 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
 | |
| |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Bay City–Saginaw–Midland–Flint |
| Frequency | 102.5MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 102.5 WIOG |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary hit radio |
| Affiliations | Westwood One |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WHNN,WILZ,WKQZ | |
| History | |
First air date |
|
Former call signs |
|
Former frequencies | 106.3 MHz (1969–1986) |
Call sign meaning | 106 (original dial position) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 22675 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 86,000watts |
| HAAT | 244 meters (801 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°28′24″N83°50′40″W / 43.47333°N 83.84444°W /43.47333; -83.84444 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | wiog.com |
WIOG (102.5FM) is acommercialFMradio station airing atop 40 (CHR)format. It islicensed toBay City, Michigan, and serves theGreater Tri-Cities area, includingSaginaw andMidland as well asFlint. It is owned byCumulus Media with studios on Champagne Drive South in Saginaw.
WIOG is aClass B station. But it isgrandfathered at a higher power than would be permitted today. It has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 86,000watts. (50,000 watts is the current maximum for Class B stations.) Thetransmittertower is on Becker Road inBuena Vista Charter Township.[2] It signal currently reaches at far west asMontcalm County, Michigan, as far east asLake Huron, as far North asWest Branch, Michigan and as far south asOakland County, Michigan
WIOG began broadcasting on February 18, 1969 as WSBM, 106.3 MHz, originally licensed to Saginaw. The radio station was owned by Booth American[3] On October 1, 1975, thecall sign became WIOG (those call letters resembled the number "106," its dial position).[4] The format shifted toalbum oriented rock (AOR). In 1980, with the addition of somedisco andpop records to its AORplaylist, WIOG moved to aTop 40 format. It eventually took on the name "Hits 106" and became one of the most popular radio stations in the market.
The 102.5 frequency was originally home to WNEM-FM (laterWGER), which was one of the pioneers ofFM stereo broadcasting in Michigan. With its big signal, WGER was one of the most successfulbeautiful music stations in Michigan. It played quarter-hour sweeps of mostly soft instrumental music,cover versions of popular adult hits,Broadway andHollywoodshow tunes.[5] As late as 1985, when it was using TM Programming's beautiful music package, the station was posting #1 ratings among adult 25-54 listeners in the Saginaw and Flint markets, according to TM promotional literature of the time.[6]
After the owner of WIOG bought WGER, then sold the old station at 106.3, WIOG and WGER switched call signs in September 1986. WGER moved itseasy listening music to the lower powered 106.3 and WIOG's Top 40-CHR format was placed on 102.5. The move paid off, as WIOG quickly became a powerhouse in mid-Michigan broadcasting. In the fall of 1986, during an economic rescission, the radio station ran a new promotion known ad "Free Money". It was a chance to win $1,000 to $10,000 every hour. This helped the station meet an Arbitron rating of 30.3%.
WIOG got strong competition in the early 1990s from 100.5WTCF "The Fox", which soon surpassed WIOG as the dominant CHR station. Due to the competition and to a desire to appeal to more adult listeners, WIOG shifted to aHot Adult Contemporary sound in May 1992.[7] WTCF's departure from the CHR format in 1999, however, left the door open for WIOG to move back to CHR, which it did that July.[8]
Today WIOG remains one of the most popular stations in the Tri-Cities market. However, its showing in the Flint market is more modest due to competition from CHRWWCK-FM, rhythmicWRCL and active rockerWWBN.
NotableDJs at WIOG at the time include Dean Myers, Scott "Shannon" Seipel (not to be confused withScott Shannon), Renee Andrews, Bob Hughes, Jim Alexander, Rick Donahue, Keith Michaels, Steve Kelly, Wack and Tim Murphy. Rick Belcher was the Program Director at the time of WIOG's rating's domination.
