WGTO
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Broadcast area | Michiana |
Frequency | 910kHz |
Branding | 97.1 FM / 96.7 FM / 910 AM MeTV FM |
Programming | |
Format | Soft oldies |
Affiliations |
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Ownership | |
Owner |
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History | |
First air date | 1987(as WLLJ) |
Former call signs | WLLJ (1986–1995) |
Call signmeaning | "Good Time Oldies" |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 36612 |
Class | D |
Power |
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Transmitter coordinates | 41°57′14.17″N86°0′59.03″W/ 41.9539361°N 86.0163972°W |
Translator(s) |
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Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen live |
Website | www |
WGTO(910AM), branded as "97.1 & 96.7 & 910 MeTV FM", is aradio stationbroadcasting asoft oldiesformat. It is licensed toCassopolis, Michiganand is under ownership of Langford Broadcasting. Much of the programming comes fromMeTV FM.
History
[edit]WGTO was designed and built by longtime Chicago radio personality Larry Langford in 1987 as WLLJ and originally featured anurban contemporaryformat. WGTO was the last station to be built under the AM daytime rules of theFederal Communications Commission.After theconstruction permitfor this station was authorized in 1986 no further applications were accepted for stations wanting to operate daytime only. WGTO uses two towers in a directional pattern. The station now operates with 35 watts of nighttime power.
In 2007, Langford purchased a competing radio station in the same county and now became the owner of both WGTO andWDOW,which has since gone silent to allowa station in Kalamazooto broadcast on its frequency.
On October 30, 2009, WGTO began broadcasting on 101.1 FM (translator W266BS licensed to Cassopolis, Michigan) as "Classic Hits 101". They continue to broadcast their AM signal as well. In June 2016, the FM translator moved to a new frequency of 96.3 MHz with call sign W242CN. The new translator broadcasts with an ERP of 250 watts, the maximum allowed for translators, and extends WGTO's FM coverage from the immediate Cassopolis/Dowagiac area to include a larger portion of southwestern Michigan as well as theElkhart, Indiana,area. Effective January 25, 2018, the translator moved to 96.7 MHz, as W244DS. The translator was moved in fall of 2018 to 97.1 with tower located to provide local coverage of South Bend Indiana and Niles Michigan. The South Bend location gives Larry Langford a second South Bend opportunity as he was the original owner and founder ofWUBUin South Bend known as Mix 106. He transferred those call letters fromPortage, Michigan,where he ownedWUBU (96.5 FM),before bringing in partner Abe Thompson and moving WUBU to South Bend. Kool FM now resides on a tower owned byFederated Media.
On July 4, 2020, the station was changed over to theMeTV FMradio format fromWeigel Broadcasting;the station is cross-promoted on Weigel's three area television stations, includingWBND-LD2,an owned-and-operatedMeTVstation. The shift was made in an effort to differentiate its playlist from higher-rated classic hits stations while still maintaining a familiar format to the station's loyal listeners, along with bringing a station with acult followingfrom the area'sChicagoarea commuters into the South Bend market.[2]
Since the summer of 2021 WGTO has also been heard on a second translator, W248AP (97.5 FM) inValparaiso, Indiana.
Translators
[edit]Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP(W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
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W244EO | 96.7 FM | Dowagiac, Michigan | 152865 | 250 | 51.8m(170ft) | D | 41°57′14.17″N86°0′59.03″W/ 41.9539361°N 86.0163972°W | LMS |
W246DV | 97.1 FM | South Bend, Indiana | 89020 | 250 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | 41°44′16.2″N86°15′10″W/ 41.737833°N 86.25278°W | LMS |
W248AP | 97.5 FM | Valparaiso, Indiana | 143899 | 250 | 0 m (0 ft) | D | 41°31′22″N87°1′28″W/ 41.52278°N 87.02444°W | LMS |
References
[edit]- ^"Facility Technical Data for WGTO".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"WGTO/South Bend Adds Sun Broadcast Group's MeTV-FM".
External links
[edit]- MeTVfm/WGTO official website
- Michiguide.com - WGTO History
- Facility details for Facility ID 36612 (WGTO)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- WGTOinNielsen Audio's AM station database
- Facility details for Facility ID 152865 (W244EO)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- W244EOat FCCdata.org
- Facility details for Facility ID 89020 (W246DV)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- W246DVat FCCdata.org
- Facility details for Facility ID 143899 (W248AP)in theFCCLicensing and Management System
- W248APat FCCdata.org