WGER
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| City | Saginaw, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Saginaw-Bay City-Midland |
| Branding | Mix 106.3 |
| Slogan | Today's Best Hits |
| Frequency | 106.3 MHz |
| First air date | September 1969 (106.3 transmitter) November 12, 1961 (intellectual property, at 102.5) |
| Format | Adult Top 40 |
| ERP | 4,400 watts |
| HAAT | 116 meters |
| Class | A |
| Facility ID | 20384 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 43°28′36″N 83°57′6″W / 43.47667°N 83.95167°W |
| Callsign meaning | James Gerity (original owner) |
| Former callsigns |
Transmitter: WSBM (9/69-mid-1970s) Intellectual property at 102.5: WNEM-FM (11/12/61 - 2/19/69) WGER (2/19/69 - 9/86) |
| Former frequencies | 102.5 MHz (1961-1986) |
| Owner |
Alpha Media (Alpha Media Licensee LLC) |
| Sister stations | WCEN-FM, WSGW, WSGW-FM, WTLZ |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | mix1063fm.com |
WGER (106.3 FM, "Mix 106.3") is a radio station licensed to Saginaw, Michigan broadcasting an adult top 40 format. The station broadcasts from a transmitter southeast of I-675 Exit 6 (Tittabawassee Road) in Carrollton Township in Saginaw County.
Established by James Gerity, a professional violinist who acquired WNEM-TV in 1961, WGER began broadcasting later that year at 102.5 MHz under the WNEM-FM calls and featured a Beautiful Music format for the first couple decades of its existence. The call letters were changed to WGER after Gerity sold the TV station in 1969. WGER's beautiful music format, programmed by TM Programming, achieved high ratings in adult demographics in both the Tri-Cities and Flint markets thanks to its 86,000-watt signal licensed to Bay City. At one point, in 1971, Arbitron research showed that WGER was the second highest-rated radio station in the nation. During this time, Gerity owned several other stations across Michigan, including WABJ and WQTE in Adrian and WPON in Pontiac.
In 1986, Gerity's estate sold WGER to the owner of CHR-formatted WIOG, licensed to Saginaw at 106.3 which was sold to F-B Communications, a company headed by Jack Fitzgerald, who also served as what would become the new WGER 106.3's general manager. In the mid-1980s, the local radio scene was undergoing some major changes, with the Saginaw radio market being enlarged to include Bay and Midland Counties as well as Saginaw County and becoming the Saginaw-Bay City-Midland radio market and with Pinconning-based WFXZ "Foxy 101" entering the CHR fray as a direct competitor to WIOG. As a result, WGER and WIOG swapped frequencies that summer, with WGER moving its easy listening format to 106.3. WGER evolved from easy listening to mainstream AC on 106.3 and eventually took the name "Soft Rock 106.3" by the late 1980s before adopting the moniker "Magic 106.3".
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Wikipedia