“V-103” Longest Running Atlanta Radio Brand, At 50 Years

Radio stations come and go. But if a station is consistently successful at what it does and keeps its listeners tuned in, it can last for years.

And the key to this success is a station’s branding. It can help make or break a station. It will carry a station’s identity for potentially decades if it’s the right one.

In the Atlanta radio market, the station brand that enjoys the most longevity of the vast stations broadcasting in the metro area is Audacy-owned WVEE, V-103. “The People’s Station” will celebrate its 50th year with the V-103 brand, with the second-oldest Atlanta radio brand, WSB FM’s “B98.5 FM” coming behind with 40 years. (To clarify, brand refers to the station name, imaging, and/or music direction, not the station itself. For example, the 103.3 station has been around since July 1, 1948, as WAGA FM. The WVEE V-103 brand launched on that frequency in October 1976.)

Here are the oldest radio brands in Atlanta, which are the years spent with their on-air brand. Changes in a station’s call position are not counted against its total branding years. Only commercial radio stations are counted.

1. WVEE “V-103” The V-103 brand launched in October 1976, when the station was previously playing country music as WPLO FM, owned by the pharmaceutical company Scherling-Plough. It initially played disco music during its first few years, but transitioned to urban contemporary, which it remains to this day. It has also been known as “The Big Station,” or its current sub-branding “The People’s Station.” The brand will turn 50 years old this October.
2. WSB FM “B98.5 FM” launched in 1985 after a controversy that reached the United States District Court. The parent company of crosstown WRMM sued WSB’s Cox Media Group for naming the station “WSB 99FM” while WRMM called itself “Warm 99”. To help settle the dispute, the judge tried to tune a radio and find the 100.0 FM frequency, which he was unable to do. The judge ruled that a frequency could not be trademarked, and Cox won the case. WSB became B98.5 FM from then on (WRMM would change formats and become “Power 99 FM” a year later). Despite moving from soft AC to a Hot AC format today, B98.5 FM remains in place in its 40th year.
3. WSBB/WSB AM 750 WSB FM’s sister station became a full-time news talk station in 1987, when the 750 AM WSB name was launched. It now goes by 95.5 WSB (with the same imaging as AM 750 WSB) to emphasize its FM dial position. It has had this branding for 39 years.
4. WSTR “Star 94” In its 36th year with this moniker, Star 94 has changed its imaging and its musical lean, especially the last few years, but it remains in its current brand since it flipped from it’s longime “94Q” branding in November 1989. Between 2016 and 2020, it added the .1 to its name and updated its imaging to highlight its musical shift to “feelgood throwbacks”, but the Star branding remains.
5. WALR “Kiss 104.1” was known as Kiss 104.7 for ten years starting in 1990, or even Kiss 104 for shorthand. But the branding has been as consistent as the R&B sound it has maintained for going on 36 years. Note: The station was a Top 40 outlet in the late ’80’s before it switched to Urban AC as “Love 104.7” in ’90, then to Kiss 104.7 thereafter. Note: Kiss 104.1 is one of the few “Kiss” stations not owned by iHeart Media, which has rebranded many of its Top 40’s under the “Kiss” banner. Power 105.3 could have wound up Kiss 105.3 had Kiss 104.1 had a different name!
6. WNNX “99X” launched in November 1992, and the groundbreaking Alternative station has been on the air for 34 years. It has changed frequencies over the years, but the branding lives on, currently on 100.5 FM. Note: WNNX is the most popular of the two stations with the 99X moniker. The other was WXLO, 99X, a Top 40/Disco station that broadcast from 1972-1981 in New York City. (It is now WEPN, “La Exitosa 98.7” FM.)
7. WHTA “Hot 97.5/107.9” Atlantans cringe at the phrase “Hotlanta”, but listeners love WHTA enough to keep the “Hot” brand going for 31 years and counting. The Urban One-owned station debuted in the hot summer of 1995 as Hot 97.5, then moved five years later to the 107.9 frequency. The station still plays “blazin’ hip-hop and R&B” after thirty-plus years.
8. WCNN “680/93.7 The Fan” This sports talk station has been The Fan for 26 years (it launched as 680 The Fan in 1995, became news/talk in 1998, and switched back to sports as “The Fan” in 2000, so technically, the station has had the “Fan” branding for 30 non-consecutive years. The station’s brand got a slight change when it added the W229AG FM 93.7 signal. Today, it’s still “The Fan”, but it emphasizes the 93.7 FM signal now, as news talk WSBB does with its 95.5 FM signal.
9. WAOK This station on 1380 AM has had a lot of owners and formats (R&B 1954-1988, Gospel 1988-2001, Urban news/talk 2001-present), but its current branding, “News and Talk 1380 WAOK The Voice of The Community”, has held for 24 years.
10. WSRV “97.1 The River” 20 years and counting for the Cox Media Group-owned classic rock station.

Other long-running radio brands in Atlanta are Country WUBL, “949 The Bull”, 19 plus years, Gospel WPZE “Praise 102.5”, 17 years, and Hip Hop WWSZ “Streetz 94.5”, and Sports WZGC “92.9 The Game”, 14 years each.