WJJG Becomes WCKG

[Dr Wayne]

Wonder how this will increase listeners and revenue?
So many stations have tried this without success ie: WCFL 104.7 Any thoughts?

http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/2771-wjjg-am-becomes-wckg-am

 

[KeithE4]

Wonder how this will increase listeners and revenue?
So many stations have tried this without success ie: WCFL 104.7 Any thoughts?

WCFL 104.7 was (is?) a religious station. The only connection to the original WCFL was that it had run a religious format for a few years in the '80s, prior to it becoming WLUP.

 

[jjschim]

When 104.7 originally switched to the WCFL calls, they were running an oldies format. The Christain format came later.

 

[radioman148]

When 104.7 originally switched to the WCFL calls, they were running an oldies format. The Christain format came later.

Yes they did play oldies and used the "Super CFL" jingles in the early 90s. They even used some Larry Lujack drop-ins and aired Chickenman. The problem was unless you were in the Southwest suburbs it was hard to hear them.

 

[audioguy]

If they would stop trying to pretend that they are a full-market signal and specialize on something like oldies or swing music, they would gain a small but loyal listenership. I'd love to hear something like "America's Best Music" on a Chicago station. It is beyond me that a city the size of the Chicago metro can't have at least one station with some decent music instead of the cookie cutter crap playing on most of our stations.

I wish we had somebody like Moses Znaimer with enough money to say, let's cut the crap, I'm gonna buy a station and put some decent programming on the air!

 

[Wright County Guy]

Is the station still playing music as "The Q" (or whatever it was)?

 

[Tom Wells]

My brain says: "WCKG is an FM station".
And: "What are they doing these days on WCKG on the FM?"



Picking up a set of "already known" calls in a market comes with whatever impressions the earlier station left.

 

[DToTheJ]

Now if they start calling themselves "The Package"... (Which I suppose they could have done under the WJJG callsign, anyway...)

 

[cyberdad]

So many stations have tried this without success ie: WCFL 104.7 Any thoughts?

My understanding is that the revival of WCFL on 104.7 20-odd years ago was profitable....if only barely. It was shut down because the FCC determined that it was operating with an unauthorized power level and antenna system. But even with that, the stick south of Morris on route 47 was just too far away to even fit most definitions of "rimshot".

It was also a pretty good listen, and one got the impression that it was a bunch of underpaid air staffers having fun bringing back a classic radio station.

WCKG was never as strong a brand as WCFL had been, although it's certainly a heck of a lot stronger than WCKG. Strong enough to overcome a bad dial position and an anemic signal? That'll take some doing.