RadioInsight - Could WCKG Be Rocking?

We’ve previously discussed the rumored changes coming to CBS FM Talker 105.9 WCKG in Chicago. Unlike the previous domains, CBS Radio itself has registered a pair of domains related to past rock stations in the market:

1059wmet.com – 95.5 WMET was Metromedia’s AOR in Chicago from 1976 until 1986, much like then sisters WMMS Cleveland, WMMR Philadelphia, KMET Los Angeles, and WNEW New York. The WMET calls are currently located at 1160 in Gaithersburg, MD, but attaching an -FM suffix is feasible.

1059theblaze.com – WWBZ, 103.5 The Blaze was a short-lived Rocker from its launch in April 1991 until its sale to Evergreen Media in 1994 when it was relaunched as WRCX “Rock 103.5”

What both stations had in common was their primary competitor: 97.9 The Loop. In its present incarnation, WLUP is the market’s Classic Rock station and shares the bulk of the Rock audience with its Emmis sister Alternative WKQX “Q101“.

We’re not sure what to make of these registrations. Could be a red herring or a hint of a future Rock format at WCKG much like its former Free-FM brethren in New York and Philadelphia.