WPLN (AM) - History

History

WPLN-AM began broadcasting on April 1, 2002, shortly after Nashville Public Radio acquired the frequency of the former WKDA-AM (unrelated to an AM station that operated on another frequency from the 1940s through the 1990s). Following many years of relative success as pioneering country music station WENO, 1430 AM had numerous owners and several formats, and shortly before the sale, it had been simulcasting the news programming of local CBS television affiliate WTVF and its affiliated cable outlet. The station was generally considered to be financially marginal, which is why the frequency was available for sale to the local public radio board. In general, the AM frequency is part of a trend for radio markets of 1 million people or more to have multiple public outlets carrying distinct formats.

However, with Nashville Public Radio's purchase Vanderbilt University student station WRVU and converting it to an all-classical format as WFCL, WPLN-FM's format was changed on June 8, 2011, to an all-news-and-talk format, practically identical to the AM schedule. This has led to speculation that Nashville Public Radio will eventually discontinue the AM signal, by either selling it to another broadcaster or simply shutting it down, as it is not likely that listeners would prefer an AM signal over an FM one with similar programming. Nashville Public Radio has not yet announced the fate of WPLN-AM.