Update 8/4: EMF is paying $9.5 million for 1290 WCCC and 106.9 WCCC-FM. Included in the deal is a network operating agreement where EMF will pay Marlin Broadcasting $86,000 per month through October 1, 2015 and $60,000 per month afterwards to air the “K-Love” programming on the pair of stations until the sale closes.
As with all EMF purchases, they have applied to convert the stations to non-commercial status and applied for a main studio waiver to operate the stations remotely.
Update 8/1: WCCC-FM ended its Rock era at 5pm following an afternoon of farewells including appearances from many former employees including Howard Stern. It and sister Classical 1290 WCCC West Hartford then shifted to EMF’s Christian AC “K-Love” network.
Listen to the final minutes of WCCC-FM at FormatChange.com.
Update 5:30pm: Program Director Mike Karolyi will host a five hour retrospective on Friday from 12pm to 5pm that will feature an appearance from former WCCC morning host Howard Stern. A then 25 year-old Stern hosted mornings at the station in 1979 and later brought his syndicated show to the station. Karolyi has been with the station for over 30 years.
Original Report 7/31 12:20am: A sale and format change are imminent at Marlin Broadcasting Classic Rock “Rock 106.9” WCCC-FM Hartford.
The Hartford Courant reports that the WCCC staff were informed on Wednesday that they were out of a job as the station was being sold to a “not-for-profit organization that operates radio networks specializing in adult contemporary Christian music.”
Word is EMF Broadcasting will be acquiring the station to add it to its Christian AC “K-Love” network. Outgoing morning host Jay Raven tweeted tonight that the airstaff would make their final appearances on Friday, August 1 prior to the format’s end at 5pm.
Friday @The_Rock_WCCC @JayRaven @SinnaminWCCC @WCCCKarolyi @KlonkWCCC rides 1 more time 4 the last time..
— Jay Raven (@JayRaven) July 31, 2014
WCCC-FM shifted from Active Rock to Classic Rock in March 2013 in a move that led to numerous listener protests. Despite those protests, the station has risen from the low 3 shares it registered in early 2013 to a 4.8 in the May 2014 Nielsen Audio PPM ratings. WCCC-FM gained additional competition earlier this month when Classic Hits 102.9 WDRC-FM shifted to Classic Rock.
No word yet on the status of sister Classical 1290 WCCC West Hartford.
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Kind of shocking!!! WCCC has been a Rock station in one form or another since the summer of 1975. Priot to that…It was Top 40…Sad…
Read this for some more insight and further enlightenment:
http://journeyofafrontman.com/2013/03/18/corporate-greed-takes-over-a-genuine-radio-station/
Your argument falls flat on two major points…
1) Marlin Broadcasting is far from a corporate group. WCCC-FM and its AM sister station were the only remaining assets of the company.
2) Since the flip to Classic Rock, the station’s ratings nearly doubled. Despite yours and others wishes, the purpose of EVERY COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION is to make money. Active Rock does not bill well across the country and has died out in most markets.
I love humor pieces.
That WAS humor, wasn’t it?
I don’t know but I’m still trying to figure out how:
“We no longer cater to the young “hard rock” fans, and quite frankly, we don’t care if they are upset with our new direction. That’s not what WCCC is anymore.”
is a sugarcoated corporate response. It seemed pretty blunt and to the point if you ask me.
Gee, Hartford had little enough format variety before this. Now they lose their heritage rocker to religious birdfeed from EMF. In a rock-leaning market that’s not particularly religious. What a waste of a nice big signal.
I suppose this may vindicate Connoisseur for destroying WDRC-FM, but that format doesn’t completely fill the void left by the loss of both the old Big D and now the heritage rocker, WCCC.
There’s no upside here for anyone aside from the folks who cashed the check. This one is a real shame.
Fact is WCCC has been bleeding money for the last several years. So a sale wasn’t a big surprise. The only surprise to me was the buyer although I had a heard a rumor a few weeks ago that K-LOVE outbid Connoisseur Media for the station. Supposedly Connoisseur was looking at it before they bought WDRC.
Tomorrow 12PM-5PM Mike Karolyi will be hosting a WCCC Retrospective from 12Noon-5PM. Talking about the history of the station, talking to former DJs, old interviews, etc.
I believe this will be “K-Love”‘s first full-power affiliate in New England.
But it won’t be the last.
I suspect that EMF is already looking at stations in Boston, Providence, Worcester, Portland (Maine), and Cape Cod, especially Boston and Providence.
I did further research, and EMF does have some full-power (for the type of station on a particular frequency) stations in New England, but none of those stations has anywhere near the signal area of WCCC-106.9.
Is that a good thing?
Maybe for EMF, but not for radio in general as it just drives more people to Pandora, satellite and other alternative content.
They should have Howard Stern say goodbye on the air to W-C-C-C!!
EMF is buying big signals everywhere….and why not? They dont pay taxes on “income” (oh donations!) and they have been buying up under performing stations for pennies on the dollar (KHJK near Houston….a rimshot that Cumulus stupidly paid $32 million for just the license….was bought by EMF for a mere $5 million…..hey a Billion here, a Billion there, pretty soon you are talking REAL money!!)
No more classic rock on the FM dial with WCCC gone? WDRC, WPLR or WAQY anyone? We have hip hop, country, top 40 and classic rock and sports talk FM stations in CT. That ‘s about it. On the AM side it is news talk radio, religious talk and ethnic music. No jazz stations or classical music stations are left in the Hartford market either. I think the last commercial jazz station to leave the air was WMLB 1550 AM in West Hartford (with Mort Fega spinning the platters). Now that a full power CCM station is on the air (which most of the rest of the markets in other states already have) we have “religious birdfeed”? I don’t get it.