WCNN (680 AM) is a radio station licensed to North Atlanta and serving the Atlanta-area radio market. It is owned by Dickey Broadcasting and airs a sports radio format. The station is commonly known by the on-air branding as "The Fan". Local sports shows are heard weekdays with the ESPN Radio Network airing nights and weekends. WCNN is the flagship of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network.

WCNN broadcasts with a power of 50,000 watts during the daytime, and 10,000 watts at night, using a directional antenna at all times to protect other stations on AM 680 including KNBR from San Francisco. WCNN's transmitter and towers are located near Norcross, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta. WCNN is also heard on a 250-watt FM translator, W229AG at 93.7 MHz.

The station formerly broadcast the audio portion of the CNN Headline News channel (hence its current call sign), an all-news radio format that the station pioneered in the 1980s and re-appeared on the station later in the station's history.

History

On September 1, 1965, the station signed on as WRNG, Atlanta's first talk radio station. It was the first broadcast home of talk radio personality Neal Boortz, who went onto a long career at WSB and syndicated nationally.

In February 1987, the station switched to an adult standards radio format and changed its call letters to WGTW. before the Thrashers moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and was the flagship of the Atlanta Hawks Radio Network before rival WZGC gained the rights in 2013. It has been the flagship station of the Atlanta Braves Radio Network since 2010. WCNN is also the flagship station of Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football and men’s basketball. In 2019, the station became the flagship of Atlanta Gladiators hockey.

WCNN is now an affiliate of ESPN Radio after years of carrying CBS Sports Radio, NBC Sports Radio and Fox Sports Radio programming.

On November 30, 2010, WCNN got an FM simulcast on broadcast translator W229AG FM 93.7. In 2010, that station was actually assigned to carry WWWQ FM 99.7 HD3. It is located on Sweat Mountain, and for several years previously carried KAWZ FM, a Christian broadcasting station which feeds hundreds of translator stations from Calvary Chapel in Twin Falls, Idaho. It had Sandy Plains and now Atlanta as its community of license. 99X was reportedly set to move to this station, which had a construction permit granted in July 2010 to relocate to the same tower near North Druid Hills as WWWQ and W250BC, and has the same power but somewhat lower height (and therefore broadcast range) as 99X has on W250BC. The station was still owned by Calvary Chapel of Twin Falls, when it filed for the permit in April 2010. After being approved in early July, Calvary applied just a few days later to transfer ownership of the station to Cumulus for $400,000. It is now licensed to Cumulus Licensing LLC and resides on the WWWQ tower.

During the 2021 postseason, the Atlanta Braves Radio Network's coverage of their NLDS, NLCS and World Series appearances were carried on its online stream without geo-blocking restrictions. This has since continued into the 2022 season.

Programming

WCNN is also an affiliate of the Performance Racing Network, which owns the Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia.

References

  • FCC History Cards for WCNN