WWEG

WWEG
Broadcast areaHagerstown metropolitan area and Frederick County, Maryland
Frequency106.9 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding106.9 The Eagle
Programming
FormatClassic hits
Subchannels
Ownership
OwnerManning Broadcasting, Inc.
History
First air date
1954; 71 years ago (1954)
Former call signs
  • WARK-FM (1954–1976)
  • WWCS (1976–1982)
  • WXCS (1982–1985)
  • WARX (1985–2005)
Call sign meaning
"Eagle"
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID39806
ClassB
ERP
  • 15,500 watts (analog)
  • 620 watts (digital)[2]
HAAT260 meters (850 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
39°29′57.4″N 77°36′41.0″W / 39.499278°N 77.611389°W / 39.499278; -77.611389 (WWEG)
Translator(s)See tables below
Links
Public license information
Webcast
Website

WWEG (106.9 FM, "106.9 The Eagle") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve Myersville, Maryland. The station is owned by Manning Broadcasting, Inc. and broadcasts a classic hits format.

The station's broadcast tower is located west of Myersville at (39°29′57.4″N 77°36′40.9″W / 39.499278°N 77.611361°W / 39.499278; -77.611361).[3] The station's service contour covers portions of the "Four-State Region" of western Maryland, South Central Pennsylvania, eastern West Virginia and northern Virginia.[4]

WWEG uses HD Radio and broadcasts a Christian adult contemporary format on its HD2 subchannel, branded as "Life FM", which is simulcast on translators W232DG in Frederick, Maryland and W271BV in Hagerstown, Maryland. The station also broadcasts a classic country format on its HD3 subchannel, branded as "93.5 & 100.5 Max Country", which is simulcast on translators W228AM in Frederick, Maryland, and W263CR in Halfway, Maryland. The HD4 subchannel is a simulcast of talk formatted WARK AM.

History

The station signed on for the first time in 1954, with the WARK-FM call sign. In 1976, the call sign was changed to WWCS, standing for "Country Sunshine", an automated country format it ran at the time.[5] In a market dominated with country stations (WYII & WAYZ), WWCS struggled in the ratings even though it had the most powerful broadcast signal.

On October 6, 1982, WWCS became WXCS, dropping its country music format for album-oriented rock using the branding "107 X Marks The Rock". 107 X was a hit immediately, although its popularity waned as the "AOR" format struggled in the 80's.

On March 1, 1985, the call sign was changed to WARX, the AOR format was switched to soft adult contemporary and the station rebranded as "Magic 106.9".

In February 1992, the station switched to an oldies format with a branding change to "Oldies 106.9".

On December 30, 2004, previous owner Manning Broadcasting sold WARK and WARX to Nassau Broadcasting, who took control immediately via a local marketing agreement.[6] On February 27, 2005, Nassau flipped to classic hits with the branding "106.9 The Eagle". Later the same day, nearby Waynesboro, Pennsylvania-based WWMD (now WBHB-FM) switched from Top 40 to classic rock with the WEEG call sign and a similar branding of "Eagle 101.5".[7] After a brief time of dueling "Eagle"s, WEEG ceded the branding the following week and flipped to "Classic Rock 101.5" with the callsign WFYN.[8][9]

In 2008, the city of license was changed to Myersville, Maryland.

After Nassau went into chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, WWEG and WARK, along with WAFY in Frederick, were re-purchased by Manning Broadcasting in May 2012,[10] with the sale being completed on November 1, 2012, at a price of $6.4 million.[11] Manning's repurchase of WWEG and WARK followed a lawsuit against Nassau over missed payments.[12]

Translators

The following three translators simulcast the programming of WWEG-HD2 or HD3:

Call sign Frequency City of license FID ERP (W) HAAT Class Transmitter coordinates FCC info Notes
W228AM 93.5 FM Frederick, Maryland 20687 150 169 m (554 ft) D 39°25′5.4″N 77°30′2.0″W / 39.418167°N 77.500556°W / 39.418167; -77.500556 (W228AM) LMS Simulcasts HD3
W232DG 94.3 FM Frederick, Maryland 139260 117 24 m (79 ft) D 39°29′38″N 77°29′55.0″W / 39.49389°N 77.498611°W / 39.49389; -77.498611 (W232DG) LMS Simulcasts HD2
W263CR 100.5 FM Halfway, Maryland 141628 250 68 m (223 ft) D 39°37′36.4″N 77°42′38.0″W / 39.626778°N 77.710556°W / 39.626778; -77.710556 (W263CR) LMS Simulcasts HD3
W271BV 102.1 FM Hagerstown, Maryland 155478 250 72 m (236 ft) D 39°37′36.4″N 77°42′38.0″W / 39.626778°N 77.710556°W / 39.626778; -77.710556 (W271BV) LMS Simulcasts HD2

References

  1. ^ "Facility Technical Data for WWEG". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^ "FCC 335-FM Digital Notification [WWEG]". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. April 13, 2015. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  3. ^ "FM Query Results for WWEG". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  4. ^ "54 dBu Service Contour for WWEG, Myersville, MD, 106.9 MHz". fcc.gov. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
  5. ^ "Call letters" (PDF). Broadcasting. June 14, 1976. p. 62.
  6. ^ CDBS File No. BAL - 20041230ABT. "CDBS Print". licensing.fcc.gov.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Hughes, Dave (February 27, 2005). "Two Eagles Land In Hagerstown". DCRTV. Archived from the original on March 1, 2005.
  8. ^ Hughes, Dave (March 14, 2005). "WEEG Becomes WFYN". DCRTV. Archived from the original on March 22, 2005.
  9. ^ Fybush, Scott (March 14, 2005). "["And there are new calls (again) for the former WWMD..."]". Northeast Radio Watch. Archived from the original on March 23, 2005.
  10. ^ Aines, Don (May 9, 2012). "Two area radio stations return to local owners". The Herald-Mail. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  11. ^ "EMF Buys Dallas-Fort Worth FM From Liberman". All Access. November 5, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  12. ^ "Manning Broadcasting Sues Nassau Principal Over Unpaid Note, Contract Amounts". All Access. January 23, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.