 | |
| Broadcast area | Huntington, West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1340kHz |
| Branding | Cat Sports 93.3FM - 1340AM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Sports |
| Affiliations | UK Sports Network Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network Cleveland Cavaliers Radio Network ESPN Radio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WCMI-FM,WDGG,WMGA,WRVC,WXBW | |
| History | |
First air date | 1935 (at 1310) |
Former frequencies | 1310 kHz (1935–1941) |
Call sign meaning | WhereCoalMeetsIron |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 21588 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000watts |
| Translator(s) | 93.3 W227CI (Catlettsburg, Kentucky) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | catsports933 |
WCMI (1340kHz) is anESPN Radio–affiliatedstationlicensed toAshland, Kentucky,United States, and servingHuntington, West Virginia and the greaterHuntington–Ashland metropolitan area. The station is owned by Huntington–based Kindred Communications as part of a conglomerate with Huntington–licensedESPN Radio–affiliatedsports stationWRVC (930 AM),Catlettsburg, Kentucky–licensedactive rock stationWCMI-FM (92.7FM), Ashland–licensedcountry music stationWDGG,Kenova, West Virginia–licensedadult contemporary stationWMGA (97.9 FM), andGallipolis, Ohio–licensedclassic country stationWXBW (101.5 FM). All six stations share studios on Fifth Avenue in downtown Huntington, while itstransmitter facilities off ofUS 52 across theOhio River from Ashland inPerry Township, Lawrence County, Ohio.
In addition to its primary AM signal, WCMI also operates anFM translator on 99.3 FM asW227CI. Licensed to Catlettsburg, Kentucky, the translator broadcasts from the same transmitter as the AM signal.
The station changed its call letters fromWMFP on February 26, 1935.[2] It broadcast at 1310 kcs, with 100 watts.[3] That year, out-of-town football games of Ashland High School were sponsored on WCMI by the Boyd County Democratic Campaign Committee. Permission was granted in July 1936 to increase daytime wattage to 250. In mid-1939, the station was sold to J. Lindsay Nunn and Gilmore N. Nunn, father and son, by B. F. Forgey and J. T. Norris,[4] and became affiliated with theMutual Broadcasting System on September 24.[5] The station was reassigned to 1340 kcs on March 29, 1941, by theFederal Communications Commission under the Havana Treaty.
On June 15, 1945, WCMI switched affiliations from Mutual toCBS, an event highlighted by a day's celebration, including a downtown parade in Huntington and a dedicatory program on which heads of the three city governments served by the station — Ashland, Huntington andIronton, Ohio— appeared. The three city mayors simultaneously proclaimed the week June 15–22 as "CBS Week". A month-long promotion campaign leading to the network affiliation included front-page newspaper ads and stories, sales letters to agencies and billboards and car cards in the three cities.[6] Among the staff members at the time were Clay Dopp, Louis Lageman, Whitney Richard (Dick) Martin and women's director Sara Fisher.[7]
In August 1953, the FCC approved the sale of the station by the Nunns to Great Trails Broadcasting for $140,000. Great Trails was controlled byCharles W. Sawyer, ex-U.S. Commerce Secretary, which also took over WCMI's application for a television station to broadcast on Channel 13 from Huntington,[8] which was withdrawn in March 1954.[9] The station was sold again on June 20, 1956, to Edwina Broadcasting Corp., owned by George H. Clinton, for $165,000,[10] and then to WCMI Radio Inc., owned by Frederic Gregg Jr., in October 1958 for $69,285.[11] WCMI dropped its CBS affiliation in February 1958, resuming it on February 29, 1960.
The station changed hands in December 1959, sold to WOMP, Inc., run by Donald J. Horton and G.D. Kincaid, for $163,000.[12] By June 1962, the station increased its power from 250 to 1,000 watts during the daytime.
In 2007, WCMI aired aprogressive talk radio format under the brandingProgressive Talk 1340.[13] Prior to 2016, WCMI simulcast the sports format onWRVC. On September 6, 2016, WCMI split from the simulcasting and launched its own unique sports format asCat Sports 93.3, focusing onKentucky Wildcats athletics.[14]
WCMI primarily airs programs fromESPN Radio.[15] The station also airs two daily programs focusing onKentucky Wildcats athletics—Kentucky Sports Radio andThe Leach Report—that originates fromWLAP inLexington, Kentucky.[16]
WCMI maintains affiliations with several regional sports teams. The station airsKentucky Wildcatscollege sports via theUK Sports Network andCincinnati BengalsNFL games through theCincinnati Bengals Radio Network.[17][18]
38°28′02″N82°35′49″W / 38.46722°N 82.59694°W /38.46722; -82.59694