Clear Channel has dismantled the Classic Hits simulcast at 1350 WCHI/92.7 W224BR Chillicothe OH.
The AM side has become “Comedy 1350“, a move that was telegraphed in August by the station’s inclusion on a list of pending affiliates of the 24/7 Comedy Network.
The 92.7 translator will now simulcast sister News/Talk 1490 WBEX, bringing its programming to FM for the first time.
The former format was duplicated on AM on a Clear Channel station in an adjacent community and on FM from Columbus, so the market is not losing oldies radio.
The inherent irony is that the current oldies outlet in Columbus – WODC/93.3 Ashville – was originally the FM sister station to WCHI as WFCB/94.3. They swapped dial positions with WKKJ-FM one year before the 93.3 FM signal was moved to the Columbus market.
Incidentally, WODC is already in all-Christmas mode, a programming distinction they’ve held onto for years. And the other nearby classic hits AM – WCHO/1250 Washington Court House, long a sister/duplicator of WCHI – will flip to all-Christmas on Thanksgiving weekend.