WWCT is an
FM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a method of radio broadcasting using frequency modulation (FM). Invented in 1933 by American engineer Edwin Armstrong, wide-band FM is used worldwide to provide high fidelity sound over broadcast radio. FM broadcasting is cap ...
station licensed to
Bartonville, Illinois
Bartonville is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 6,471 at the 2010 census. Bartonville is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Geography
Bartonville is located ...
. Through most of its history, the WWCT callsign was associated with Peoria's 105.7 frequency allocation; the call sign and related format was moved to 96.5 (
Farmington
Farmington may refer to:
Places Canada
*Farmington, British Columbia
* Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
*Farmington, Arkansas
*Farmington, California
*Farmington, Connecticut
*Farmington, Delaware
* Farmington, Georgia
* ...
) in 2003, then 99.9 (Bartonville) in 2006. The original 99.9 callsign,
WIXO
WIXO (105.7 FM, "105.7 The X") is a radio station in Peoria, Illinois. It is owned by Cumulus Media, which also owns several other radio stations in the market. Cumulus purchased WIXO and its sister stations from Townsquare Media. Originally o ...
, and its music format, had moved to 105.7 in 2006.
History
105.7
The original 105.7 was operating as WWTO in the early 1970s. In 1976, the station changed its callsign to WWCT and made its debut as an
album rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
Album-orient ...
station. Calling itself simply "106" or "WWCT" early on, by the 1990s, it was using the nickname "Rock 106". Locally owned until the 1990s, the station was then sold to
AAA Entertainment
AAA, Triple A, or Triple-A is a three-letter initialism or abbreviation which may refer to:
Airports
* Anaa Airport in French Polynesia (IATA airport code AAA)
* Logan County Airport (Illinois) (FAA airport code AAA)
Arts, entertainment, and me ...
. AAA gave the station the new nickname "Rock 105.7", then "Rock 96.5" when it moved the format to the
Farmington
Farmington may refer to:
Places Canada
*Farmington, British Columbia
* Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
*Farmington, Arkansas
*Farmington, California
*Farmington, Connecticut
*Farmington, Delaware
* Farmington, Georgia
* ...
-licensed frequency.
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, which it maintained until it was shut down on September 20, 2006 after being sold to
Independence Media. Independence Media flipped the format to Top 40/CHR, named "98.5 Kiss FM", and launched a simulcast on 96.5 (changed to
WRIA) and also on 98.5 (
WPIA
WPIA (98.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Eureka, Illinois, and serving the Peoria metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Top 40 - CHR radio format, simulcast with WHPI 96.5 FM.
Both stations are owned and operated by Adva ...
), which had been Christian music station "Hope 98.5". 96.5 is now
WHPI
WHPI (96.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Farmington, Illinois, and serving the Peoria metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Top 40 - CHR radio format, simulcast with WPIA 98.5 FM.
Both stations are owned and operated by ...
, a simulcast of sister station WPIA.
99.9
What is now WWCT signed on August 2, 1996 as WIXO, originally
stunting with loops of "
Macarena
"Macarena" is a dance song by Spanish pop duo Los del Río, about a woman of the same name. The song uses a type of clave rhythm. Originally appearing on the 1993 album '' A mí me gusta'', a subsequent remix by Miami-based producers The Bays ...
" by
Los Del Rio
LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to:
Science and technology
* Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation
* Level of service (transportation), Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers
* Level of significance, a ...
. On February 21, 1997 at 6 p.m., the station flipped to an
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
format as "99X". The WIXO call letters would move to
105.7 FM in September 2006.
Independence Media, who had also bought the license for 99.9, replaced its 10-day-old callsign WRXP with the current callsign WWCT on September 29, 2006, but kept the nickname 99.9 Pirate Radio.
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. On April 11, 2008, the station temporarily dropped the
adult album alternative
Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, 2 ...
format it had been running with the slogan "World Class Rock" and began
stunting; it then returned on April 15 with the new name 99.9 The Stage.
On September 15, 2008, after three days of
stunting, the station became
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
station 99.9 The Buzz, and began carrying the
Lex and Terry
''Lex and Terry'' is a syndicated morning radio program hosted by Lex Staley and Terry Jaymes. Lex and Terry is Based in Dallas, Texas, the show is distributed by United Stations Radio Networks. It is heard during weekdays on radio stations throug ...
morning show from
KEGL
KEGL (97.1 FM) is a radio station licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, United States. The station broadcasts to the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. KEGL is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. The station's studios are located along Dallas Parkway in Fa ...
in Dallas. The station was commercial-free from 10 a.m. to Noon.
The station was turned over to Michael S. Rea through Advanced Media Partners on August 1, 2010, in anticipation of the station being purchased; since then, the station has run a format of mixed popular music. On September 26, the station flipped back to adult album alternative after many weeks of stunting. The sale of WWCT, along with its other three Peoria-area stations (
WZPN
WZPN (101.1 FM, "ESPN Peoria") is a radio station for Glasford, Illinois in the Peoria, Illinois radio market. From September 26, 2010 to June 6, 2018 the station aired the adult hits format Jack FM, before becoming an affiliate of ESPN Radi ...
,
WPIA
WPIA (98.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Eureka, Illinois, and serving the Peoria metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Top 40 - CHR radio format, simulcast with WHPI 96.5 FM.
Both stations are owned and operated by Adva ...
, and
WHPI
WHPI (96.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Farmington, Illinois, and serving the Peoria metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Top 40 - CHR radio format, simulcast with WPIA 98.5 FM.
Both stations are owned and operated by ...
), was completed on November 15.
On or around November 1, 2020, WWCT rebranded as CT 99.9, and adopted the slogan "Listen Different".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wwct
Radio stations established in 1996
WCT