WTNR (FM)

Last updated
WTNR
Broadcast area Grand Rapids, Michigan
Frequency 107.3 MHz
BrandingThunder 107.3
Programming
Format Country
Affiliations Compass Media Networks
Westwood One
Ownership
Owner
WKLQ, WHTS, WJRW, WLAV-FM, WWSN
History
First air date
 1962 (as WPLB-FM)
Former call signs
WPLB-FM (1962–1989)
WODJ (1989–2004)
WKLQ (2004–2009)
WBBL-FM (2009–2019)
Call sign meaning
ThuNdeR
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 24639
Class B
ERP 50,000 watts
HAAT 150 meters (490 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
 43°01′08″N85°20′56″W / 43.019°N 85.349°W / 43.019; -85.349
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website thunder1073.com

WTNR (107.3 MHz, "Thunder 107.3") is an FM radio station licensed to Greenville, Michigan. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts a country music format targeting Grand Rapids.

Contents

History

The station was first assigned the call sign WPLB-FM in 1962 and was originally licensed to Greenville, Michigan. It was sister station to WPLB (AM) (1060 and later 1380). The station became oldies-formatted on November 15, 1989 and the call sign was changed to WODJ. The WPLB-FM call sign was subsequently moved to 106.3 FM in Lakeview, Michigan (the AM and FM are now known as WGLM).

WODJ

WPLB-FM became WODJ, an oldies station targeting the Grand Rapids market, in 1989, and was an immediate success, reaching number one in the 12+ Arbitron ratings for Grand Rapids the following year. The station's success was built on its visibility at community events, such as the Grand Center Boat Show, which took place at the Grand Center in downtown Grand Rapids. By 2000, however, the station was struggling to make the top ten in 12+ ratings. Oldies 107.3 also featured the syndicated Dick Clark's Rock, Roll & Remember , which aired on Sunday afternoons.

WKLQ

On October 11, 2004, WODJ and the oldies format was replaced by Active rock station WKLQ, which had been replaced by country music station WTNR after 20 years on 94.5 FM. The WODJ calls were most recently used by Citadel Broadcasting on talk-radio station 1490 AM in Whitehall, Michigan which was also replaced by the WKLQ call sign in 2009. The call sign is now held by Mentor Partners of Big Rapids, Michigan, on a construction permit for a new AM station for 1590 kHz.

Shortly before KLQ's move to 107.3, they hired Justice and Jim for mornings. In summer 2005, the duo created controversy when they announced on the air that they were going to drown a dog. The announcement persuaded several listeners to call 911. A day later, they announced that it was only a stunt.

On July 19, 2006, Justice and Jim were fired and replaced by The Opie and Anthony Show .

WKLQ launched Grey & Kluck mornings featuring Grand Rapids market veteran Michael Grey and Warren Kluck on July 17, 2008. Kluck spent three years previously doing morning drive at WRKR-FM in Kalamazoo, MI.

Repeater station WKOQ (92.5 FM) signed on the air on August 15, 2005; the WODJ call sign that was abandoned by WKLQ in 2004 had been parked on this frequency prior to going on the air. It transmitted from the same tower as television station WZZM in Newaygo County, near Grant. The simulcast was terminated on May 1, 2006 when the station became WLAW-FM, "The Outlaw," airing a blend of country music and Southern Rock.

WBBL-FM

On May 28, 2009, WKLQ was replaced with sister station WBBL-FM, which was previously on the AM dial (now WJRW), and WKLQ was made an exclusive web-station. The Grey and Kluck Morning show was pulled off the air. Warren Kluck went to do the Kevin Matthews Morning Show. Michael Grey went on to The Starting Line Up with Bret Bakita on the new WBBL-FM.

Michael Grey left WBBL-FM in May 2011. Ray Bentley, former inside linebacker for the Buffalo Bills has stepped in and the show has been rebranded as "Bakita & Bentley." Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011. [2]

After having a "revolving door" of morning drive hosts, Eric Zane (formerly of "The Free Beer and Hotwings Show") started his own show on April 20, 2016 as a 4-hour general talk show with showtime between 6 A.M. and 10 A.M. Though starting as a 4-hour program, in June 2017, the show dropped its 4th hour in favor of "The Sudden Death Podcast". The show was co-hosted by long-time WBBL-FM Morning producer Julius (or "OJ") until September 29, 2017. Current Producer Ben will fill in as Co-Host. [3] [4]

On January 4, 2019, it was reported that WBBL-FM's program director and entire airstaff had been laid off. Later that evening, the station began simulcasting WTNR's country format, with both stations re-branded as Thunder 94.5 & 107.3. An agreement was made for Bill Simonson's The Huge Show to move to WJRW and WKLQ, which also re-launched as The Ticket. [5] [6] The simulcast was used to transition WTNR's country format to 107.3; WTNR flipped to an adult album alternative format (later reinstating the WKLQ calls) on January 19, 2019. [7]

WTNR

The station changed its call sign to the current WTNR on February 13, 2019.

Related Research Articles

WMAL-FM – branded 105.9 FM WMAL – is a radio station licensed to Woodbridge, Virginia, serving the Washington, D.C. Metro area. WMAL-FM airs a talk radio format and is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located at 4400 Jenifer Street NW in Washington, two blocks from the city's border with Maryland, and the transmitter site is in Falls Church, Virginia, off Lee Highway. WMAL-FM is co-owned with sports radio station WSBN at 630 kHz; the WMAL call sign and talk format originated on that station, and the two stations simulcast from 2011 to 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WMMQ</span> Radio station in East Lansing, Michigan

WMMQ is an American classic rock radio station licensed to East Lansing, Michigan. The station is owned by Townsquare Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WBXX (FM)</span> Radio station in Marshall, Michigan

WBXX is a radio station in Battle Creek, Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFGR</span> Radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan

WFGR is an American radio station serving Grand Rapids, Michigan. It transmits from their facility in Alpine Township. WFGR is owned by Townsquare Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WQKL</span> Radio station in Ann Arbor, Michigan

WQKL, known on the air as ann arbor's 107one, is a commercial radio station in Ann Arbor, Michigan. WQKL is owned by Cumulus Media, airing an adult album alternative/alternative rock radio format. WQKL has its studios at the south area of Ann Arbor near Briarwood Mall, and broadcasts its signal from a 3,000 watt transmitter atop Tower Plaza in the city's downtown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLBY</span> Radio station in Saline, Michigan

WLBY is a broadcast radio station in the United States. Licensed to Saline, Michigan, with offices in nearby Ann Arbor, the station has a talk format and serves surrounding Washtenaw County. WLBY is owned by Cumulus Media along with three other stations based in Ann Arbor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOOD (AM)</span> Radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan

WOOD is a commercial AM radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving West Michigan and owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It has a news/talk radio format and is simulcast on co-owned WOOD-FM in Muskegon at 106.9 MHz. The studios and offices are at 77 Monroe Center in Downtown Grand Rapids. Following a local weekday drive time show, "West Michigan's Morning News", the station carries nationally syndicated talk shows from Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Dave Ramsey, Joe Pags, "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" and "Coast to Coast AM with George Noory". Most hours begin with an update from Fox News Radio.

WLAW is an AM radio station licensed to Whitehall, Michigan. The station is simulcasting sister station WLAW-FM, and is owned by Cumulus Media.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WKLQ (FM)</span> Radio station in Holland, Michigan

WKLQ is an FM radio station licensed to Holland, Michigan. Owned by Cumulus Media, the station broadcasts an adult album alternative format serving the Grand Rapids, Michigan market.

WJRW – branded as The Ticket – is a commercial sports radio station licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan, serving the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. Owned by Cumulus Media, WJRW is the Grand Rapids affiliate for the BetQL Network, CBS Sports Radio, and Fox Sports Radio. The WJRW studios and transmitter both reside in Grand Rapids. In addition to a standard analog transmission, the station also simulcasts over low-power FM translator W291DJ and is available online.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLAV-FM</span> Radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan

WLAV-FM is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock music format in Grand Rapids, Michigan. It is the dominant classic rock-formatted radio station in the market and is generally a top ten performer in the Grand Rapids ratings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WOOD-FM</span> News/talk radio station in Muskegon, Michigan

WOOD-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Muskegon, Michigan, serving West Michigan and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It simulcasts a news/talk radio format with sister station WOOD 1300 AM. The studios and offices are at 77 Monroe Center in Downtown Grand Rapids. Following a local weekday drive time show, "West Michigan's Morning News", the station carries nationally syndicated talk shows from Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Dave Ramsey, Joe Pags, "The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show" and "Coast to Coast AM with George Noory". Most hours begin with an update from Fox News Radio.

WNWZ is a radio station broadcasting an urban contemporary format, licensed to Grand Rapids, Michigan.

WGLM & WGLM-FM are radio stations owned by Packer Radio, owners of radio station WION in nearby Ionia. WGLM is licensed to Greenville and WGLM-FM to Lakeview and broadcasts a full-service mix of music, news and sports. WGLM and WGLM-FM are airing a full-service mix of top-40 music from 1960-2006. The two stations are simulcast full-time. Packer Radio bought the stations from Stafford Broadcasting in October 2008. Stafford owned both stations after acquiring them from Kortes Communications in 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WVIB</span> Radio station in Holton, Michigan

WVIB is a radio station broadcasting an urban adult contemporary format fed via satellite from Westwood One. The station is licensed to Holton, Michigan and serves the Muskegon market. It can be heard as far south as Allendale, Michigan, as far east as Lakeview, Michigan, and as far north as Ludington, Michigan. However, its range is limited by WBCH to the southeast and WSJP-FM to the west.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WILZ</span> Radio station in Michigan, United States

WILZ is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format in Saginaw, Michigan, owned by Cumulus Media. The station is the local affiliate of morning comedy program The Bob and Tom Show, music show Nights with Alice Cooper and Michigan State Spartans football and men's basketball games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWCK (AM)</span> Radio station in Flint, Michigan

WWCK is a commercial AM radio station in Flint, Michigan. It is owned by Cumulus Media and it broadcasts a classic hits radio format. Its studios are south of the Flint city limits and the AM transmitter is east of downtown Flint near the intersection of Dort Highway and I-69. WWCK carries Michigan State Spartans college football and men's basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WRSR</span> Radio station in Owosso, Michigan

WRSR is a radio station broadcasting a classic rock format. Licensed to Owosso, Michigan, it first began broadcasting in 1965 under the WOAP-FM call sign. Its transmitter is located east of Owosso, while its studios are located in Flint Township. It also broadcasts Detroit Lions games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WTVL</span> Radio station in Waterville, Maine, United States

WTVL was a commercial AM radio station licensed to serve Waterville, Maine, and serving Kennebec County. The station was owned by Townsquare Media and until December 31, 2022, it broadcast an adult standards radio format, playing softer hits from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The station featured the music of Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Nat King Cole and Dionne Warwick in its playlist.

WBBL may refer to:

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WTNR". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Eric Zane". www.facebook.com. Archived from the original on 2022-02-26. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  4. ↑ "Eric Zane launches new radio show, explains why he was fired". WOODTV.com. 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2017-09-15.
  5. ↑ "WBBL/Grand Rapids Changes Afoot, Morning Host Says 'Everyone Got Fired Today'". All Access. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  6. ↑ "WBBL Flips To Country As Thunder Returns To Grand Rapids". RadioInsight. 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  7. ↑ "Cumulus Launches The Q 94.5 In Grand Rapids". RadioInsight. 2019-01-19. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.