WCHK-FM
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name = WCHK-FM
| logo =
| city = Milford, Delaware
| area = Dover, Delaware
| branding = The Chicken 101.3
| frequency = 101.3 MHz
| airdate = 1990 (as WXPZ)
| format = Country
| erp = 6,000 watts
| haat = {{convert|93.5|m|ft|1|abbr=off|sp=us}}
| class = A
| facility_id = 58763
| coordinates = {{coord|38|51|22.1|N|75|28|57.8|W}}
| callsign_meaning = CHicKen
| former_callsigns = WXPZ (1990–2004)
WNCL (2004–2019)
| owner = Forever Media
| licensee = FM Radio Licenses, LLC
| affiliations = Westwood One
| sister_stations = {{hlist|WAFL|WAVD|WNCL|WXDE}}
| webcast = [https://listen.streamon.fm/wchk Listen Live]
| website = [https://www.foreverdelmarva.com/thechicken1013/ Chicken 101.3 Online]
| licensing_authority= FCC
}}
WCHK-FM (101.3 FM, "The Chicken 101.3") is a radio station licensed to Milford, Delaware. Owned by Forever Media, it broadcasts a country music format serving Dover, Delaware.{{cite web |url=http://www1.arbitron.com/sip/displaySip.do?srvy_id=FA07&surveyID=FA07&band=fm&callLetter=WCHK |title=Fall 2007 Station Information Profile |work=Arbitron}}
History
The station began its operations in 1990 as WXPZ. It aired a Christian radio format under the brand The Light FM.{{Cite web|url=https://milfordlive.com/2010/12/15/new-christian-radio-station-on-air/|title=New Christian Radio Station On-Air|first=Bryan|last=Shupe|date=15 December 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125205552/https://milfordlive.com/2010/12/15/new-christian-radio-station-on-air/|archive-date=25 January 2021|access-date=24 May 2021}}
On January 6, 2004, WXPZ changed its callsign to WNCL.{{cite web |url=http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=58763&Callsign=WCHK-FM |title=Call Sign History |work=FCC Media Bureau CDBS Public Access Database}} Initially, it aired an Oldies format under the brand Cool 101.3. Years later, it shifted to Classic Hits.
On February 5, 2019, Delmarva Broadcasting was sold to Forever Media.{{Cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/174292/forever-media-acquires-delmarva-broadcasting/|title=Forever Media Acquires Delmarva Broadcasting|date=2019-02-06|website=RadioInsight|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-17}}
In late-October 2019, the station began stunting with a loop of the "Chicken Dance", and its Cool format and branding was moved to sister station WYUS. On November 1, 2019, the station officially flipped to country music as The Chicken 101.3. The branding is a nod to Delaware's poultry industry, and the station's airstaff use chicken-themed pseudonyms on-air, such as "The Rooster" and "Chickie" (in a similar manner to Froggy, a country music brand used extensively by Forever Media's other country stations). The station changed its calls to WCHK-FM to match the new branding (with the WNCL calls moving to WYUS).{{Cite web|url=http://www.insideradio.com/free/the-chicken-hatches-in-delaware-woof-rock-bares-its-teeth/article_f7486f68-fceb-11e9-a7af-431e618f7f8b.html|title='The Chicken' Hatches In Delaware; 'Woof Rock' Bares Its Teeth In Illinois.|website=Insideradio.com|language=en|access-date=2019-11-05}}{{Cite web|url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/181230/forever-prepping-multiple-changes-in-delmarva/|title=Chicken 101.3 Debuts In Delaware|date=2019-11-01|website=RadioInsight|language=en-US|access-date=2019-11-05}} This makes Deleware the only Forever-media cluster that does not use “Froggy.”
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|https://www.foreverdelmarva.com/thechicken1013/}}
- {{FM station data|58763|WCHK-FM}}
{{Dover Radio}}
{{Salisbury-Ocean City Radio}}
{{Country Radio Stations in Delaware}}
Category:Country radio stations in the United States
Category:Radio stations established in 1991
Category:1991 establishments in Delaware
{{Delaware-radio-station-stub}}