Summary
WICL (95.9 FM) is a Country music formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Williamsport, Maryland, serving the Hagerstown–Martinsburg area. WICL is owned and operated by John and David Raese, through licensee West Virginia Radio Corporation of the Alleghenies.
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| Broadcast area | |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 95.9 FM MHz |
| Branding | 95-9 The Big Dawg |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country music |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | 1972 |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | "Cool" former branding |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 50058 |
| Class | A |
| Power | 3,300 Watts |
| HAAT | 91 meters (299 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°36′18.0″N 77°46′49.0″W / 39.605000°N 77.780278°W |
| Links | |
Public license information |
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| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
History edit
The station was started as WYII, a country music station, by Ken Smith in 1972. It operated this way until 2000, when it was bought by Prettyman Broadcasting Company. Also in 2000, it became adult contemporary formatted WLTF (which is now on 97.5).
In 2001, WLTF moved to 97.5 and then classic rocker WKMZ moved to 95.9. In 2005, WKMZ dropped its classic rock format for oldies and picked up the WICL calls. WICL dropped all on-air talent in 2008, airing programming directly from the True Oldies Channel network from ABC Radio.[2] On July 4, 2012, WICL switched formats from Oldies to classic hits under the branding "95.9 The Greatest Hits Of All Time".
On September 24, 2012, WICL switched from classic hits to classic country, a format previously abandoned by WNUZ (then WPPT) earlier in 2012, changing their branding to simply "95-9". On September 28, 2012, the station rebranded as "95-9 The Big Dawg" and morphed into a country music format playing both classic and new country music.
Location edit
While the station is licensed to Williamsport, Maryland, the studios for WICL are located in Martinsburg, West Virginia and the tower is located just south of Hagerstown, Maryland.
Sale edit
On October 31, 2014, Prettyman Broadcasting announced the sale of WICL to West Virginia Radio Corporation (WVRC) for an unknown sum.[3] Included in the same are sister stations WEPM and WLTF.[3] WVRC assumed control of the stations, through a Local marketing agreement, on November 1.[3] The purchase was consummated on February 13, 2015, at a price of $3 million.
References edit
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WICL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Radio Stations". Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel. Archived from the original on July 28, 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
- ^ a b c "West Virginia Radio Corporation Expands Into Martinsburg/Hagerstown/". Radioinsight. October 30, 2014. Retrieved October 30, 2014.
External links edit
- Official website
- WICL in the FCC FM station database
- WICL in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
- 95-9 The Big Dawg on Facebook