WJKR

WJKR (103.9 MHz) is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Worthington, Ohio, and serving the Columbus metropolitan area. It is owned by the North American Broadcasting Company and it airs a country music radio format. The studios and offices are on Dublin Road in Columbus.

For the Upper Arlington, Ohio radio station that held the call sign WJKR at 98.9 FM from 2011 to 2013, see WTOH.
WJKR
CityWorthington, Ohio
Broadcast areaColumbus metropolitan area
Frequency103.9 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingCountry 103.9
Programming
FormatCountry
SubchannelsHD2: Soft AC (WMNI simulcast)
Ownership
OwnerNorth American Broadcasting Company, Inc.
WMNI, WRKZ
History
First air date
September 4, 1998 (1998-09-04) (as WEGE)
Former call signs
WAXV (1998)
WEGE (1998-2004)
WTDA (2004-2012)
WMNI-FM (2012-2013)
Call sign meaning
W JacK Radio (previous format)
Technical information
Facility ID60099
ClassA
ERP6,000 watts
HAAT99.3 meters (326 ft)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitecountry1039fm.com

WJKR has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 6,000 watts, as a Class A station. The transmitter is on Ranger Road near Phillipi Road in Columbus.[1] WJKR broadcasts using HD Radio technology. It carries the Soft Adult Contemporary format of sister station WMNI 920 AM on its HD2 digital subchannel.

History

Prior to this station's establishment, the 103.9 MHz frequency in the Columbus market was occupied by WBBY-FM, licensed to Westerville, Ohio. WBBY fell silent on December 31, 1990, after it was found that the majority owner/station manager withheld details to the FCC about his level of involvement in a Marietta, Ohio car dealership.[2][3] WBBY-FM held a jazz format throughout most of its existence, a format eventually picked up by WZJZ and WSWZ.[4]

Signing on in 1998 and also initially licensed to Westerville, this station broadcast classic rock music as WEGE "Eagle 103.9." It became WTDA ("Ted FM") in 2004, when it started playing a mix of Top-40 hits and oldies, ranging from the 1960s through current charts. With the Ted FM format, WTDA used the slogan "We Play Anything." The station's call letters attempted to incorporate this "Ted FM" branding. In September 2005, the station's owners added the Indianapolis-based "Bob & Tom Show," which had been dropped by Clear Channel's WBWR.[5]

On January 8, 2007, WTDA rebranded itself as the first and only FM talk radio station in Columbus. It picked up The Glenn Beck Program after the show was dropped from WTVN 610 AM. On September 8, 2007, the Columbus Dispatch reported that WTDA had become the Columbus radio home of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team.

On December 21, 2009, WTDA flipped to classic hits and rebranded as "Classic Hits 103.9", using satellite programming from Dial Global's Classic Hits service.[6] WTDA was one of four radio stations in the Columbus market to have a Classic Hits/Oldies format, joining Newark-based WNKO and the WNND/WNNP "Rewind 103.5/104.3" simulcast.

On June 14, 2012 WTDA flipped to an all-news format, changing the call letters to WMNI-FM, simulcasting with WMNI 920 AM, which previously had an adult standards format. The simulcast ended on Thursday, July 18, 2013, when WMNI returned to the adult standards format. WMNI-FM kept the news format for a few more days.

On July 24, 2013 WMNI-FM changed format to adult hits, subscribing to the JACK FM service. It rebranded as "103.9 Jack FM".[7] The call letters were changed to WJKR the following day. The WJKR call sign was formerly used on 98.9 FM, the previous "Jack FM" station in Columbus. That station is now conservative talk WTOH. WJKR changed its city of license from Westerville, Ohio, to Worthington, Ohio, effective August 22, 2013.

On April 15, 2022, at noon, WJKR flipped to a country music format, branded as "Country 103.9".[8] It is now competing with iHeartMedia-owned 92.3 WCOL-FM for country listeners.

References
  1. Radio-Locaotor.com/WJKR
  2. "WBBY Loses License For Lying To FCC" (PDF). Radio & Records. July 18, 1986. p. 12. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  3. "Sounds of Silence" (PDF). Popular Communications. April 1991. p. 45. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  4. Showalter, Kathy (August 18, 1997). "Purchase lets WZJZ simulcast jazz format". Columbus Business First. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  5. "Columbus, OH - 103.9 Ted FM - Variety Hits".
  6. Classic Hits Coming to Columbus
  7. "Jack Returns to Columbus".
  8. Country 103.9 Launches In Columbus Radioinsight - April 15, 2022

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