WWCT
 |
| Broadcast area | Peoria, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 99.9 MHz |
| Branding | World Class Rock 99.9 WWCT |
| Programming | |
| Format | Stunting |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| 96.5 WZPN 98.5 WPIA 101.1 WXMP | |
| History | |
First air date | 1970s (original WWTO on 105.7) 1996 (original 99.9 as WIXO) |
Former call signs | WRXP (September 2006) WIXO (1996–2006)[1] |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 27727 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 1500 watts |
| HAAT | 178 meters |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°36′23″N 89°32′20″W / 40.60639°N 89.53889°W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | [1] |
| Website | http://www.wwct.fm/ |
WWCT is an FM broadcasting station owned by Independence Media Holdings and licensed to Bartonville, Illinois. Through most of its history, the WWCT callsign was associated with Peoria's 105.7 frequency allocation. The station on April 11, 2008 dropped the adult album rock format it had been running with the slogan "World Class Rock" and began stunting. A new format will be place April 21, 2008 per their website.
History
105.7
The original 105.7 was operating as Drake-Chenault programmed WWTO in the early 1970s.[2] In 1976, the station changed its callsign to WWCT and made its debut as an album rock station. Calling itself simply "106" or "WWCT" early on, by the 1990s it was using the nickname "Rock 106". Some of their well known positioning statements included "Rockin' With The Best" and "The Home Of Rock n Roll." Much of their time was spent downtown on both Jefferson St. and 1111 Main St. They moved uptown in 1997 to War Memorial Dr. near Northwoods Mall, briefly into the Kelly Communications building, and then to The AAA building on Brandywine Drive.
In the late eighties and early nineties it was considered one of Americas best Rock stations.[citation needed] It was also known for its morning Shows starting with Ken and Jim aka Johnson and Tofte, Greg Dwyer and Bill Michaels, and Ray Lytle and Jon Lamb with Pete McMurray (aka Pete on the Street) who were proclaimed one of Americas best morning shows by R&R magazine. From 1991-1992, Rock 106 simulcast with sister Macomb station WJEQ as Rock 106 & 103. WJEQ split away from 106 in the Spring of 1992 calling itself Classic 103. Lytle and Lamb syndicated in 1994 to WQLZ in Springfield from the WWCT Studios.
WWCT was bought by AAA Entertainment Radio Group, moved towards an active rock format, and was named "Rock 105.7" near the end.
96.5
WWCT was moved to 96.5 in 2003 by AAA to make room for its new WXMP "Mix 105.7" on the more powerful signal. In January 2006, WWCT switched to an all-request Rock format playing, which it maintained until it was shut down on September 20, 2006 after being sold to Independence Media. Independence Media put a new program feed, named "98.5 Kiss FM", on 96.5 (changed to WRIA) and also on 98.5 (WPIA), which had been Christian music station Hope 98.5. 96.5 is now WZPN, a sports station.
99.9
Independence Media, who had also bought the license for 99.9, replaced its 10-day-old callsign WRXP with the better-known callsign WWCT on 2006-09-29, but kept the new nickname 99.9 Pirate Radio. Regent Broadcasting, who had owned 99.9, had recently purchased 105.7, and moved active rock station "99X Rocks" (WIXO) from 99.9 to 105.7 to increase its power, renaming it "105.7 The X" in the process.
On or around Sunday, April 8, 2007, the Pirate Radio moniker was dropped in favor of CT 99-dot-9. The slogan was changed to "World Class Rock" and the size of the playlist increased greatly, cutting a wide swath across many different genres and eras of music.
References
- ^ "WWCT(FM)". FCCInfo.com. Cavell Mertz & Associates, Inc. 2007-09-04. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
- ^ "WWTO(FM) 105.7 Peoria, Illinois" by Doug Quick. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
External links