WWMK (FM)
WWMK (106.3 FM) is a radio station licensed to serve the community of Onaway, Michigan. WWMK is imaged as "106.3 Mac FM". The station is owned by Black Diamond Broadcast Holdings, LLC. ABC Entertainment Network news is featured. WWMK's signal covers the northern tip of the lower peninsula and much of the eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan. WWMK is also heard on translator 98.1 W251AD in Alpena.
 | |
| City | Onaway, Michigan |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Cheboygan, Michigan |
| Frequency | 106.3 MHz |
| Branding | 106.3 Mac FM |
| Slogan | Smooth Sailing |
| Programming | |
| Format | Classic Soft Rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Black Diamond Broadcast Holdings, LLC. |
| WCBY, WCHY, WGFE, WGFM, WGFN, WMKC, WTWS, WUPS | |
| History | |
First air date | 2012 (as WYPV) |
Former call signs | WYPV (8/16/2011-5/10/2013)[1] WJZJ (5/10/2013-5/30/2013)[1] WOEZ (5/30/2013-3/24/2017)[1] WQEZ (3/24/2017-10/28/2017)[1] |
Call sign meaning | MK = "Mac" |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 189540 |
| Class | C2 |
| ERP | 31,000 watts |
| HAAT | 191 meters |
Transmitter coordinates | 45°39′01″N 84°20′37″W |
| Translator(s) | 98.1 W251AD (Alpena) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | 1063macfm.com |
History
The station began broadcasting in 2012, holding the call sign WYPV, and originally aired a talk format, branded "Your Patriot Voice".[2] In May 2013, the station's call sign was changed to WJZJ,[1] and the WYPV calls and talk format moved to 94.5 FM in Mackinaw City, Michigan, which had been home to "The Bear" simulcast.
Later that month, the station's call sign was changed to WOEZ. The station would air a soft adult contemporary format (similar to that of WDUV in Tampa, Florida, or WFEZ in Miami, Florida) to northwestern lower Michigan.[3] The station was branded "Easy 106-3".[4] Typical artists included Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, Elvis Presley, The Carpenters, Olivia Newton-John, Elton John, Celine Dion, and Kenny Rogers among others, with a small scattering of more contemporary AC hits from artists like Adele, Colbie Caillat, and Lady Antebellum. This format was also heard on WQEZ 95.5 FM of Glen Arbor, Michigan from 2013 until 2017, who separately imaged as "Easy 95.5". The two stations aired the same musical format with the same songs in the same order (with a slight delay), but were not simulcast, as station imaging, commercials, and weather forecasts were separate. 95.5 is now known as WGFE, simulcasting sister station WGFM 105.1.
On March 17, 2017, the Easy format ended on 95.5 FM, as WQEZ would become a simulcast of sister station WGFM as WGFE. This left WOEZ as the standalone "Easy" outlet. On March 24, 2017, the WQEZ call letters moved to 106.3, who got rid of their former WOEZ callsign.
On October 30, 2017, WQEZ changed their format from soft AC (as "Easy 106.3") to classic hits, branded as "106.3 Mac FM" under new WWMK calls (which it assumed on October 28). The Mac refers to Big Mack, the Mackinac Bridge.[5] Around this same time, WWMK became the new Northern Michigan affiliate for The Bob & Tom Show, after sister classic rock stations WGFN & WCHY dropped it in favor of the locally-hosted Omelette & Coates program.
In January 2019, WWMK tweaked its format to a modified classic hits mix dubbed "Smooth Sailing," focusing on soft rock, yacht rock and other adult contemporary oldies from the 1970s and '80s.
References
- Call Sign History, fcc.gov. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- "Format and Slogan Changes", VHF-UHF Digest. December 2012. p. 8. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
- "Easy 95-5/106-3". WQEZ. Archived from the original on March 19, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
- Mac Attacks Northern Michigan With Classic Hits Radioinsight - October 29, 2017