WGGC

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WGGC
Broadcast areaBowling Green
and surrounding areas
Frequency95.1 MHz
BrandingGoober 95.1
Programming
FormatCountry
AffiliationsUK Sports Network[1]
Westwood One
Ownership
Owner
  • Skytower Communications[2]
  • (Heritage Communications, Inc.)
WLCK, WQXE, WULF, WVLE
History
First air date
June 23, 1961; 62 years ago (1961-06-23)[3][4]
Former call signs
WPRX (1989-1993)
Call sign meaning
W Glasgow's Guy Comer[5]
or
We're the Giant Goober of Country
Technical information
Facility ID27007
ClassC0
Power100,000 watts
HAAT967 feet (295 m)
Transmitter coordinates
36°54′43″N 86°11′21″W / 36.91194°N 86.18917°W / 36.91194; -86.18917
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewggc.com

WGGC (95.1 FM) is a country music–formatted radio station licensed to and serving Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. The station is owned by Skytower Communications.[2][6] Its transmitter is located in northern Allen County on Kentucky Route 101 near the Warren/Allen County line. Its broadcasting studio is located at 1727 US 31W Bypass in Bowling Green.[7]

History[edit]

The early years in Glasgow[edit]

The station's application history dates back to 1959–60, when the call letters were going to be WKAY-FM to match with WKAY-AM, but the WGGC call letters were assigned by the FCC in July 1960.[8] Originally licensed to and located in Glasgow, Kentucky, the station first signed on the air on June 23, 1961, under ownership of Glasgow Broadcasting Company (now Heritage Communications, Inc.), which also owned WKAY-AM radio (now WCLU). At the time of its inception, WGGC was the first FM radio station ever to sign on in south central Kentucky as all other FM signals came from either Nashville, Louisville, Central City, or Owensboro. Both WGGC and WKAY shared studios at 510 Happy Valley Road (Kentucky Route 351, now Kentucky Route 90) in Glasgow; that facility was demolished in November 2014 to make room for a new drug store.[4] Clovis and Moena Sadler, who were managing WKAY for several years, purchased WGGC and WKAY in 1971.[5]: 141  During the first two decades of WGGC's existence, the station began as an almost-full-time simulcast of WKAY until the late 1960s.

Formats over the years[edit]

Shortly before 1970, the station was broadcasting a religious format,[9] and later a gospel music format, and eventually began broadcasting their country music format by 1975,[10] thereby becoming one of the first country music stations on the FM dial in southern Kentucky.[5]: 141 

Signal upgrade and new transmitter site[edit]

By 1985, WGGC's signal was upgraded to operate with 100,000 watts of effective radiated power.[5]: 141  In 1988, the station's origination was moved to its present transmitting site in Allen County.[4] At one point in 1989, the station's callsign was changed to WPRX,[11][12] but reverted to the WGGC callsign sometime in 1992, and until 2002, it was known on air as "Country 95."

Changes of ownership[edit]

From 1988 through the mid-1990s, both WGGC and WCLU were under ownership of Royse Radio, Inc. While the ownership of both WCLU and WCLU-FM remained in the hands of Royse Radio, WGGC was sold to Heritage Communications in October 1997.[3] In 2000, WGGC began audio streaming their signal over the internet through its website.[13]

Relocation to Bowling Green[edit]

In 2002, WGGC moved its broadcasting license to Bowling Green, where the station's current broadcast facilities are currently located. From 2002 until 2010, the station was branded as "95.1 WGGC." It began branding itself as "Dolby Digital 95.1" in late 2010 before using its current "Goober 95.1" branding.

Community service[edit]

WGGC has often been involved in community service; most recently in June 2014, when the station, in conjunction with the southern Kentucky chapter of United Way, hosted a radio-thon to raise money for country music superstar Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.[14] It became an annual event beginning in 2015. On February 4, 2020, WGGC was awarded the United Way Media Partner Advocacy Award, for its "United Way Wednesdays" segments in 2019, on Big Rick In The Morning.

December 2021 tornado[edit]

In the wee hours of December 11, 2021, WGGC was one of a handful of local radio and television outlets in Bowling Green that were knocked off the air due to an EF3 tornado that impacted portions of the city. WGGC's studio was within the path of the tornado when it struck the corridor along the U.S. 31W Bypass near downtown Bowling Green; it produced substantial damage at and around the studio and offices. The station returned to the air several days later following the efforts to clean the damage at the studio.[15]

Programming and format[edit]

WGGC broadcasts a country music format, therefore competing with three other country formatted stations in the same market: WBVR-FM 96.7, Cave City-licensed WHHT 103.7, and Glasgow-based WLYE-FM 94.1 for ratings. WGGC also competes with out-of-market country stations like WSM-AM, WSM-FM, WKDF and WSIX-FM in Nashville, along with WBKR in Owensboro for the allegiances of the local listener due to Bowling Green's close proximity to both nearby cities. In fact, both cities can pick up at least Grade B coverage of the station thanks to WGGC's 100,000 watts of power and its tower height of 967 feet (295 m), thereby covering many areas in west-central Kentucky, northern middle Tennessee, and a small sliver of southern Indiana.[16]

WGGC hosts include: Krysta;[17] and Greg Almond.[18] Syndicated shows from Westwood One include The Big Time with Whitney Allen and The Lia Show.[19]

In addition to country music, WGGC has also been the area's longtime home for Kentucky Wildcats football and men's basketball games from the UK Sports Network by JMI Sports.[1]

Nominations and awards[edit]

In 2020, former morning host "Big Rick" Daniels was nominated for the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards for On-Air Personality of the Year – Small Market.,[20] and for the 54th Country Music Association Awards for Small Market Personality of the Year.[21]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "UK Sports Network". JMI Sports. Kentucky Wildcats. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Commercial Broadcast Stations Biennial Ownership Report (FCC Form 323)". Skytower Communications. Federal Communications Commission. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  3. ^ a b 2010 Broadcasting Yearbook, page D-237
  4. ^ a b c Overstreet, Melinda J. (November 21, 2014). "Ely Drugs plans new location, will take over spot where radio stations once were". Glasgow Daily Times. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d Nash, Francis M. (1995). Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and TV in the Bluegrass State. Host Communications Incorporated. ISBN 9781879688933.
  6. ^ "WGGC Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  7. ^ "Contactus". Archived from the original on 2015-07-21. Retrieved 2015-05-28.
  8. ^ "BC-1960-08-01-OCR-Page-0096" (PDF). americanradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  9. ^ "B-Radio-All-1974" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  10. ^ Elving, Bruce F. (1976). "FM Atlas, Fourth Edition, page 61" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  11. ^ "BC-1989-06-19-OCR" (PDF). worldradiohistory.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  12. ^ "WGGC". fcc.gov. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  13. ^ Overstreet, Melinda J. (March 5, 2000). "Sound Bytes". Park City Daily News. pp. 1A, 2A – via Google Books.
  14. ^ "Hometown Hero Goober 951 WGGC 264954941". wbko.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  15. ^ "Country radio responds to weekend tornadoes". Inside Radio. December 13, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  16. ^ "Advertising". wggc.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  17. ^ "Krysta with a K - Goober 95.1 WGGC". wggc.com.
  18. ^ "Greg Almond - Afternoons on Goober 95.1 WGGC". wggc.com.
  19. ^ "WGGC-FM | Goober 95.1 THE Country Station Bowling Green, KY - Local News, Weather, UK Basketball, Country Music". WGGC-FM | Goober 95.1 Bowling Green, KY.
  20. ^ "Academy of Country Music | ACM Radio Awards". www.acmcountry.com.
  21. ^ "CMA Announces Dean Dillon, Marty Stuart and Hank Williams Jr. As the Country Music Hall of Fame Class of 2020". September 2020.

External links[edit]

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