WCFS-FM
Simulcast of WBBM, Chicago | |
---|---|
Broadcast area | Chicago metropolitan area |
Frequency | 105.9 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | Newsradio 105.9 WBBM |
Programming | |
Language(s) | English |
Format | All-news radio |
Subchannels | HD2: Sports and betting talk The Bet |
Affiliations | |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
WBBM, WBBM-FM, WBMX, WSCR, WUSN, WXRT[1] | |
History | |
First air date | February 1948[2] |
Former call signs | |
Call sign meaning | "Chicago's Fresh" (former branding) |
Technical information[5] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 71283 |
Class | B |
ERP |
|
HAAT | 482 meters (1,581 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 41°52′44″N 87°38′10″W / 41.879°N 87.636°W |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast |
|
Website | www |
WCFS-FM (105.9
WCFS-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 4,100 watts.[6] The transmitter is atop the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower).[6] The studios and newsroom are located at Two Prudential Plaza in the Loop.[7][8] In addition to a standard analog transmission, WCFS-FM broadcasts over two HD Radio subchannels,[9] and is available online via Audacy.
History
WLEY
The station originally held the call sign WLEY and broadcast at 107.1 MHz.[10][3] WLEY was founded in February 1948, with commercial broadcasts beginning in April.[2] The "LEY" in its call letters stood for Leyden Township, which contains the city of license of Elmwood Park.[11] WLEY was owned by Zeb Zarnecki.[11] The station broadcast in English and Polish.[12] WLEY broadcast the "Polish Barn Dance", hosted by Zeb Zarnecki, along with other programs for the local Polish community.[12] It is not related to today's 107.9 WLEY-FM in Aurora.
The station's studios and transmitter were located on Harlem Ave, in Elmwood Park.[3] It had an ERP of 320 watts at a height above average terrain (HAAT) of 240 feet.[3] In 1949, its ERP was increased to 1,000 watts and its HAAT was increased to 250 feet.[3] In 1955, the station's ERP was increased to 32,000 watts and its frequency was changed to 105.9 MHz, after the previous occupant of that frequency, WFMT, moved to 98.7 MHz.[3][13] WLEY was taken silent in 1956.[3]
WXFM
In 1957, the station was sold to Evelyn Chauvin Schoonfield, a school teacher from Detroit, for $22,500, and its call sign was changed to WXFM.[14][3][11] In the early 1960s, the FCC investigated several unauthorized transfers of control, which placed renewal of the station's license in jeopardy.[15] However, the FCC allowed Schoonfield to keep the license, and authorized the sale of the station to WXFM Inc., with controlling interest owned by Robert Victor.[16][17]
In the 1960s and 1970s, WXFM featured a variety of musical programming, including
In 1966, the station's transmitter was moved to
In 1970, Triad Radio, a
Dick Lawrence, historian and radio personality, hosted "Sound of the 1920s" an original hour-long feature program of vintage music 'old scratchies' woven together by offbeat historical themes.[28]
Count Bee-Jay's "Journeys Into Music", broadcast from a truck stop at 39th and Morgan to the radio station was a daily feature on WXFM from the 70s into the early 80s.
In 1978, Herb Kent began hosting a show on WXFM.[29][30][31]
In the early 1980s, jazz began to dominate WXFM's schedule.[32][33][34] Personalities on the station at this time included Daddy-O Daylie and Dick Buckley.[33][35] Pervis Spann hosted an overnight blues show.[36]
WAGO
In 1984, the station was sold to Cox Communications for $9 million.[37][38][39] On April 2, 1984, Cox launched a contemporary hits format on the station, and its call sign was changed to WAGO.[34][40][4] The station was branded "G-106".[40][39]
WAGO featured John Records Landecker in mornings, who had made a name for himself on 890 WLS.[41]
Rock era
On March 4, 1985, the station's format was changed to
By 1987, WCKG had transitioned into a classic rock format.[44][45][46][47] On-air personalities included Stephanie Miller, John Howell, Mitch Michaels, Allan Stagg, Joe Thomas, Debbie Alexander, and Rich Koz.[11][48][49]
WCKG picked up the
WCKG was traded to
Hot talk era
The station began evolving to a
In 2002, rock music was re-added to the station's schedule in certain hours, and its slogan became "Talk That Rocks".
On October 25, 2005, the station was rebranded "Free FM".[67][68][69] With Stern's departure from terrestrial radio on December 16, 2005, Infinity announced that effective January 3, 2006, WCKG would become the flagship station of Rover's Morning Glory.[67] Following months of poor ratings, Rover's Morning Glory was dropped on August 1, 2006, and was replaced by the New York-based Opie and Anthony Show.[70]
WCKG was also the flagship station of the
Steve Dahl's son, Matt Dahl, joined WCKG on March 5, 2007, and Garry Meier joined the station on April 2, hosting late mornings.[73][74] On May 2, 2007, the station's branding was changed from "Free FM" to "Chicago's FM Talk Station".[75] It was later rebranded back to "The Package".[76] By this time, the weekday lineup consisted of Opie and Anthony, Meier, Stan Lawrence and Terry Armour, Steve and Matt Dahl, Glenn Beck, Loveline, and Bill O'Reilly.[76]
October 29, 2007, was the last day of the talk format on WCKG, as hosts and station staff said their goodbyes on-air.
On November 2, CBS Radio gave stories to the media writers at the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune that the station would switch to an all-Christmas format that afternoon before the unveiling of its actual new format.[78] However this was a ruse, designed to throw long-time ratings leader 93.9 WLIT-FM off from its plans to start playing all-Christmas music beginning November 8.[79] The trick worked, as WLIT switched to all-Christmas music on November 2, while WCKG continued to play the "Best of Dahl" until November 5.[79] That day, WCKG began stunting by simulcasting several of Chicago's other CBS Radio stations. From 5:30 to 10 a.m., it carried Dahl's first show on WJMK.[80] From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., it simulcast 670 WSCR; from 2 to 4 p.m., it simulcast 93.1 WXRT, and from 4 to 5 p.m., it simulcast 780 WBBM.[80]
Fresh 105.9
At 5 p.m., after the
On February 25, 2008, morning personality Mike LeBaron and midday personality Lisa Greene signed on as the first DJ's on Chicago's "Fresh 105.9".[83] In April 2008, Program Director Mike Peterson named Rick Hall as afternoon host.[84] On October 6, 2009, Roxanne Steele began hosting afternoons on WCFS.[85] Rick Hall moved to mornings on a temporary basis after Mike LeBaron left the station.[85]
In November 2009, Steve Fisher debuted as the new morning host on WCFS.[86] Upon Fisher's arrival, Rick Hall was moved to middays.[87] However, in June 2010, new program director Jim Ryan told reporters that Hall had been released.[87] Evening host Brooke Hunter was moved to middays.[88]
On March 30, 2010, it was announced that Bill Gamble left CBS Radio Chicago, where he was Program Director of WCFS-FM and WUSN.[89]
WBBM simulcast
On the morning of August 1, 2011, WCFS began redirecting listeners to sister stations 96.3 WBBM-FM and 99.5 WUSN.[90] It played an hour and a half of "end"-themed songs, concluding with "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men and the first six seconds of "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds.[90] Then at 8:10 a.m., WCFS replaced the "Fresh" AC format with an FM simulcast of co-owned all-news station 780 WBBM.[91][92] Until that date, WBBM had been carried on WCFS-HD2, effectively (besides the loss of WCFS's physical staff) making the move merely a swap of the formats for the HD1 and HD2 subchannels.[93]
The format change was seen as a counter to WBBM's new competitor, 101.1
The move left 93.9 WLIT-FM as the only adult contemporary radio station at the time in Chicago. The switch also gave the NFL's Chicago Bears an FM outlet.[95] The "FM News" format on WWWN, which later became WIQI, failed in the market and was replaced by a 90's-centric adult hits format on July 17, 2012.[96]
Though WCFS uses WBBM's on-air branding ("NewsRadio 780 and 105.9 FM, WBBM"), its official call sign remains WCFS, call letters only mentioned once per hour.
The two stations have simulcast continuously since August 1, 2011, with one exception. During the 2015 baseball season, WBBM carried Chicago Cubs baseball exclusively over the AM 780 frequency during the 2015 season, while WCFS-FM 105.9 continued to carry the all-news format on its own during Cubs broadcasts.[98] Starting with the 2016 season, the Cubs moved to co-owned 670 WSCR.[98] WBBM and WCFS returned to a full-time simulcast at the end of the 2015 season.[98]
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with
HD Radio
WCFS-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio format. The HD2 subchannel carries a sports gambling format, branded as "The Bet".[102]
The station's HD2 subchannel debuted in January 2006, and simulcast the all-news format of WBBM AM 780.
On March 19, 2021, WCFS-HD2 switched to carrying a new national format covering legalized sports gaming, branded as "The Bet".[102]
References
- ^ Janowski, Thaddeus P. (September 29, 2010). "FCC 316: Application for Consent to Assign Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License or to Transfer Control of Entity Holding Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License (BTCH-20100930AFL)". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ a b "FM Outlet Histories", Broadcasting — Telecasting. A Continuing Study of Major Radio Markets: Study No. 7: Chicago. October 25, 1948. p. 21. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j History Cards for WCFS-FM, fcc.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WCFS-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ a b FM Query Results: WCFS-FM, fcc.gov. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ "Contact Us", WBBM. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ Feder, Robert. "WBBM Newsradio dedicates studio to Eric Brown", RobertFeder.com. June 26, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=4 Archived September 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine HD Radio Guide for Chicago
- ^ Broadcasting–Telecasting Yearbook Number 1950, Broadcasting–Telecasting, 1950. p. 133. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ a b c d Ghrist, John R. (1996). Valley Voices: A Radio History. Crossroads Communications. p. 313-314.
- ^ a b Migała, Józef (1987). Polish Radio Broadcasting in the United States. Eastern European Monographs. pp. 151-156, 231.
- ^ History Cards for WFMT, fcc.gov. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
- ^ "Ownership Changes", Broadcasting – Telecasting. January 28, 1957. p. 104. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ^ "Who's on First? Ignorance of the law may cost WXFM (FM) license renewal", Broadcasting. August 26, 1963. p. 54-55. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ^ "Teacher Wins Fight to Operate FM Station", Sponsor. July 13, 1964. p. 4. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ^ "Ownership changes", Broadcasting. September 6, 1963. p. 80. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ^ "FM Units Double in Two Year Period", Broadcasting. February 20, 1961. p. 82. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ Bundy, June. "Vox Jox", Billboard. February 20, 1961. p. 37. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "Music as Written", Billboard. February 8, 1960. p. 24. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "FM Station Key", U.S. Radio. Vol. 5, No. 1. January 1961. p. 13. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
- ^ a b c Paige, Earl. "Chicago MOR/Classical FM Station Encouraged By Triad Programming", Billboard. May 29, 1971. pp. 32, 36. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1976, Broadcasting, 1976. p. C-59. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "WXFM Will Join QXR Network on Wednesday", Chicago Tribune. September 28, 1962. p. C10.
- ^ Biro, Nick. "Stereo Called FM's Most Exciting Tool", Billboard. April 13, 1963. p. 41. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
- ^ a b Childers, Scott (2008). Chicago's WLS Radio. Arcadia Publishing. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ a b "Looking Back", The AOR Story. Radio & Records. 1978. p. 9. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Heise, Kenan. "Dick Lawrence, 66; Was Host of WNIB Weekly Radio Show", Chicago Tribune. March 31, 1992. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
- ^ "Inside Track", Billboard. July 8, 1978. p. 82. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Moser, Whet. "RIP Herb Kent: Cool Gent, King of the Dusties (and Former Classical and Punk DJ)", Chicago. October 26, 2016. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "Herb Kent aircheck, WXFM-FM 7/13/81", Chicagoland Radio and Media. February 28, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Broadcasting/Cablecasting Yearbook 1983, Broadcasting/Cablecasting, 1983. p. B-73. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ a b McCormick, Moria. "Count B.J. Out of Work as WXFM Abandons Jazz", Billboard. February 11, 1984. p. 14. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ a b "Cox Picks Jeffries as WXFM's PD", Radio & Records. March 2, 1984. pp. 1, 32. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Reich, Howard. "Air-Waives", Chicago Tribune. February 21, 1993. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Baker, Cary. "WXOL Chicago Plays The Blues", Billboard. May 16, 1981. p. 27. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "Cox Pays $9 Million For WXFM/Chicago", Radio & Records. August 19, 1983. p. 3. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Application Search Details – BALH-19830912HC, fcc.gov. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Chicago's WAGO Switches: Outlet Now AOR-Formatted WCKG", Billboard. March 16, 1985. p. 14. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Bornstein, Rollye. "Vox Jox", Billboard. April 14, 1984. p. 14. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Bornstein, Rollye. "Vox Jox", Billboard. September 8, 1984. p. 12. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Chicago Radio Guide. Vol. 1, No. 1. May 1985. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Freeman, Kim. "Vox Jox", Billboard. March 22, 1986. p. 26. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Feder, Robert (October 12, 1987). "WCKG savors success in 'classic rock' battle". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on February 8, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Chicagoland Radio Waves, MediaTies. Summer 1988/Spring-Summer 1989. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "Winter '87 Arbitron Ratings", Billboard. May 2, 1987. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Freeman, Kim. "Winter Arbs Hot and Cold", Billboard. May 2, 1987. p. 81. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "WCKG FM 105.9", Radio Chicago. Fall 1989. p. 34. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "WCKG FM 105.9", Radio Chicago. Winter 1990. p. 51. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Feder, Robert (March 28, 1995). "WCKG's Shocker: Stern Comes Back". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2018. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ Taylor, Chuck (October 14, 1995). "Vox Jox" (PDF). Billboard. p. 79.
- ^ a b "Shock Jock Dumped Again // Vicious attacks, on-air tirades prompt WCKG-FM to drop Howard Stern's morning radio show despite rising ratings". Chicago Sun-Times. October 2, 1995. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Feder, Robert (October 3, 1995). "Shock Jock Stern Returns via WJJD". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Feder, Robert (May 16, 1996). "Infinity Trades Up For WCKG, WYSY". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ "Transactions", Radio & Records. May 24, 1996. p. 6. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ "Westinghouse to Change Name to CBS After Spinoff", Bloomberg News. Los Angeles Times. February 6, 1997. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ Feder, Robert (July 16, 1996). "WCKG welcoming Howard Stern back". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Feder, Robert (June 3, 1996). "Dahl Joining WCKG To Host Afternoons". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Kirk, Jim. "Contract Talks With Brandmeier, Dahl, Stern a Hot Topic for Infinity", Chicago Tribune. June 4, 2000. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ a b Feder, Robert (April 9, 1998). "WCKG still refining its conversion to talk". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 19, 2018. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ a b "WCKG Links". WCKG. Archived from the original on February 26, 2000. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c "WCKG Staff". WCKG. Archived from the original on July 16, 2002. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Mowatt, Raoul V. "WCKG-FM feels a lot like home to Kevin Matthews", Chicago Tribune. April 19, 2002. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "WCKG Staff". WCKG. Archived from the original on June 5, 2004. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ "HOB Affiliate Stations". TheBluesmobile.com. Archived from the original on May 21, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ "WCKG Staff". WCKG. Archived from the original on February 12, 2005. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ^ Rosenthal, Phil. "Meet the new Howard Sterns", Chicago Tribune. October 26, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Peterson, Al. "Stern Replacements Revealed!", Radio & Records. pp. 1, 12. October 28, 2005. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ "Infinity Broadcasting Launches 'Free FM' as Part of Howard Stern Replacement Strategy". CBS Radio. October 25, 2005. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ "'Rover' is out; Opie and Anthony are in", Chicago Tribune. August 1, 2006. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Daily Herald. October 29, 2007. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- ^ Sherman, Ed. "Bulls will flip to FM dial in '06, on WCKG", Chicago Tribune. October 18, 2005. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
- Rosenthal, Phil. "Oscar honchos smarter than 5th graders?", Chicago Tribune. March 4, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- Rosenthal, Phil. "Meier finds right fit at last with WCKG", Chicago Tribune. March 28, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ Feder, Robert (May 2, 2007). "Canned country". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on May 4, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ a b "WCKG Chicago FM Talk Radio Station". WCKG. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2019.
- ^ a b c Feder, Robert (October 30, 2007). "Cleaning house: Bulls, on-air personalities sign off as WCKG prepares for new format". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ Feder, Robert (November 2, 2007). "Suddenly Santa: Ready or not, Christmas music starts tonight on WCKG and soon on WLIT". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c Feder, Robert (November 6, 2007). "'Fresh 105.9': Pop goes the music as defunct talker turns to adult-contemporary format". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on November 8, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ a b c "WCKG Becomes Fresh 105.9", Format Change Archive. Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- Rosenthal, Phil. "Fresh sound unveiled at WCKG", Chicago Tribune. November 6, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ "Chicago's 'Fresh' Will Get New Calls". All Access. November 21, 2007. Retrieved October 28, 2021.
- ^ "Fresh 105.9 Adds LeBaron And Greene", All Access Music Group. February 14, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ "Rick Hall Joins WCFS For Afternoons", All Access Music Group. April 11, 2008. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ Rosenthal, Phil. "Fresh 105.9 hires Roxanne Steele", Chicago Tribune. October 1, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- Rosenthal, Phil. "Steve Fisher gets Fresh morning slot", Chicago Tribune. October 1, 2009. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ a b Rosenthal, Phil (June 18, 2010). "Midday host Rick Hall out at Fresh 105.9". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ Lazare, Lewis (July 7, 2010). "Brooke Hunter to host midday on CBS Radio Chicago's WCFS-FM". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on July 13, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- Rosenthal, Phil. "Gamble out as US 99.5, Fresh 105.9 program director", Chicago Tribune. March 30, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Fresh 105.9 Becomes NewsRadio 105.9 WBBM", Format Change Archive. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ "Goodbye to 'Fresh' in Chicago, as WBBM-A to Simulcast on FM". All Access Music Group. July 14, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ a b Venta, Lance. "WBBM Chicago Adds Simulcast on 105.9 WCFS", RadioInsight. April 8, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ a b c "Major Radio Groups Announce HD2 Formats", All Access Music Group. January 19, 2006. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
- ^ Channick, Robert. "Merlin Media launches Chicago's first all-news FM station", Chicago Tribune. July 31, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ "Newsradio 780 To Simulcast On 105.9 FM, Starting Aug. 1", CBS 2 Chicago. July 14, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ Gillers, Heather. "After a year of trying news, WIQI-FM 101 switches to adult hits", Chicago Tribune. July 17, 2012. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- Time Out Chicago. Retrieved July 15, 2011.
- ^ a b c Feder, Robert. "Play ball! Cubs move to The Score", RobertFeder.com. November 11, 2015. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ Venta, Lance. "CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom", RadioInsight. February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- Entercom. November 2, 2017. Archived from the originalon November 11, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ Venta, Lance (November 17, 2017). "Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger". Radio Insight. Archived from the original on November 18, 2017. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ a b Entercom Places An HD Bet In Chicago Radioinsight - March 22, 2021
- ^ "Channel Q Expands To Six More Markets" RadioInsight. February 26, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
External links
- Official website
- WCFS in the FCC FM station database
- WCFS in Nielsen Audio's FM station database