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|---|---|
| Frequency | 1230kHz |
| Branding | AM 1230 WTKG |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/talk/sports |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | February 8, 1945 (1945-02-08) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Talk Grand Rapids |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 51729 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000 watts |
| Repeater | 96.1 WMAX-FM HD2 (Holland) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | wtkg |
WTKG (1230AM) is a radio station broadcasting anews/talk/sportsformat. Licensed toGrand Rapids, Michigan, United States, and now owned byiHeartMedia, Inc., Previous to adopting the current calls and format in 1997, the station playedcountry under the WJEF (the station on which radio Hall of FamerWally Phillips started his career) and WCUZ calls.
The station began as WJEF on February 8, 1945, with studios located on the 10th floor of the Pantlind Hotel (Amway Grand Plaza Hotel) in Downtown Grand Rapids. Its power at that time was 250 Watts. It would be Grand Rapids' third radio station, afterWOOD andWLAV. WJEF was a sister station toWKZO in Kalamazoo; both stations were owned byJohn Fetzer. In 1951, WJEF would gain an FM sister station in WJEF-FM 93.7.
The AM station was sold to Pathfinder Communications in 1973 and would take on the WCUZcall sign on June 18, 1973. WCUZ, and laterWCUZ-FM, would be Grand Rapids' onlycountry music station until 1992 whenWBCT (the former WJEF-FM) ended WCUZ's hold on the Grand Rapids country music radio audience. During the early 1980s the station would begin broadcasting in AM stereo with the Magnavox system. However AM Stereo broadcasting would end when the MotorolaC-QUAM standard won out.
In 1992 WCUZ's former sister station WJFM would also be sold by Fetzer Broadcasting. WJFM flipped to a country format as WBCT and went head to head with WCUZ. In the end WBCT would win out, likely due to the facts that WBCT has a grandfathered 320,000 watt superpower signal and (more likely) because they targeted the younger generation of listeners recently discovering country music.
WTKG was an affiliate of theWestern Michigan University "Broncos Radio Network" and carried all of the Broncosfootball andmen's basketball games. WTKG was dropped as an affiliate afterWMAX-FM was added for both sports.
42°59′42.1″N85°40′36.1″W / 42.995028°N 85.676694°W /42.995028; -85.676694
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