WLW
WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as “The Big One”. Its studios are located in Sycamore Township (with a Cincinnati address).
| Broadcast area | Greater Cincinnati |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 700 kHz |
| Branding | Newsradio 700 WLW |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WCKY, WEBN, WKFS, WKRC, WSAI | |
| History | |
First air date | March 23, 1922 |
Former frequencies |
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Call sign meaning | none, randomly assigned |
| Technical information | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 29733 |
| Class | A |
| Power | 50,000 watts unlimited |
Transmitter coordinates |
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| Translator(s) | 94.5 W233BG (Cincinnati) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (via iHeartRadio) |
| Website | 700wlw |
WLW operates with 50,000 watts around the clock. The transmitter site features a distinctive diamond-shaped Blaw-Knox tower in nearby Mason. Its daytime signal is heard at city-grade strength as far as Indianapolis, Indiana; Lexington, Kentucky and Columbus, Ohio, with secondary coverage as far as Louisville and the outer suburbs of Cleveland and Detroit. At night, with a good radio, it can be heard in much of North America.
WLW is a primary entry point station in the Emergency Alert System for Southwest Ohio, Kentucky and Eastern Indiana. Besides its main analog transmission, its programming is simulcast on 99-watt FM translator W233BG on 94.5 MHz and on an HD digital subchannel of co-owned 107.1 MHz WKFS.
Launched by industrialist Powel Crosley Jr., WLW became the flagship station of the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation, later a part of Avco. One of four charter affiliates of the Mutual Broadcasting System, WLW holds the distinction of being the only AM radio station authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with a power of 500,000 watts, which happened in the 1930s.