WSSP (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owned by Audacy, Inc. It airs a sports radio format known as "1250 AM The Fan." Most of its programs are from CBS Sports Radio and the BetQL Audio Network.
WSSP is a Class B AM station, powered at 5,000 watts. To protect other stations on 1250 AM from interference, it uses a directional antenna with a four-tower array. The studios and transmitter are co-located on West Grange Avenue in Hales Corners.
History
WEMP
WEMP signed on the air on . WEMP was Milwaukee's third radio station (after WISN and WTMJ). At first, it broadcast on 1310 kilocycles. It was a 100-watt daytimer, required to go off the air at night. It was owned by the Milwaukee Broadcasting Company, with studios in the Empire Building.
When the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) was enacted in 1941, the station moved to 1340 AM.Broadcasting Yearbook 1941 page 172. Retrieved Oct. 31, 2023. It became a Class IV station, permitted to broadcast at 250 watts, day and night. WEMP was an affiliate of the NBC Blue Network, which became the ABC Radio Network in 1945. It carried the network's dramas, comedies, news and sports during the "Golden Age of Radio."
WMAW and WCAN
On March 24, 1948, a new radio station at 1250 AM went on the air. Its call sign was WMAW with a power of 5,000 watts. In June 1952, the call letters changed to WCAN. Station owner Lou Poller eventually started WCAN-TV Channel 25. It was one of the earliest UHF stations in the United States and an affiliate of the CBS Television Network, before CBS itself purchased a rival UHF outlet, WOKY-TV (now WVTV).
In 1955, Poller sold the 1250 AM license to the owners of WEMP. The new owners moved the WEMP call sign to 1250 kHz. The station at 1340 AM, under new ownership, became WRIT and today is WJOI.
Top 40, Oldies and Religion
Over the years, WEMP aired a variety of formats, including Top 40, Country music and adult contemporary. In January 1984, WEMP switched to oldies, featuring personalities such as John Gardner, Dick Alpert and Ernie Bottom. During the 1990s, WEMP ran Westwood One's syndicated oldies format with Gardner doing a local show in morning drive time.
On August 16, 1998, WEMP switched its format to brokered Christian talk and teaching, retaining the WEMP calls. The final oldie played on WEMP was Don McLean's "American Pie". The religious format continued until December 2004.
Sports Radio
Leading up to New Year's Day 2005, WEMP began stunting. It continuously played Bobby Bare's "Drop Kick Me Jesus Through The Goalposts of Life." The novelty song made reference to both religion (the old format) and football (previewing a new format).
AM 1250 became an all-sports station on January 1, 2005. The new call sign, WSSP, stood for WiSconsin SPorts. Longtime Milwaukee broadcaster Chuck Garbedian anchored the morning show with Chicago native Johnny Vonn. Veteran sports talk show host Peter Brown was tabbed to do afternoon drive. The WEMP call letters were used for a year in New York City by an all-news radio station between 2011 and 2012 (the current WFAN-FM. It became an Entercom sister station in late 2017. Toward the end of 2013, the call sign went on radio station WEMP in Two Rivers, Wisconsin.
In late 2006, the sports station underwent a period of change. Program director Chip Ramsey, who had been with WSSP since it signed on in the sports format, was fired on August 9, 2006. He was replaced by Ryan Maguire, who directed a series of moves soon after. Weekday afternoon talk show host Peter Brown was fired on December 7, 2006. Mid-day hosts Cliff Saunders and Gary Ellerson were moved into Brown's slot. Morning show host Chuck Garbedian was let go in early January 2007. He was replaced by former WTMJ and Sporting News Radio personality Doug Russell, a Milwaukee native.
Hockey
In 2006, WSSP acquired the rights to University of Wisconsin–Madison hockey games and coaches shows. Mike Wickett, who worked closely with Maguire when both were on the air at WTKA in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was hired to co-host mornings with Russell. Steve Fifer was tabbed to host the 9-11 a.m. shift.
In June 2007, the station acquired the rights to Milwaukee Admirals hockey, taking them away from cross-town rival WAUK. The contract ran up until the 2017-18 AHL season, when WOKY “The Big 920” and WVTV-DT2 “My 24” acquired the broadcasting rights next season.