwin, and Benjamin Fox (former owners) |
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WCAU (1210) - Where Cheer Awaits U (you) |
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WDVR (101.1) - Delaware Valley Radio |
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WDRE (103.9) - DaRE (as in "dare to be different") |
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WDVT (900) - Delaware Valley Talk |
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WEAZ (101.1) - EAZy listening |
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WEGX (106.1) - EaGle |
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WIBG (990) - I Believe in God |
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WIFI (92.5) - hIgh FIdelity |
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WKSZ (100.3) - as in KISS |
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WPBS (98.9) - Philadelphia Bulletin Station |
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WJMJ (1540) - Jesus, Mary and Joseph |
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WPGR (1540) - Philly Gold Radio |
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WRCP (1540) - Russel Craft Pennsylvania (former owner), Real Country Power |
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WTRK (106.1) - as in elecTRIC |
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WWSH (106.1) - WiSH (easy listening connotation) |
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