WGCI-FM
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| City | Chicago |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Chicago market |
| Branding | 107.5 WGCI (stylized as "WGCi" in logo) |
| Slogan | Chicago's Hip-Hop and R&B #1 for Hip-Hop and R&B |
| Frequency | 107.5 FM (MHz) (also on HD Radio) 107.5-HD2 FM:Evolution (EDM) |
| First air date | 1958 |
| Format | Urban Contemporary |
| ERP | 3,700 watts |
| HAAT | 472 meters (1,549 ft) |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 51165 |
| Callsign meaning | Globetrotter Communications, Incorporated (former owners) |
| Owner |
iHeartMedia, Inc. (AMFM Broadcasting Licenses, LLC) |
| Sister stations | WEBG, WGRB, WKSC-FM, WLIT, WVAZ, WVON |
| Webcast | Listen Live (via iHeartRadio) |
| Website | wgci.com |
WGCI-FM (107.5 FM) is an Urban Contemporary radio station that has a city of license of Chicago, under ownership of iHeartMedia, Inc. (formerly known as Clear Channel Communications until September 2014).
WGCI broadcasts with 3700 watts (3.7 kilowatts) at 107.5 megahertz (MHz) from atop the Willis Tower in Downtown Chicago, and has studios located in the Illinois Center complex on Michigan Avenue. Like many Clear Channel-owned urban radio stations, it uses the slogan "#1 for Hip Hop and R&B".
In 2005, WGCI began broadcasting in IBOC digital radio, using the HD Radio system from iBiquity. In 2006 WGCI also won a Marconi Award for Best Radio Station for Hip-Hop and R&B.
As of May 2013, the WGCI was the 7th most listened to radio station in Chicago, with an average of 1.4 million listeners.
107.5 signed on in 1958 with the original call letters WFMQ-FM. In late 1964, the station was purchased by broadcaster Gordon McLendon and its calls were changed to WNUS-FM; it was at that point that 107.5 FM was first paired with 1390 AM, then known as WNUS and programming all-news. It was the last major FM on a shorter downtown Chicago building but was far enough west to avoid most shadowing and interference problems. The current call letters WGCI came from then-owner Globetrotter Communications Inc., who purchased 107.5 FM and its sister station 1390 AM for $4.5 million from Gordon McLendon on February 5, 1975 and made the stations urban contemporary and disco. While that transaction was being finalized, both stations played Maria Muldaur's "Midnight at the Oasis" and "Sweet Georgia Brown," the theme song of the Harlem Globetrotters which was also then owned by Globetrotter Communications, in a continuous loop for six straight hours from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. (CST). The new WGCI slowly took over listenership from WVON, which went to other formats since, although both would be permanently paired up through various ownership from then on. The stations were later purchased by Combined Communications Corporation thru a buyout of Globetrotter Communications. Combined Communications later folded into Gannett Co. Inc.).
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