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Coast FM in the mid 90s

Covers all of Northern Lower Michigan (from Ludington to Tawas northward), as well as the Straits Area and Soo Region.
Realist
Posts: 979
Joined: Wed Dec 13, 2006 10:36 pm
Location: Northern Michigan

Re: Coast FM in the mid 90s

Post by Realist » Sat Nov 05, 2022 6:53 pm

ChrisWL1980 wrote:
Sat Nov 05, 2022 6:41 pm
You're right - I had completely forgotten about the WCLS/WCLX simulcast. Jones satellite Soft AC, if I'm not mistaken. "Decades 101" WQON in Grayling used that same format for a time.
I do remember when WCLS simulcast Alpena's 107.7 The Bay.
Nope - the Bay was on 107.3, the former WDBI here in Tawas. They then switched frequencies to 106.1, broke off from the Bay and became Mix 106, a Hot AC format. Live and local along Newman Street in the mornings, satellite rest of the time. Owners then sold to a religious broadcaster and flipped to something Christian formatted. That didn’t work out and those owners sold a couple of years ago to Carroll Broadcasting, owners of KJC Country 104.7 and Hits FM 103.3. 106.1 is now 106.1 The Point, a 24/7 satellite fed Hot AC station.



ChrisWL1980
Posts: 813
Joined: Wed Nov 06, 2019 2:36 am

Re: Coast FM in the mid 90s

Post by ChrisWL1980 » Mon Nov 07, 2022 8:35 pm

Realist wrote:
Sat Nov 05, 2022 6:53 pm
ChrisWL1980 wrote:
Sat Nov 05, 2022 6:41 pm
You're right - I had completely forgotten about the WCLS/WCLX simulcast. Jones satellite Soft AC, if I'm not mistaken. "Decades 101" WQON in Grayling used that same format for a time.
I do remember when WCLS simulcast Alpena's 107.7 The Bay.
Nope - the Bay was on 107.3, the former WDBI here in Tawas. They then switched frequencies to 106.1, broke off from the Bay and became Mix 106, a Hot AC format. Live and local along Newman Street in the mornings, satellite rest of the time. Owners then sold to a religious broadcaster and flipped to something Christian formatted. That didn’t work out and those owners sold a couple of years ago to Carroll Broadcasting, owners of KJC Country 104.7 and Hits FM 103.3. 106.1 is now 106.1 The Point, a 24/7 satellite fed Hot AC station.
I'm not talking about the simulcasts on what is now WTZM. This happened around 2004. It lasted only a few months, as I recall, then 100.7 went silent for a few more months, changed the calls to WWTH and came back on as Thunder Country. The Wiki article also says they simulcast 99-9 The Wave for a time, which I think I vaguely remember. Those simulcasts were brief and may have been just to keep the license active, but I'm 99.9% sure they happened.
I almost forgot 100.7 had tried Country before... in the late '90s as "Kix 100.7." All in the space of maybe two years in the early oughts after "Kix" failed, they tried a return of "Sunny", then the station went silent, then came the Wave and Bay simulcasts, then silent again, then Thunder Country debuted. It was like Northeast Michigan's cursed frequency. They finally wisely picked up the Classic Rock format after 103.3/94.9 (B-Rock) dropped it to become Hits FM.
I do remember WHSB and WHST 106.1 utilizing the same "Best Hits, Best Variety" package from ABC Radio in the late '90s. I listened to the same format on Y102 in Big Rapids while going to college in GR and always enjoyed the Saturday-night '80s show with Booray(sp?). 107.7 dropped the ABC feed for JRN's Adult Hit Radio (which leaned a bit more CHR in sound) for the satellite-fed portion of its programming in maybe late '99 or early 2000. At about that same time was when they re-imaged from "Bay 108" to "107-7 The Bay."



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