WSGW-FM
WSGW-FM (100.5 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Carrollton, Michigan, and serving the Tri-Cities (Saginaw - Bay City - Midland).[2] It is owned by Alpha Media and simulcasts a news-talk radio format with sister station WSGW 790 AM. The two stations identify themselves as "100.5 and 790 Newsradio WSGW." The studios are on Tittabawassee Road in Saginaw.
 | |
| Broadcast area | The Greater Tri-Cities (Saginaw - Bay City - Midland) |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 100.5 MHz |
| Branding | 100.5 and 790 Newsradio WSGW |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Network | CBS News Radio |
| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks Westwood One Saginaw Spirit Saginaw Valley State Cardinals football Michigan Sports Network |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WCEN-FM, WGER, WSGW, WTLZ | |
| History | |
First air date | May 11, 1991 (as WCWK) |
Former call signs | WCWK (3/17/89-5/22/89) WKFK (5/22/89-11/4/91) WTCF (11/4/91-3/5/04) WXQL (3/5/04-9/16/05) WTBT (9/16/05-1/30/06) WSGW-FM (1/30/06-8/29/07) WTKQ-FM (8/28/07-1/15/09) |
Call sign meaning | W SaGinaW |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 41842 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 3,000 watts |
| HAAT | 100 meters (328 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°33′43″N 83°58′54″W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wsgw.com |
WSGW-FM is a Class A FM station with an effective radiated power (ERP) of 3,000 watts. The transmitter tower is on Hotchkiss Drive in Frankenlust Township.[3]
Programming
Weekdays on WSGW-AM-FM begin with The Morning Team, a news and interview show hosted by Charlie Rood, Denyse Sharron and Pat Johnson. Veteran broadcaster Art Lewis hosts his own talk show in late mornings, featuring interviews with local newsmakers and phone calls from the public. Agriculture director Terry Henne hosts The Farm Show just before noon, focusing on local weather, market conditions, and agriculture news. The rest of the day, nationally syndicated programs include Markley, Van Camp and Robbins, The Sean Hannity Show, The Tom Sullivan Show, The Ramsey Show with Dave Ramsey, Coast to Coast AM with George Noory and America in the Morning with John Trout.
On weekends, WSGW-AM-FM air specialty shows on health, money, technology, the outdoors, farming and home repair. Weekend syndicated programs include The Kim Komando Show and Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb, as well as repeats of weekday shows. Most hours begin with an update from CBS News Radio.
They also carry the University of Michigan Wolverines. Local minor league hockey team the Saginaw Spirit and Saginaw Valley State University athletics are also heard. When two games occur at the same time, WSGW 790 AM and WSGW-FM 100.5 will split their programming to carry both sporting events.
History
The Fox
The station signed on the air on May 11, 1991.[4] Its original call sign was WCWK. It started with an adult contemporary format. It later adopted a long-running and successful Top 40 - CHR format, known as 100.5 "The Fox".
WTCF was owned by Mid America Broadcasting through most of the 1990s. WTCF enjoyed a large ratings margin on WIOG (which shifted to a Hot AC sound around the same time) in the 18-34 demographic. The station was live and featured "Steve and Stacie in the morning", "Steve Williams & Amy Wilde morning show", Rick and Jean Marie in the morning and later McGill in The Morning. Other talent included Mike Cruise in the afternoon, and Greg Fry at night who always started the weekend using the Iggy Pop classic "Wild Child." News veteran/radio personality Lisa Ferrel was the co-host prior to the flip to Pirate Radio. Other morning shows included Leeroy the Love Toy, Rick Dees, Josh & Holly, and Lisa & Dylan in the morning.
Pirate Radio
In 1998, WTCF was sold to Liggett Broadcasting, owner of WHNN.[5] In 1999, the station adopted the name "Pirate Radio" and shifted its format from Mainstream Top 40 to Rhythmic Contemporary. Though the station's ratings remained high during the "Pirate Radio" stage, owner Wilks Broadcasting soon shifted the station to Hot AC under the moniker "Mix 100."
The move to Hot AC was unsuccessful as the station's ratings plummeted. Rival station WIOG, which had been a Hot AC for most of the '90s, took advantage of this by returning to CHR and regained some of the ratings ground it had lost to WTCF. A return to Adult Top 40 and "The Fox" moniker failed to raise ratings at 100.5.
Kool and The Beat
New owners NextMedia Group pulled the plug on "The Fox" in 2004 and changed the format to Rhythmic Oldies as "Kool 100.5," WXQL. Ratings remained low. A year and a half later, the station became "The Beat," WTBT, with a Rhythmic Adult Contemporary format heavy on dance remixes of CHR/pop hits.
The "Beat" format lasted only a few months. The owners decided to extend the successful talk format on 790 WSGW to the FM dial.
Newsradio WSGW
The station switched its call letters to WSGW-FM. It began airing a talk radio format, sometime simulcasting WSGW 790 AM and sometimes with separate programming from its AM sister station. On August 29, 2007, the call sign was changed to WTKQ-FM and was then changed back to WSGW-FM on January 15, 2009.
NextMedia sold WSGW-FM and the company's 32 other radio stations to Digity, LLC for $85 million. The transaction was consummated on February 10, 2014. Effective February 25, 2016, Digity, LLC and its 124 radio stations were acquired by Alpha Media for $264 million. Eventually the AM and FM stations began simulcasting most of the time, except for some sporting events.
References
- "Facility Technical Data for WSGW-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
- Radio-Locator.com/WSGW-FM
- Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 1994 page B-189. Retrieved Sept. 12, 2023.
- "WSGW-FM 100.5 Carrollton/Saginaw - Michiguide.com Dials (S)". www.michiguide.com.
External links
- WSGW in the FCC FM station database
- WSGW on Radio-Locator
- WSGW in Nielsen Audio's FM station database