WGCU-FM

26°48′55.2″N 81°45′42.5″W / 26.815333°N 81.761806°W / 26.815333; -81.761806Repeater(s)91.7 WMKO (Marco Island)LinksWebcastWebsitewgcu.org

WGCU-FM (90.1 FM) is an National Public Radio-member station on Florida's Gulf Coast. Licensed to Fort Myers, it is owned by Florida Gulf Coast University with studios along FGCU Boulevard, on campus. WGCU also operates WMKO 91.7, a full-time simulcast station licensed to Marco Island to serve the Naples area.

WGCU-FM is a Class C1 station. It has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000 watts, the maximum for most FM statins. The transmitter is on Bobcock Ranch Road in Punta Gorda.^[1] WMKO is a Class A station with an ERP of 1,700 watts. Its transmitter is on Tower Road at Collier Boulevard in Naples.^[2]

History

FM 90.1 signed on the air on September 12, 1983; 40 years ago (1983-09-12).^[3] Its original call sign was WSFP-FM. The station was owned by the University of South Florida in Tampa, owners of public broadcasting stations WUSF-FM and WUSF-TV (now WEDQ). At the time, Fort Myers - Naples was the only media market in Florida without any public broadcasting stations of its own. WSFP-FM was largely a rebroadcast of WUSF-FM.

In 1992, plans to establish Florida Gulf Coast University began. The broadcast license was transferred to the FGCU in 1996. WSFP-FM changed its call letters to WGCU-FM on June 13, 1997, just weeks before students would arrive. The school commemorates August 25, 1997, as the first time classes were held on campus.^[4]

Despite operating at a full 100,000 watts, the WGCU-FM signal is hard to receive in parts of Collier County. This is because its transmitter is located in southern Charlotte County. However, its grade B signal reaches much of northern Collier County, including much of Naples itself. Soon after FGCU opened, it requested funding for a second station to improve its coverage in Naples. WMKO signed on for the first time in 1999, filling in coverage gaps in southern Collier County.

WGCU has also been referenced for hurricane information on electronic highway signs across Southwest Florida. The signs advised drivers to tune to 90.1 WGCU-FM for weather information.

HD Radio

For its first 13 years as a locally focused station, WGCU-FM aired a mix of NPR news programs and classical music. In 2009, WGCU moved its classical music programming to its HD Radio digital subchannel.

Then in 2012, when Classical South Florida affiliate WNPS signed on in the market, WGCU-FM's HD subchannel changed. It became xPonential Radio, an Adult Album Alternative (Triple-A) format produced by WXPN in Philadelphia. Eventually an HD3 subchannel was launched with classical music programming.

As of June 25, 2018, the xPonential Radio service ended. Classical 24 audio moved from HD3 to HD2 and the HD3 subchannel was discontinued.

See also

• WGCU Television

References

External links

• WGCU Public Media
• WGCU in the FCC FM station database
• WGCU in Nielsen Audio's FM station database
• WMKO in the FCC FM station database
• WMKO in Nielsen Audio's FM station database