WLCY
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| WLCY-FM | |
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| City of license | Blairsville, Pennsylvania |
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| Broadcast area | Indiana, Kittanning, Latrobe Greensburg (part of Pittsburgh DMA) |
| Branding | "Cat Country 106.3" |
| Slogan | "Today's Best Country!" |
| Frequency | 106.3 (MHz) |
| First air date | February 1, 1979 (as WCQO) |
| Format | Country |
| ERP | 2,400 Watts |
| HAAT | 111 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 38376 |
| Callsign meaning | We Love CountrY |
| Owner | Anthony Renda (St Pier Group, LLC) |
| Website | http://www.wdadradio.com/ |
WLCY is a country music formatted radio station serving Indiana, Cambria, Jefferson, Armstrong and Westmoreland Counties in Pennsylvania.
The Cat County 106.3 FM format began in February of 2006. Cat Country's music selection focuses on country hits with a few throwback hits. Cat Country carries weather forecasts from the Weather Channel and reports on school delays and closings during severe winter weather.
On air personalities include Chuck Clark on mornings, Bill Cody on mid-days, and Jim DeCesare on afternoons. Syndicated programming includes "CMT's Country Music Countdown USA" with Lon Helton, "American Country Countdown", "America's Grand Ole Opry Weekend", and "Racing Country USA".
WLCY is the voice of the Blairsville High School sports. WLCY has broadcast every Bobcat Football and Basketball game since 1980. In 2007, Cat County 106.3 became an affiliate carrying Penn State Football.
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[edit] Early History
[edit] =Beginnings as WCQO
The 106.3 license originally signed on as WCQO-FM ("CQO" being the initials of station founder Ada Ottie's daughter Constance Quinn) with a "Music of Your Life" format featuring music of the 1930s and 40's.
The station broadcast from a two-story wood-framed house at the intersection of Routes 22 and 119 in Burrell Township, just outside of the Blairsville borough limits. The ground floor housed the on-air and production studios, with sales and administrative offices on the top floor.
During these early years, the station broadcast a locally-produced polka show, hosted by Mark Bertig, a Grammy-award winning polka musician who led the band "The Polish Friends" from the late 70's to early 80's. He would leave in 1985, only to return in 2002 to manage this station and three of its competitors under subsequent purchases by its present owner.
[edit] As "Wink FM"
In 1985, the station was purchased by former WAMO-FM program director Ray Gusky (dba WNQQ, Inc.), who rebranded the station with the call sign WNQQ-FM and adopted a MOR format. Billed as "Wink-FM," the station added specialty programming, such as "Jukebox Saturday Night with D.P. McIntire" on Saturdays and "C'eol N'harran," a Sunday program featuring Irish folk music.
Transfer of the station's control went from Gusky to Jeff Dean (dba Pennsylvania Broadcast Associates) in 1987, but reverted back to Gusky by the time the station was sold to Longo Media Group in 1989.
[edit] As "Lucky FM"
John Longo, who started as a disc jockey in 1959, purchased WNQQ for $485,000.[citation needed] Signing an agreement with the former Drake Chenault Radio Network (now Jones Radio Network), the station signed on as "Lucky 106.3", with the new WLCY call letters and a soft adult contemporary format.
Not long after acquiring the station, the station was renovated. The front porch of the studio building was enclosed, moving the on-air functions near the newly-built entrance. The building, known as "The House", was demolished in 2001 under eminent domain as part of PennDot's Route 22 and 119 widening project. Station functions were moved to Latrobe with sister AM station WCNS, but a small sales office was maintained in downtown Blairsville.
Through aggressive promotion, WLCY started to see growth with office listeners in Indiana and Westmoreland Counties.
[edit] Sale to Renda Broadcasting
Longo decided to sell the station in 2002 to Pittsburgh-based Renda Broadcasting Corporation for $900,000, following an LMA of almost two years.
In need of additional studio space to accommodate four radio stations (WDAD, WCCS, WLCY, WQMU), Renda Broadcasting acquired the former Gatti Pharmacy building at the corner of 9th and Philadelphia Streets in downtown Indiana, where the four stations and its business operations occupy the first and second floors.
[edit] External links
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WLCY
- Radio Locator information on WLCY
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for WLCY
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