KQCJ

KQCJ (93.9 FM) is an alternative rock station serving the Quad-Cities area. Known as "Planet 93.9" the station is operated by Fletcher M. Ford, of Regional Media, a Virden Broadcasting Corporation and is licensed to Cambridge, Illinois. KQCJ's studios are located in Davenport, while its transmitter is located south of Geneseo, Illinois.

KQCJ
CityCambridge, Illinois
Broadcast areaQuad Cities
BrandingPlanet 93.9
SloganThe Quad Cities Real Alternative Radio
Frequency93.9 MHz
First air date2003 (as WYEC)
FormatAlternative rock
Language(s)English
ERP4,200 watts
HAAT120 meters (390 ft)
ClassA
Facility ID70277
Transmitter coordinates41° 22' 56" N, 90° 10' 47" W
Call sign meaningK Quad Cities Jack (previous format)
Former call signsWYEC (2003-2016)
AffiliationsWQAD
OwnerFletcher M. Ford
(Virden Broadcasting Corp.)
Sister stationsWJRE, WKEI MY102!
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.illinoisnewsnow.com/planet939/

History

WYEC began as WJRE, licensed to, and serving, the community of Kewanee, Illinois.

In 2007, the station received authorization to change its city of license to Cambridge, and to move its transmitter site to provide a rimshot signal to the Quad Cities market. WYEC had initially been an easy listening station (Your EASY choice). Over time, the format switched to oldies and classic hits, gradually settling on a playlist spanning the mid-1960s through 1980s. WYEC was also the radio affiliate for the now-defunct Quad City Flames AHL franchise from October 2007 to April 2009. The station's major competition was KUUL (101.3 FM), whose playlist at the time focused on the 1960s and 1970s.

Upon KUUL's switch to a Top 40 format in February 2012, WYEC – then called "The New Oldies" – responded by adding a program devoted to music of the 1950s and 1960s; that program airs on Fridays.[1] Branding was also changed to "Rewind 93.9." In addition to local programming, satellite programming is provided by the Tom Kent Radio Network. Sports programming includes Illinois State University athletics and Rock Island High School/Western Big 6 Conference sporting events, eventually switching to Bettendorf High School athletics.

With the Quad Cities market's remaining oldies station – KJOC (1170 AM) - switching to all sports in May 2014,[2] WYEC became the market's only full-time oldies station, although another market station, KMXG, has weekend programming devoted to music of the 1970s through 1990s. That changed in January 2016, when WQUD-FM signed on the air; however, unlike WQUD's format of 1950s and 1960s pop music and country music from the 1990s and earlier, WYEC continued to devote itself to pop, rock and soul music of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

Jack FM as KQCJ (2016-2020)

On August 30, 2016, WYEC announced plans to drop its oldies format and move to adult hits based on the Jack FM brand, and using the new call letters KQCJ. The initial playlist was set to be a mix of rock, country and pop and spanning the late 1960s through late 2000s decade, and employ an on-air staff of six.[3]

Planet 93.9 (2020-present)

On April 22, 2020, KQCJ flipped to a wide-ranging alternative rock format, branded as "Planet 93.9." The flip brings the "Planet" branding back to the market for the first time since 2000, when it aired on KORB (93.5 FM). In addition, the station reunited Dave Levora and Darren Pitra, previously on WXLP (Levora was also a DJ at KORB) and KBOB, to host mornings.[4][5] The flip leaves KMCN as the sole adult hits station for the market, with KQCJ now primarily competing against WLLR-HD2/K283BV and KJOC (the former KORB), and to a lesser extent, KCQQ.

References
  1. Burke, David, "From oldies music to a new wave of digital TV," Quad City Times, March 3, 2012. Accessed 06-25-2012.
  2. "ESPN Radio coming to your local radio dial on KJOC," Quad-Cities Online, April 30, 2014. Accessed 5-1-2014.
  3. Hancock, Amanda, "Rewind 93.9 switches format to more than oldies," Quad-City Times, August 31, 2016. Accessed 08-31-2016.
  4. https://illinoisnewsnow.com/news/local/planet939-latestnews/dave-levora-shares-his-story-on-his-return-to-local-radio
  5. https://radioinsight.com/headlines/186351/planet-returns-to-the-quad-cities-two-decades-later/

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