WICL

WICL (95.9 FM) is a Country formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Williamsport, Maryland, serving the Hagerstown/Martinsburg area. WICL is owned and operated by John and David Raese, through licensee West Virginia Radio Corporation of the Alleghenies.

WICL
CityWilliamsport, Maryland
Broadcast areaHagerstown, Maryland
Martinsburg, West Virginia
Branding"95-9 The Big Dawg"
Slogan"The Big Dawg in Country!"
Frequency95.9 FM MHz
First air date1972
FormatCountry
Power3,300 Watts
HAAT91 meters (299 ft)
ClassA
Facility ID50058
Transmitter coordinates39°36′18.0″N 77°46′49.0″W
Call sign meaningW I CooL
former branding
Former call signsWYII (1972-2000)
WLTF (2000-2001)
WKMZ (2001-2005)
OwnerWest Virginia Radio Corporation
(West Virginia Radio Corporation of the Alleghenies)
Sister stationsWEPM, WLTF
WebcastWICL Webstream
WebsiteWICL Online

History
Logo used from May 2009 to July 2012.

The station was started as WYII, a Country station, by Ken Smith in 1972. It operated this way until 2000, when it was bought by Prettyman Broadcasting Company. Also in 2000, it became Adult Contemporary formatted WLTF (which is now on 97.5).

In 2001, WLTF moved to 97.5 and then classic rocker WKMZ moved to 95.9. In 2005, WKMZ dropped its classic rock format for Oldies and picked up the WICL calls. WICL dropped all on-air talent in 2008, airing programming directly from the True Oldies Channel network from ABC Radio.[1] On July 4, 2012, WICL switched formats from Oldies to Classic Hits under the branding "95.9 The Greatest Hits Of All Time".

On September 24, 2012, WICL switched from Classic Hits to Classic Country, a format previously abandoned by WNUZ (then WPPT) earlier in 2012, changing their branding to simply "95-9". On September 28, 2012, the station rebranded as "95-9 The Big Dawg" and morphed into a Country music format playing both classic and new country music.

Location

While the station is licensed to Williamsport, Maryland, the studios for WICL are located in Martinsburg, West Virginia and the tower is located just south of Hagerstown, Maryland.

Sale

On October 31, 2014, Prettyman Broadcasting announced the sale of WICL to West Virginia Radio Corporation (WVRC) for an unknown sum.[2] Included in the same are sister stations WEPM and WLTF.[2] WVRC assumed control of the stations, through a Local marketing agreement, on November 1.[2] The purchase was consummated on February 13, 2015, at a price of $3 million.

References
  1. "Radio Stations". Scott Shannon's True Oldies Channel. Archived from the original on July 28, 2008. Retrieved December 19, 2008.
  2. Venta, Lance (October 30, 2014). "West Virginia Radio Corporation Expands Into Martinsburg/Hagerstown/". Radio Insight. Retrieved October 30, 2014.


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