WCSP-FM

WCSP-FM, also known as C-SPAN Radio, is a radio station licensed to the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN) in Washington, D.C. The station broadcasts on 90.1 MHz and is on-air 24 hours a day. Its studios are located near Capitol Hill in C-SPAN’s headquarters. In addition to WCSP-FM, C-SPAN Radio programming is also available online at c-span.org and via satellite radio on XM channel 455.

WCSP-FM broadcasts in the HD (digital) format.

History

As WGTB and WDCU

The station was originally licensed to Georgetown University under the callsign WGTB, and was programmed by Georgetown students with a progressive rock format. In 1979, the Georgetown administration decided that the station did not fit with the public image they desired for the university, and sold the station to the University of the District of Columbia for US$1. UDC took ownership officially on March 12, 1980, and WGTB became WDCU, with a jazz format. During a budgetary crisis in mid-1997, the school sold WDCU for $13 million to C-SPAN, a non-profit funded by the cable television industry. UDC had planned to sell the station to Salem Communications (a Christian broadcast network); however this deal was unsuccessful, leading to C-SPAN’s offer to buy the WDCU. Once the station was purchased, broadcasting of C-SPAN Radio WCSP began on October 9, 1997.