Home Login RADIO ONLINE RSS Facebook
Advertisement

WWFD 820 AM Becomes First All-Digital AM Station


In Washington DC, WWFD 820 AM The Gamut will be the first full time, all-digital AM radio station in the U.S. In an effort to keep up with the ever-evolving demand for digital, The Gamut will be turning off its analog signal and will no longer be accessible through regular AM radio beginning today, Monday, July 16 at noon. This announcement comes as a result of a collaborative effort between The Gamut and HD Radio, an Xperi Corporation brand, to give AM broadcasters parity in the car dashboard with FM HD Radio, satellite and internet streaming, among others.

"My belief is that AM needs to start trending in this direction," said Dave Kolesar, the station's engineer and program director. "We're excited to be doing this extremely innovative project that has tremendous potential to make AM much more viable to distribute all formats."

"Since the launch of HD Radio technology, Xperi has been committed to serving the current and future needs of terrestrial radio broadcasters," said Joe D'Angelo, SVP broadcast radio, Xperi. "Hubbard's decision to convert to all-digital operations illustrates the industry's continued commitment to over-the-air broadcasting and a long future for broadcast radio. With twenty percent of the vehicles on the road in the listening area equipped with an HD Radio receiver, the time couldn't be better for an all-digital trial."

The conversion to all-digital is primarily expected to provide listeners with better sound quality and include new display features such as artist name, song title and even album artwork.

Over the past few decades, issues like poor sensitivity and technical upkeep, quality of receivers and narrow audio bandwidth have contributed to the steady decrease in AM radio listenership. On July 6, The Gamut received an Experimental Authorization from the FCC to broadcast their AM station exclusively in digital.

This conversion to all-digital now opens the door to a new audience for The Gamut and is an opportunity for an enhanced in-vehicle AM experience.

The Gamut will still be accessible to listeners in Frederick, Maryland without HD Radio, who can find the station on regular analog FM at 94.3 FM.

Advertisement

Latest Radio Stories

Connoisseur Portland Appoints Mark Handwerger as MM
Mark Handwerger
Mark Handwerger
Connoisseur Media has announced a leadership transition in Portland, OR, promoting Director of Sales Mark Handwerger to Market Manager, effective October 16. Handwerger joined the company earlier this year following two decades in Portland broadcast sales leadership roles with major media groups. He succeeds More

Radio One Names Ops and Programming Leaders
Urban One
Urban One
Urban One Inc.'s Radio One has announced a slate of leadership appointments across key markets. A Plus has been named OM for Radio One DC (WKYS, WMMJ, WPRS, WOL, WYCB), moving from the same role in Cleveland. Matt Myers steps into the OM postfor Radio One Cleveland More

CMA Reveals 2025 Broadcast Award Winners
CMA Broadcast Awards
CMA Broadcast Awards
The Country Music Association has announced the winners of the 2025 CMA Broadcast Awards, honoring excellence in Country radio across the U.S. and Canada. This morning, CMA New Artist of the Year nominee Tucker Wetmore personally surprised stations and air personalities nationwide with phone calls revealing More
Advertisement

iHM Begins New Round of Layoffs, SLC & Greensboro Execs Exit
Joyce Wirthlin
Joyce Wirthlin
iHeartMedia began another round of layoffs Tuesday morning, with employees across multiple markets reporting that their positions had been eliminated. Among the departures is longtime Salt Lake City Market President Joyce Wirthlin, who exited the company less than a year after being promoted to the role. More

Beasley Media Group Unveils La Tricolor in Detroit
WMGC-FM-HD2 (La Tricolor) in Detroit
WMGC-FM-HD2 (La Tricolor) in Detroit
Beasley Media Group has launched La Tricolor across 93.5 FM, 99.1 FM, and WMGC-FM-HD2 (105.1) in Detroit, bringing a new Spanish-language sound to the Motor City. The station officially debuted on Wednesday, October 1. La Tricolor features the best of Regional Mexican music and contemporary hits More

NPR, NYT Lead Podtrac's September 2025 Podcast Rankings
Podtrac
Podtrac
Podtrac has released its September 2025 podcast industry rankings, highlighting audience and download growth across top U.S. shows and publishers. NPR News Now continued its reign at No. 1, followed by The Daily from The New York Times and NPR's Up First. Fox News Hourly Update climbed one spot to No. 4, More

Return to Menu

Advertisement

Subscribe to our Newsletter
Radio news and headlines delivered right to your e-mail box -- and it's free.

Advertisement

Advertisement