WCHR (AM)
| Broadcast area | Central New Jersey - Eastern Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1040 kHz |
| Branding | WCHR 1040 AM |
| Programming | |
| Format | Christian talk and teaching |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WKXW, WNJE, WPST | |
| History | |
First air date | 1998 |
Former call signs |
|
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 28130 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
|
Transmitter coordinates | 40°30′18.0″N 74°58′37.0″W / 40.505000°N 74.976944°W |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | wchram |
WCHR (1040 kHz) is a commercial AM radio radio station licensed to Flemington, New Jersey, and serving Central New Jersey and Eastern Pennsylvania. It airs a Christian talk and teaching format and is owned and operated by Townsquare Media, with studios and offices in Ewing, New Jersey.
By day, WCHR is powered at 15,000 watts. But at night it greatly reduces its power to 1,500 watts. AM 1040 is a clear channel frequency reserved for Class A WHO Des Moines so WCHR must avoid interference. It uses directional antenna with a three-tower array by day and four towers at night. During critical hours it broadcasts at 7,500 watts. The transmitter is off Locktown Road in Kingwood, New Jersey.[2]
Programming
[edit]WCHR is a brokered programming station. It sells blocks of airtime, where hosts may use their shows to seek donations to their ministries. National religious leaders heard on WCHR include John MacArthur, Jim Daly, Chuck Swindoll, James Dobson, Kay Arthur, J. Vernon McGee, Michael Youssef, Joni Eareckson Tada and Adrian Rogers.
History
[edit]Jersey Hometown Radio
[edit]The station signed on in 1998. Originally its call sign was WJHR ("Jersey Hometown Radio") with an adult contemporary format. In February 1998, the station began broadcasting in AM stereo using the C-QUAM system.[3]
In December of that year, the station changed its format to contemporary hit radio (Top 40).[4] It briefly broadcast a talk radio format called "Chat Radio" on May 3, 1999, and the station turned off the AM stereo system. It later had short stints as a business talk station and an ESPN Radio sports station before adopting the call letters and religious format of WCHR. WCHR which had been operating on 920 AM in Trenton, in 2002.
Sports station
[edit]On January 3, 2008, Nassau Broadcasting Partners announced that 1040 AM would drop the religious format and switch to a full-time simulcast of New York City's sports station WEPN 1050 AM.[5] Nassau moved the religious programming and the WCHR call sign back to 920, which had been broadcasting as a Philadelphia-oriented ESPN Radio affiliate under the call letters WPHY.[6] On February 5, 2008, the station took the WNJE call sign.
On May 21, 2012, WNJE ended the simulcast of WEPN and joined ESPN Deportes Radio, a Spanish-language sports station. This came in advance of WEPN's own switch to ESPN Deportes Radio in September, after ESPN Radio took over the operations of WEPN-FM in April.
WNJE and nine other Nassau stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania were purchased at a bankruptcy auction by NB Broadcasting in May 2012. NB Broadcasting is controlled by Nassau's creditors — Goldman Sachs, Pluss Enterprises, and P.E. Capital.[7][8] In November, NB Broadcasting filed a motion to assign its rights to the stations to Connoisseur Media.[9]
Back to Christian Radio
[edit]On December 3, 2012, WNJE dropped ESPN Deportes Radio and began simulcasting the religious format of sister station WCHR 920. The sale to Connoisseur Media, at a price of $38.7 million, was consummated on May 29, 2013.
On November 13, 2013, the simulcast of the religious format ended, and the Christian programming was subsequently heard only on 1040. AM 920 adopted a secular talk radio format, changed its call letters back to WNJE and later was sold. (It is now a Regional Mexican station.) The WCHR call sign was once again moved to 1040.
Effective July 2, 2018, WCHR and sister stations WNJE and 94.5 WPST were sold to Townsquare Media for $17.3 million.
References
[edit]- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WCHR". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WCHR-AM
- ^ Offenders of The Faith - The AM STEREO Page. Archived from the original that has since been removed.
- ^ "Format Changes & Updates" (PDF). The M Street Journal. December 9, 1998. p. 2.
- ^ "WEPN/New York LMAs NJ Station". Radio Ink. January 3, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2008.
- ^ Wielgus, Jennifer (January 8, 2008). "ESPN pulls plug on local station". Bucks County Courier Times. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
- ^ "10 Nassau Stations Go To NB Broadcasting LLC". All Access. May 30, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ^ Pierce, David (June 12, 2012). "Pocono radio stations now in the hands of creditors". Pocono Record. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ^ "Connoisseur Moves To Assume Debtor's Bid To Buy 10 Nassau Stations, Including WPST". All Access. November 21, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
External links
[edit]
- Official website
- Facility details for Facility ID 28130 (WCHR) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WCHR in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
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