WNCI
WNCI (97.9
FM) is a radio station in
Columbus, Ohio. Its official print brand identifier is
WNCI 97.9 in a purple oval, while the station is known on-air as
97.9 WNCI. WNCI plays mostly
Top 40 music, and is consistently the #1 rated station in Central Ohio by
Arbitron. The station has had a hit music format since the early 1970s, making it one of the oldest continuously airing Top 40 stations still in the format.
The broadcast tower for the station is still located atop the skyscraper known as
One Nationwide Plaza in Columbus, along with the transmitters for sister stations
WCOL and
WBWR. The station broadcasts with a power of 175,000 watts, which is 3.5 times what would normally be permitted. The station is permitted to do so because it was operating with a 175,000 watt power output before current
Federal Communications Commission regulations were enacted. There are only 6 FM stations in the United States that operate with more power.
Mornings, the station airs the popular WNCI Morning Zoo with Dave and Jimmy. The Morning Zoo has been airing for at least 17 years now, and is the most popular morning show in Central Ohio. From 7:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight, the station has the Interactive 8@8 and is currently looking for a new
DJ for the night show.
WNCI started broadcasting with a
classical music format in July of
1961 as WRFD-FM, sharing studios with AM sibling
WRFD, east of
Powell, Ohio. In
1972, WNCI moved to the sixth floor of the new Scot's Inn, at 4900 Sinclair Road. Since that time, the studios of WNCI have been relocated to various places in the Columbus area, including the Nationwide Building,
The Continent,
Broadcast Lake (a former quarry overlooked by several Clear Channel radio studios and the television studios of
WSYX), and their current location at 2323 West Fifth Avenue.
WNCI is currently owned by
Clear Channel Communications. Previously, the station was owned by Jacor Communications Incorporated. Jacor acquired the assets of
Nationwide Communications in 1997 for $620 million. WNCI was once the flagship station for the 17 radio station group
Nationwide Communications, a division of the
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company. In fact, the call letters NCI stand for Nationwide Communications Inc.
Throughout much of its history, WNCI was known as
Stereo 98.
Although
WRFD (AM) is still broadcasting, it no longer has any affiliation with WNCI.
The former Scot's Inn studio site, now called
The Midwest Hotel and Conference Center, is located very near
The Alrosa Villa, site of the
December 8,
2004 murder of
Dimebag Darrell.
*
Official website*
The Morning Zoo's official website*
RadioLocator.com coverage map
