WGTO (910 AM), branded as "97.1 & 96.7 & 910 MeTV FM", is a radio station broadcasting a soft oldies format. It is licensed to Cassopolis, Michigan and is under ownership of Langford Broadcasting. Much of the programming comes from MeTV FM.

WGTO
Broadcast areaMichiana
Frequency910 kHz
Branding97.1 FM / 96.7 FM / 910 AM MeTV FM
Programming
FormatSoft oldies
Affiliations
Ownership
Owner
  • Larry Langford
  • (Langford Broadcast)
History
First air date
1987 (as WLLJ)
Former call signs
WLLJ (1986–1995)
Call sign meaning
"Good Time Oldies"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID36612
ClassD
Power
  • 1,000 watts day
  • 35 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
41°57′14.17″N 86°0′59.03″W / 41.9539361°N 86.0163972°W / 41.9539361; -86.0163972
Translator(s)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen live
Websitewww.971.fm

History

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WGTO was designed and built by longtime Chicago radio personality Larry Langford in 1987 as WLLJ and originally featured an urban contemporary format. WGTO was the last station to be built under the AM daytime rules of the Federal Communications Commission. After the construction permit for this station was authorized in 1986 no further applications were accepted for stations wanting to operate daytime only. WGTO uses two towers in a directional pattern. The station now operates with 35 watts of nighttime power.

In 2007, Langford purchased a competing radio station in the same county and now became the owner of both WGTO and WDOW, which has since gone silent to allow a station in Kalamazoo to broadcast on its frequency.

On October 30, 2009, WGTO began broadcasting on 101.1 FM (translator W266BS licensed to Cassopolis, Michigan) as "Classic Hits 101". They continue to broadcast their AM signal as well. In June 2016, the FM translator moved to a new frequency of 96.3 MHz with call sign W242CN. The new translator broadcasts with an ERP of 250 watts, the maximum allowed for translators, and extends WGTO's FM coverage from the immediate Cassopolis/Dowagiac area to include a larger portion of southwestern Michigan as well as the Elkhart, Indiana, area. Effective January 25, 2018, the translator moved to 96.7 MHz, as W244DS. The translator was moved in fall of 2018 to 97.1 with tower located to provide local coverage of South Bend Indiana and Niles Michigan. The South Bend location gives Larry Langford a second South Bend opportunity as he was the original owner and founder of WUBU in South Bend known as Mix 106. He transferred those call letters from Portage, Michigan, where he owned WUBU (96.5 FM), before bringing in partner Abe Thompson and moving WUBU to South Bend. Kool FM now resides on a tower owned by Federated Media.

On July 4, 2020, the station was changed over to the MeTV FM radio format from Weigel Broadcasting; the station is cross-promoted on Weigel's three area television stations, including WBND-LD2, an owned-and-operated MeTV station. The shift was made in an effort to differentiate its playlist from higher-rated classic hits stations while still maintaining a familiar format to the station's loyal listeners, along with bringing a station with a cult following from the area's Chicago area commuters into the South Bend market.[2]

 
Logo before 96.7 translator sign on

Since the summer of 2021 WGTO has also been heard on a second translator, W248AP (97.5 FM) in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Translators

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Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info
W244EO 96.7 FM Dowagiac, Michigan 152865 250 51.8 m (170 ft) D 41°57′14.17″N 86°0′59.03″W / 41.9539361°N 86.0163972°W / 41.9539361; -86.0163972 (W244EO) LMS
W246DV 97.1 FM South Bend, Indiana 89020 250 0 m (0 ft) D 41°44′16.2″N 86°15′10″W / 41.737833°N 86.25278°W / 41.737833; -86.25278 (W246DV) LMS
W248AP 97.5 FM Valparaiso, Indiana 143899 250 0 m (0 ft) D 41°31′22″N 87°1′28″W / 41.52278°N 87.02444°W / 41.52278; -87.02444 (W248AP) LMS

References

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  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WGTO". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "WGTO/South Bend Adds Sun Broadcast Group's MeTV-FM".
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