WSM-FM

WSM-FM
Nashville, Tennessee;
Broadcast area	Nashville, Tennessee
Frequency	95.5 MHz
Branding	95.5 Nash Icon
Programming
Format	Country
Affiliations	Westwood One
Ownership
Owner	Cumulus Media; (Cumulus Licensing LLC);
Sister stations	WKDF, WGFX, WQQK, WWTN
History
First air date	November 1, 1962; 62 years ago
Former call signs	WLWM (1962–1968)
Call sign meaning	"We Shield Millions" (slogan of former owner, National Life and Accident Insurance Company)
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	74065
Class	C
ERP	100,000 watts
HAAT	374.8 meters (1,229.7 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	36°8′27.2″N 86°51′56″W / 36.140889°N 86.86556°W
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	955nashicon.com

WSM-FM (95.5 MHz) is a radio station in Nashville, Tennessee. It broadcasts a country music format, with an emphasis on recordings released since the 1990s.

From 1967 until it was sold to Cumulus Media in 2003, WSM-FM was the sister of the clear-channel WSM (650 AM). Following the expiration of a subsequent five-year joint sales agreement with WSM in 2008, the two stations have had no further relationship. WSM-FM was also the sister to WSM-TV until the latter was sold in 1981 and became WSMV-TV. WSM-FM's transmitter remains at the WSMV-TV site in West Nashville; its studios are located in Nashville's Music Row district.

History

WSM-FM began broadcasting on November 1, 1962, as WLWM, owned by C. Webber Parrish (d/b/a Barlane Broadcasting Corporation), a local Nashville businessman.^[2]

In late 1967 ownership of the station was transferred to WSM, Inc., a subsidiary of The National Life and Accident Insurance Company, owners of WSM (AM), and the station's call letters were officially changed to WSM-FM on November 6, 1968.^[3] This marked the return of the WSM-FM call sign after an absence of 17 years. In 1941, National Life had established the first fully licensed commercial FM station in the United States. Initially known as W47NV. This original WSM-FM was shut down in 1951 and its license returned to the FCC.

After a short period of simulcasting the AM station, beginning in 1969 WSM-FM returned to the easy listening format previously aired by WLWM.

"SM95" (1976–1983)

In 1976, National Life changed WSM-FM to a soft rock playlist, branding the station "SM95".

Country music format (1983–present)

The ratings of SM95 began to decline—and thus its advertiser appeal—as its audience began aging in the early 1980s. By 1983, some four years after the conversion of the AM to a full-time country format, management decided to bring the FM in line with the AM, and flipped the format to country (with an emphasis on current hits, instead of the AM's emphasis on oldies).

After the sale of WSM, Inc. to Gaylord Broadcasting, the new owner moved the studios of both AM and FM to an outlying building at the Opryland Hotel complex at that time, from their 1970s home on Knob Road in west Nashville, where former sister TV station WSMV-TV still operates today. In the 1990s, WSM-FM operated from a studio inside the now-defunct Opryland USA theme park, which visitors could view through a glass window. Following the theme park's demolition, the station moved into a renovated guestroom at Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center. The station had an auxiliary studio at the Wildhorse Saloon downtown, and later at Opry Mills.

For most of the 1980s and 1990s, 95.5 FM was a highly competitive, yet usually No. 2 (behind rival WSIX-FM), country station. For much of the 1980s and 1990s, the station was branded as "Nashville 95". However, upon the arrival of a fourth country station in the market in 1999 (WKDF, which had played rock music since the 1970s), WSM-FM fell to a distant third place, and sometimes fell to fourth behind then-sister WSM.

In 2001, WSM-FM attempted to differentiate itself from the other FM country outlets by shifting to a format consisting mostly of live performances provided by the artists' labels or those within the WSM archives (such as Opry performances and in-studio appearances). The station was known during this era as "Live 95", and also simulcast the Opry live every Friday and Saturday night. After abandoning this approach to return to a traditional approach to programming, and until the end of the Gaylord era, the station was branded "Back to Back Country 95.5 WSM-FM".

In 2003, WSM-FM (along with sister news/talk/sports station WWTN) was sold to Cumulus Media. The lineup at the time consisted of Katie and Carp in the mornings, Frank Series in middays, David Hughes in afternoons (best known for his "Church day" antics on Wednesdays) and Su-Anna in evenings. The station continued to broadcast from a first-floor hotel room in the Gaylord hotel until mid-2004 under the direction of program director Lee Logan. The studios and offices were eventually moved to Cumulus' existing property on Music Circle East, in Nashville's Music Row district.

In September 2004, with new program director Jon Sebastian, the station adopted a revised country format (branded as "95.5 The Wolf") that included some Southern rock music. After some initial ratings success, the station fell to a consistent third place behind WKDF and WSIX, and a more traditional country approach was once again employed. New program director Buddy Van Aresdale took the helm. The ratings steadily increased before Van Aresdale left for greener pastures. Another program director, Kevin King, took charge, this time with "consultant" Jan Jeffries, a long-time friend of the Dickey family.

On December 16, 2010, while rival station WSIX-FM was in the midst of a reboot and stunting with nonstop Christmas music, WSM-FM itself relaunched, dropping "The Wolf" moniker. The station returned to using its heritage call letters, while offering a mainstream country playlist that included the top country hits of the day, as well as a heavy reliance on familiar hits dating back to the early 1990s.

In 2012, due to the bankruptcy of Citadel Broadcasting and subsequent acquisition by Cumulus, WSM-FM and rival WKDF became sister stations, operating from the same building, yet still competing for the same mainstream country audience. Their operations were streamlined in January 2014 with the hiring of a common program director. WKDF adopted Cumulus' "Nash FM" moniker and format in February 2014, six months ahead of a similar change to come on WSM-FM.

On August 15, 2014, the station rebranded as "95.5 Nash Icon", thus serving as the nominal flagship station of Cumulus' new Nash Icon brand, a spin-off of Nash FM that focuses on more familiar traditional country titles ranging back to the 1980s, as well as a focus on new music by more traditional-sounding artists. The format minimizes the amount of talking by the air personalities and places a heavier emphasis on the variety and amount of music. The Nash Icon radio format is a by-product of a joint venture between Cumulus and Big Machine Records to launch and operate the Nash Icon Records label.

In January 2015, WSM-FM became syndicated nationally on Westwood One's offering of the Nash Icon format, which is distributed to several Cumulus Nash Icon-branded stations, as well as some non-Cumulus-owned subscribing stations. The personalities provide a generic non-live or local presence on the radio dial.

Grand Ole Opry schedule conflicts

In past years, when WSM had the rights to broadcast Vanderbilt Commodore football and basketball games and Atlanta Braves baseball, it had WSM-FM air them whenever they took place on Friday or Saturday nights, in order not to preempt the live Grand Ole Opry shows on AM 650. Until the end of the 2003–08 Cumulus operating agreement, WSM-FM also aired NASCAR broadcasts under the same circumstances.

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for WSM-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1963
^ FCC History Cards for WSM-FM

External links

Cumulus press release on WSM-FM acquisition
Facility details for Facility ID 74065 (WSM-FM) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
WSM-FM in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
FCC History Cards for WSM-FM (covering WLWM / WSM-FM from 1962 to 1980)

[1] "Facility Technical Data for WSM-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.

[2] Broadcasting Yearbook 1963

[3] FCC History Cards for WSM-FM

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Country radio stations in the state of Tennessee
Stations	KYTN – Union City WAKM – Franklin WANT – Lebanon WBRY – Woodbury WCOR – Lebanon WCYQ – Oak Ridge WDEB-FM – Jamestown WDKW – Maryville WDXE – Lawrenceburg WECO-FM – Wartburg WEIO – Huntingdon WEPG – South Pittsburg WEYE – Surgoinsville WGKX – Memphis WGOC – Kingsport WGSQ – Cookeville WHMT - Tullahoma WHNY - Paris WHNY-FM – Henry WIKQ – Tusculum WIVK-FM – Knoxville WJDT – Rogersville WJJM-FM – Lewisburg WJLE – Smithville WJLE-FM – Smithville WJSQ – Athens WKBQ – Covington WKDF – Nashville WKJQ-FM – Parsons WKOS – Kingsport WKWX – Savannah WKXD-FM – Monterey WLAR – Athens WLCT – Lafayette WLFP – Memphis WLIJ - Shelbyville WLIL – Lenoir City WLIV – Livingston WLLX – Lawrenceburg WLNQ – White Pine WLNT-LP – Loudon WLOD – Loudon WLXA - Loretto WMCP – Columbia WMCT – Mountain City WMOD – Bolivar WMSR-FM - Collinwood WMTN – Morristown WMYL – Halls Crossroads WNFN - Franklin WNKX-FM – Centerville WNPC – Newport WNTC - Ashland City WOGT - East Ridge WOGY – Jackson WOOP-LP – Cleveland WOPC - Linden WORM-FM – Savannah WOWF – Crossville WPWT - Colonial Heights WRGS – Rogersville WSBI – Static WSDQ – Dunlap WSIX-FM – Nashville WSLV - Ardmore WSM – Nashville WSM-FM – Nashville WTNK – Hartsville WTNV – Tiptonville WTRB – Ripley WUCH – Monterey WUCZ – Carthage WUSY – Cleveland WVFB – Celina WWGM - Selmer WWGY - Union City WWON - Waynesboro WWYN – Mckenzie WXRH - Rockwood WYCZ – White Bluff WYSH – Clinton WYTM-FM – Fayetteville WZLT – Lexington
Defunct	WAXO – Lewisburg WFWL – Camden WXOQ – Selmer
See also adult contemporary classic hits college country news/talk NPR oldies religious rock sports top 40 urban other radio stations in Tennessee

v t e Cumulus Media
AM radio stations	KAAY KABC KAOK KARN KBED KBGG KBOI KCMO KCSF KCUB KESP KFAY KFOG KFRU KGO KIKR KKAT KKOB KKOH KLIF KLIK KMAJ KMJ KNBR KNML KPUR KRMD KSFO KTBL KTCK KTCT KTIK KTOP KTUC KUGN KVOR KWPN KYNG WAAV WAPI WARM WAYS WBAP WBBF WBBW WCOA WDUZ¹ WFAS WFNC WFTW WGOC WGOK WGOW WGPC WHGB WHLD WICC WISW WJBC WJCW WJOX WJR WJRW WKY WLAW WLBY WLS WLWI WLZR WMAC WMSP WNAM WNML WOSH WPIC WPRO WPRV WRQX WRIE WSBA WSBN WSKO WSSO WTKA WTMA WTRX WUMP WVEL WVLK WVNN WWCK WXLM WXNT WXOK WXQW WXSM WYMB WYNN
FM radio stations	K279BI KAMO-FM KARN-FM KARX KATC-FM KATM KATT-FM KAYD-FM KBBM KBBQ-FM KBBY-FM KBCY KBEE KBER KBIU KBOI-FM KBUL-FM KBXR KCDD KCFX KCHZ KCJK KCMO-FM KDJK KDRF KDVV KEHK KENZ KGGO KHAY KHKI KHKK KHOP KHTB KHXS KHYT KIIM-FM KIPR KIZN KJJY KJMO KJOY KKEG KKFM KKGB KKGL KKMG KKND KKOB-FM KKPK KKWD KLAL KLUR KMAJ-FM KMCK-FM KMEZ KMGA KMGV KMJ-FM KMJJ-FM KMJK KNBR-FM KNEK-FM KNEV KNRQ KNSH KOBQ KOLI KOMS KOQL KPLA KPLX KPUR-FM KQFC KQHN KQIZ-FM KQLK KQRS-FM KQSM-FM KQXC-FM KQXL-FM KQXY-FM KRBE KRMD-FM KRMW KRRQ KRST KRUZ KSAN KSCS KSKS KSMB KSZR KTCK-FM KTCX KTLT KTOP-FM KUBL-FM KUJZ KURB KVMA-FM KVYB KWIC KWIN KWNN KWQW KWYE KWYL KXKC KXXR KYIS KYKZ KYYI KZEL-FM KZJF KZRK-FM WABD WAOA-FM WAQX-FM WARM-FM WBAP-FM WBHD WBHT WBLX-FM WBNQ WBSX WBWN WBZE WBZF WCMG WCTO WDAI WDEN-FM WDLT-FM WDUZ-FM¹ WDVD WDZZ-FM WEAN-FM WEAS-FM WEBE WEDG WEMX WFBE WFMS WFTK WFYR WGFX WGKX WGLF WGLO WGNI WGOW-FM WGRF WGRR WGVX WHBX WHHY-FM WHKR WHNN WHOT-FM WHRP WHTS WHTT-FM WILZ WIOG WIOV-FM WIVK-FM WIWF WIXO WIXV WJBC-FM WJCL-FM WJEZ WJJK WJOX-FM WJQX WJTQ WKDF WKHX-FM WKIM WKKO WKLQ WKOR-FM WKOS WKQX WKQZ WKRU WKSM WKXS-FM WLAV-FM WLAW-FM WLCS WLEV WLFF WLLF WLS-FM WLTO WLUP WLWI-FM WLXC WLXX WLZN WMAL-FM WMDH-FM WMEZ WMGB WMGL WMGS WMGU WMIM WMNX WMOS³ WMXS WMXT WMXU WNCV WNDX WNKT WNML-FM WNMQ WNNF WNNK-FM WNNX WNTQ WNTR WOFX-FM WOGB¹ WOGT WOKI WOMG WORC-FM WPEZ WPKR WPRO-FM WQGN-FM WQHZ WQKL WQLH¹ WQPD WQQK WQQO WQSM WQUT WQXA-FM WQXK WRBO WRCQ WRKN WROK-FM WRQN WRQQ WRRM WRRX WSEA WSJR WSKZ WSM-FM WSMS WSOX WSSX-FM WSYN WTCB WTNR WTPA-FM WTYB WUHT WVBO WVIB WVLK-FM WVNN-FM WWCK-FM WWFF-FM WWFN-FM WWFX WWIZ WWKI WWKL WWKX WWLD WWLI WWLS-FM WWWM WWQQ-FM WWSN WWTN WWWQ WWWW-FM WWWX WWWZ WXBM-FM WXFX WXKC WXKR WXKR-HD2/W264AK WXLO WXMX WXTA WXZZ WYFM WYNN-FM WYZB WZNS WZPL WZPW WZRH WZRR WZYP
Radio networks	Arkansas Radio Network CBS Sports Radio* Titans Radio Network Westwood One (see navpage)
Online assets	Country Weekly iHeartRadio¹
Television-related assets	Nash TV
Other assets	Broadcast Software International CumulusJobs.com San Francisco Giants (minority interest in LP)
See also	Citadel Broadcasting Cumulus Media Networks Susquehanna Radio Corporation
¹ = Owned by iHeartMedia; operated by Cumulus under an LMA. ³ = Operated by the Mohegan Sun under an LMA. * = Owned by Paramount Global, operated by Cumulus.