WCOY

WCOY is a 100,000-watt country radio station based out of Quincy, Illinois, broadcasting on 99.5 FM.

WCOY
Broadcast areaQuincy, Illinois
BrandingWCOY 99.5
SloganCoyote Country
Frequency99.5 (MHz)
First air date1948
FormatContemporary Country/Sports Radio
ERP100,000 watts
HAAT149 meters (489 ft)
ClassC1
Transmitter coordinatestype:city 39°56′30.00″N 91°35′3.00″W
Former call signsWTAD-FM (1948–1974)
WQCY (1974–1999)
OwnerSTARadio Corporation
WebsiteWCOY.com

History

WTAD-FM went on the air in 1948, four years after having filed for its construction permit on 44.1 MHz[1]—before FM was relocated to 88–108 MHz. It was owned by Lee Enterprises as a sister to WTAD 930 AM. When Lee-owned KHQA-TV signed on in 1953, it did so from WTAD-FM's tower,[2] standing 804 feet (245 m) above the surrounding flat terrain.[3]

When New York's WBAI—also on 99.5—was sabotaged and fell off air in 1967, it borrowed a crystal from WTAD-FM in order to resume operation.[4] WTAD-FM became WQCY on December 30, 1974.[1]

Lee exited the Hannibal-Quincy market in 1986, selling KHQA-TV to Benedek Broadcasting and WTAD-WQCY radio for $1.1 million to Noble Broadcast Corporation,[5] which operated as Eastern Broadcasting. The group was purchased three years later (later known as Tele-Media Broadcasting).[6][7][8] In 1997, Tele-Media was purchased by Citadel,[8][9] Citadel sold its Quincy cluster the next year to STARadio Corporation.[10] In 1999, the hot AC format and WQCY call letters moved to 103.9 FM, formerly WMOS;[11] programming consultant Keith Bansemer flipped the station's format to country using the "Coyote Country" slogan.

See also
  • List of media outlets in Quincy, Illinois

References
  1. FCC History Cards for WTAD-FM
  2. "Hannibal-Quincy Television Station Test Signals Come In Clearly Here". Macon Chronicle-Herald. August 27, 1953. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  3. "First Program From KHQA-TV On Air Today". The Daily Times. September 21, 1953. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  4. Buck, Jerry (September 15, 1967). "Radio Station Back On Air After Apparent Sabotage". Associated Press. Retrieved July 25, 2019 – via Clarion-Ledger.
  5. "AM-FM Combos" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 9, 1987. p. 84. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  6. "Groups" (PDF). Broadcasting. February 13, 1989. p. 46. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  7. ""TMZ Broadcasting Company has acquired the stock of Eastern Broadcasting Corporation" (PDF). Broadcasting. May 15, 1989. p. 62. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  8. https://www.nasdaq.com/markets/ipos/filing.ashx?filingid=1061655 Citadel Communications Corp (Form: 424B4, Received: 07/01/1998 13:23:18], Nasdaq, July 7, 1998. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
  9. "{{cite news|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1997/RR-1997-04-04.pdf%7Ctitle=Citadel Sitting Pretty With Tele-Media Buy|work=Radio & Records|date=April 4, 1997|page=6|accessdate=July 25, 2019
  10. ""Elsewhere" (PDF). The M Street Journal. July 1, 1998. p. 9. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  11. "Call Letter Changes" (PDF). M Street Journal. June 23, 1999. p. 5. Retrieved July 25, 2019.


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