Branding NewsTalk Radio 600 | Format News/Talk | |
City WCHT: Escanaba, Michigan
WMXG: Stephenson, Michigan Broadcast area WCHT: [2] (Daytime)
[3] (Nighttime)
WMXG: [4] Frequency WCHT: 600 kHz
WMXG: 106.3 MHz First air date WCHT: 1958 (as WLST)
WMXG: March 2000 | ||
WCHT (600 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a news/talk format. Licensed to Escanaba, Michigan, it first began broadcasting under the WLST call sign in 1958, and then became WBDN around 1971. WBDN programmed adult contemporary music throughout the 1970s and then went country around 1979, keeping that format until late 1986, when the station switched formats to oldies under the WCHT calls (with the call letters standing for Classic Hits). It is also simulcast on the FM band through 106.3 WMXG, licensed to Stephenson, Michigan.
106.3 FM History
WMXG was granted a license in October 1999 and commenced broadcasting in March 2000. The station, branded as "Mix 106" and based through studios in Escanaba, originally broadcast a Hot Adult Contemporary music format, with some rock music included in the playlist in its early months. In Fall 2006, "Mix 106" converted to a classic hits format, with some modern rock songs included during evening hours.
In recent years, WMXG has encountered financial and transmission problems. A transmitter failure forced the station off the air on April 25, 2012. ELG requested and was granted by the FCC Special Temporary Authority (STA) to remain off the air due to financial reasons. WMXG resumed limited operations with rock music in late April 2013, meeting the STA's expiration date. Since that time, it is unclear whether ELG has made only periodical, temporary broadcast resumptions in order to meet FCC-dictated deadlines, risking automatic surrender of the station's license if those deadlines are not met. ELG, in requesting previous STAs to keep WMXG off-air, has cited as reasons the station's "next-to-nonexistent business" and continued transmitter problems, as well as failed efforts to resolve the Lyle Evans' estate and seek new ownership for the station. As of December 2015, the station studios remain locked, with no staff anywhere in the State of Michigan. On March 13, 2017, it was announced that WMXG would be sold to Armada Media, stating that they have "exciting plans" for the station that will be announced in the coming months.