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WCMI
Ashland, Kentucky;
Broadcast area	Huntington, West Virginia
Frequency	1340 kHz
Branding	Cat Sports 93.3FM - 1340AM
Programming
Format	Sports
Affiliations	UK Sports Network; Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network; Cleveland Cavaliers Radio Network; ESPN Radio
Ownership
Owner	Kindred Communications; (Fifth Avenue Broadcasting Company, Inc.);
Sister stations	WCMI-FM, WDGG, WMGA, WRVC, WXBW
History
First air date	1935 (at 1310)
Former frequencies	1310 kHz (1935–1941)
Call sign meaning	Where Coal Meets Iron
Technical information
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	21588
Class	C
Power	1,000 watts
Translator(s)	93.3 W227CI (Catlettsburg, Kentucky)
Links
Public license information	Public file; LMS;
Webcast	Listen Live
Website	catsports933.com

WCMI (1340 kHz) is an ESPN Radio–affiliated station licensed to Ashland, Kentucky, United States, and serving Huntington, West Virginia and the greater Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area. The station is owned by Huntington–based Kindred Communications as part of a conglomerate with Huntington–licensed ESPN Radio–affiliated sports station WRVC (930 AM), Catlettsburg, Kentucky–licensed active rock station WCMI-FM (92.7 FM), Ashland–licensed country music station WDGG, Kenova, West Virginia–licensed adult contemporary station WMGA (97.9 FM), and Gallipolis, Ohio–licensed classic country station WXBW (101.5 FM). All six stations share studios on Fifth Avenue in downtown Huntington, while its transmitter facilities off of US 52 across the Ohio River from Ashland in Perry Township, Lawrence County, Ohio.

In addition to its primary AM signal, WCMI also operates an FM translator on 99.3 FM as W227CI. Licensed to Catlettsburg, Kentucky, the translator broadcasts from the same transmitter as the AM signal.

History

The station changed its call letters from WMFP on February 26, 1935.^[2] It broadcast at 1310 kcs, with 100 watts.^[3] That year, out-of-town football games of Ashland High School were sponsored on WCMI by the Boyd County Democratic Campaign Committee. Permission was granted in July 1936 to increase daytime wattage to 250. In mid-1939, the station was sold to J. Lindsay Nunn and Gilmore N. Nunn, father and son, by B. F. Forgey and J. T. Norris,^[4] and became affiliated with the Mutual Broadcasting System on September 24.^[5] The station was reassigned to 1340 kcs on March 29, 1941, by the Federal Communications Commission under the Havana Treaty.

On June 15, 1945, WCMI switched affiliations from Mutual to CBS, an event highlighted by a day's celebration, including a downtown parade in Huntington and a dedicatory program on which heads of the three city governments served by the station — Ashland, Huntington and Ironton, Ohio— appeared. The three city mayors simultaneously proclaimed the week June 15–22 as "CBS Week". A month-long promotion campaign leading to the network affiliation included front-page newspaper ads and stories, sales letters to agencies and billboards and car cards in the three cities.^[6] Among the staff members at the time were Clay Dopp, Louis Lageman, Whitney Richard (Dick) Martin and women's director Sara Fisher.^[7]

In August 1953, the FCC approved the sale of the station by the Nunns to Great Trails Broadcasting for $140,000. Great Trails was controlled by Charles W. Sawyer, ex-U.S. Commerce Secretary, which also took over WCMI's application for a television station to broadcast on Channel 13 from Huntington,^[8] which was withdrawn in March 1954.^[9] The station was sold again on June 20, 1956, to Edwina Broadcasting Corp., owned by George H. Clinton, for $165,000,^[10] and then to WCMI Radio Inc., owned by Frederic Gregg Jr., in October 1958 for $69,285.^[11] WCMI dropped its CBS affiliation in February 1958, resuming it on February 29, 1960.

The station changed hands in December 1959, sold to WOMP, Inc., run by Donald J. Horton and G.D. Kincaid, for $163,000.^[12] By June 1962, the station increased its power from 250 to 1,000 watts during the daytime.

In 2007, WCMI aired a progressive talk radio format under the branding Progressive Talk 1340.^[13] Prior to 2016, WCMI simulcast the sports format on WRVC. On September 6, 2016, WCMI split from the simulcasting and launched its own unique sports format as Cat Sports 93.3, focusing on Kentucky Wildcats athletics.^[14]

Programming

WCMI primarily airs programs from ESPN Radio.^[15] The station also airs two daily programs focusing on Kentucky Wildcats athletics—Kentucky Sports Radio and The Leach Report—that originates from WLAP in Lexington, Kentucky.^[16]

WCMI maintains affiliations with several regional sports teams. The station airs Kentucky Wildcats college sports via the UK Sports Network and Cincinnati Bengals NFL games through the Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network.^[17]^[18]

References

^ "Facility Technical Data for WCMI". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
^ FCC History Cards for WCMI
^ Broadcasting, June 15, 1935.
^ Variety, March 8, 1939.
^ Motion Picture Daily, Aug. 18, 1939
^ Broadcasting, June 25, 1945.
^ Radio Annual, 1946.
^ Television Digest, Aug. 22, 1953.
^ Broadcasting, Aug. 9, 1954.
^ Broadcasting, July 2, 1956.
^ Broadcasting, Nov. 3, 1958.
^ Broadcasting, Dec. 28, 1959.
^ "WCMI Adds 'Washington Monthly On The Radio'". All Access. 19 June 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ "WCMI Launches Cat Sports 93.3". RadioInsight. 6 September 2016. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ "On Air Schedule". WCMI. Kindred Communications. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ "Kentucky Sports Radio". WCMI. Kindred Communications. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ "UK Sports Network". UK Sports Network. Kentucky Wildcats. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
^ "Bengals Radio". Cincinnati Bengals Radio Network. Cincinnati Bengals/NFL. Retrieved 31 December 2022.