WLW

WLW

Cincinnati, Ohio United States
Broadcast area	Greater Cincinnati
Frequency	700 kHz
Branding	Newsradio 700 WLW
Programming
Format	News/talk
Affiliations	ABC News Radio Westwood One Cincinnati Bearcats Cincinnati Bengals Cincinnati Reds
Ownership
Owner	iHeartMedia, Inc. (iHM Licenses, LLC)
Sister stations	WCKY, WEBN, WKFS, WKRC, WSAI
History
First air date	March 23, 1922 (102 years ago) (1922-03-23)
Former frequencies	833 kHz (1922 (1922)–1923 (1923)) 970 kHz (1923 (1923)–1924 (1924)) 710 kHz (1924 (1924)–1927 (1927))
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	29733
Class	A
Power	50,000 watts unlimited
Transmitter coordinates	39°21′11″N 84°19′30″W / 39.35306°N 84.32500°W / 39.35306; -84.32500 (main transmitter) 39°21′11″N 84°19′44″W / 39.35306°N 84.32889°W / 39.35306; -84.32889 (auxiliary transmitter)
Translator(s)	94.5 W233BG (Cincinnati)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live (via iHeartRadio)
Website	700wlw.iheart.com

WLW (700 AM) is a commercial news/talk radio station licensed to Cincinnati, Ohio. Owned by iHeartMedia, WLW is a clear-channel station, often identifying itself as “The Big One”. Its studios are located in Sycamore Township (with a Cincinnati address).

WLW operates with 50,000 watts around the clock. The transmitter site features a distinctive diamond-shaped Blaw-Knox tower in nearby Mason. Its daytime signal is heard at city-grade strength as far as Indianapolis, Indiana; Lexington, Kentucky; and Columbus, Ohio, with secondary coverage as far as Louisville and the outer suburbs of Cleveland and Detroit. At night, with a good radio, it can be heard in much of North America.

WLW is a primary entry point station in the Emergency Alert System for Southwest Ohio, Kentucky and Eastern Indiana. Besides its main analog transmission, its programming is simulcast on 99-watt FM translator W233BG on 94.5 MHz and on an HD digital subchannel of co-owned 107.1 MHz WKFS.

Launched by industrialist Powel Crosley Jr., WLW became the flagship station of the Crosley Broadcasting Corporation, later a part of Avco. One of four charter affiliates of the Mutual Broadcasting System, WLW holds the distinction of being the only AM radio station authorized by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to broadcast with a power of 500,000 watts, which happened in the 1930s.