WCKY-FM
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| City | Pemberville, Ohio |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Toledo metropolitan area |
| Branding | 103-7 'CKY |
| Slogan | Toledo's New Country |
| Frequency | 103.7 MHz |
| First air date | 1963 (as WTTF-FM) |
| Format | Country |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 131 meters |
| Class | B |
| Callsign meaning | BuCKeYe Country |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia, Inc. (Citicasters Licenses, Inc.) |
| Website | 103.7 'CKY |
WCKY-FM (103.7 FM, "103-7 CKY") is a radio station licensed to Pemberville, Ohio, serving the Toledo market. It operates a country music format. From its inception until 2008, the station was licensed to (and originally broadcast from) Tiffin, Ohio. Originally it simulcast and was a sister station to WTTF, now an AM station at 1600 kHz.
WCKY first signed on the air as WTTF-FM in 1963, four years after the premiere of its AM sister. The station was founded by Robert G. Wright and Milton Maltz, who formed Malrite Communications, based in Cleveland, Ohio. The station first broadcast from its AM transmitter site at an effective radiated power of 3,000 watts at the time of its inception.
In the mid-1980s, WTTF-FM was granted a construction permit to operate at an effective radiated power of 50,000 watts making 103.7's signal listenable over much of Northwest Ohio as far west as Defiance, to the east where almost makes to Cleveland, to the south also almost making it to Columbus. WTTF, Inc. built a new tower on County Road 48 to accommodate the larger antenna needed for the upgrade, on the property of its then vice president, Richard J. Wright. After the upgrade, there were few changes in the station's program offerings.
As one of the few high-powered FM radio stations in rural northwest Ohio, the station offered a full-service format of both oldies and adult contemporary music, with high school sports and college sports from Heidelberg College and Tiffin University.
In the late 1970s, Wright sold his interest in Malrite to his partner. The transaction resulted in the split of WTTF-AM-FM from Malrite and operated as a separate entity under Wright's management. Wright died of lung cancer in the early 1980s.
His younger son Richard, who served as the station's engineer, ascended to the position of General Manager. Wright's other son Robert (who answered to his middle name Ed until his father's death, then took the nickname "Bob") E. Wright, continued in his capacity as Program Director.
WTTF prided itself on community service and had a full contingency of live on-air personnel at a time when most stations were automating. Music was delivered almost exclusively on records and the station had an extensive record library encompassing adult contemporary, country and some rock and roll. There was a special Saturday oldies programming, on vinyl records supplied by the station and by the disc jockeys.
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Wikipedia