City Clermont, Georgia Frequency 105.1 MHz ERP 7000 watts | Branding K-LOVE Format Contemporary Christian | |
Broadcast area North Georgia mountains
northeast Georgia
Atlanta suburbs (far NE) | ||
WNGA FM 105.1 is an American radio station licensed to Clermont, Georgia, and owned by Tugart Properties, LLC. Despite the low power, the transmitter's location atop Tray Mountain just north of Unicoi State Park and very near Anna Ruby Falls gives it a high HAAT, and so carries its broadcast range a long distance. The station was silent for a time in 2011 and 2012. Then on December 19, 2011, WNGA returned to the air stunting with a Christmas music temporary format. The station returned to air, stunting, on November 9, 2012 with a hot adult contemporary format that focused on popular music from 1995 to present. The current format is soft AC billed as "EZ 105.1", though it is silent again as of mid April 2013.
History
The station was founded in 1993 by Charles Smithgall as WHEL; in 1998, it was acquired by Jacor, which was sold to Clear Channel Communications a year later. At one point an oldies station, the station soon became a simulcast of WGST AM 640 from Atlanta, and later a simulcast of WWVA-FM (as WVWA). The necessity of the WWVA simulcast was often debated, as the residents of the north Georgia mountains did not understand why a Spanish pop station was needed more than a news station.
In 2005, the station was sold to Sorenson Southeast Radio and operated on a local marketing agreement (LMA) by Douglas M. Sutton, Jr., who is the licensee of several broadcast stations in Georgia and the Carolinas, the station remained silent for several months. On June 1, 2006, Oconee River Broadcasting, LLC signed a programming agreement with Sutton for a three-year period. Upon return to the air, the station held a listener poll to determine the station's format; a rock AC format was chosen and was known as Georgia 105. The station initially reclaimed the WHEL call letters for its city of Helen, but on November 1, 2006, it became WZGA. Oconee River Broadcasting was unable to secure a long-term agreement to own or operate the station. Prior to the expiration of the three-year term, Sorenson filed for consent to reassign the license of WZGA to Sutton's company, Tugart Properties, LLC. On April 20, 2009 the assignment was approved by the FCC. On June 1, 2009 the station reverted to the control of Sutton under his company, Tugart Properties, LLC, the call letters were changed to WNGA and after a short stunting period the station changed to country music. The station left the air on August 10, 2011 due to insufficient advertising revenue. WNGA is now owned by Educational Media Foundation, and broadcasts the K-LOVE Contemporary Christian format.
As of April 2013 WNGA has special temporary authority to be off the air, apparently pending a change in facilities related to its construction permits. The most recent change, FCC-approved on April 16, moves it from Helen, Georgia to Long Mountain south-southwest of Cleveland, Georgia, between Dahlonega Highway (Georgia 115) to the west and Main Street / Cleveland Highway (both Georgia 11 and U.S. 129) to the east.