WMGA
{{for|the radio station in Moultrie, Georgia (1939–2003)|WMGA (AM)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox radio station
| name = WMGA
| logo = 97.9 The River logo.png
| city = Kenova, West Virginia
| area = {{ubl|Huntington, West Virginia|Ironton, Ohio|Ashland, Kentucky}}
| branding = 97.9 The River
| frequency = 97.9 MHz
| airdate = 2006
| format = {{ubl|Classic hits|Oldies}}
| erp = 3,500 watts
| haat = 133 meters
| class = A
| facility_id = 164110
| licensing_authority = FCC
| coordinates = {{coord|38|25|26.0|N|82|32|8.0|W|type:landmark}}
| callsign_meaning = "Magic" (previous format)
| former_callsigns =
| affiliations = Westwood One
| owner = Fifth Avenue Broadcasting Company, Inc. (dba Kindred Communications)
| licensee =
| sister_stations = WXBW, WDGG, WRVC, WCMI, WCMI-FM
| webcast = [https://ice23.securenetsystems.net/WMGA Listen Live]
| website = [http://979theriver.com/ 979theriver.com]
}}
WMGA (97.9 FM, "The River") is a classic hits and oldies formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Kenova, West Virginia, serving Huntington, West Virginia, Ironton, Ohio, and Ashland, Kentucky. WMGA is licensed to Fifth Avenue Broadcasting Company, Inc.
History
On July 26, 2012, WMGA changed its format from soft AC (as "Magic 97.9") to hot AC, branded as "Hits 97.9".[http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/59046/hits-hits-huntington/ Hits Hit Huntington] Radioinsight - July 26, 2012 In May 2017, WMGA changed its format to 1980s music, retaining the "Hits" branding.{{cite news |last1=Venta |first1=Lance |title=Hits 97.9 Huntington Goes To The 80s |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/117813/hits-97-9-huntington-goes-80s/ |access-date=February 19, 2024 |work=RadioInsight |date=May 9, 2017}} On February 26, 2018, WMGA changed its format from 1980s hits to adult contemporary, branded as "97.9 The River".[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/140782/wmga-huntington-goes-80s-ac/ WMGA Goes From 80s to AC] Radioinsight - February 26, 2018
On October 19, 2023, 97.9 the River was the very first radio station in the United States to flip to all Christmas music for the 2023 holiday season. No media outlets had noticed WMGA's change until October 31, when WMXL in Lexington, Kentucky, was thought to have been the first for that year{{Cite web |date=October 31, 2023 |title=Merry Halloween: The Christmas Flips Have Begun. |url=https://www.insideradio.com/free/merry-halloween-the-christmas-flips-have-begun/article_63c70238-7805-11ee-a483-3f08363f85fb.html |access-date=November 1, 2023 |website=Insideradio.com |language=en}} (which would have been, in reversal of the Christmas creep trend, the latest such first overall flip in over a decade); Radio Insight, which tracks such format flips, later added an addendum to that report that "we have been told" WMGA had been doing so since October 19.{{Cite web |last=Venta |first=Lance |date=October 31, 2023 |title=No trick: WMXL becomes first all-Christmas station of 2023 |url=https://radioinsight.com/headlines/260482/no-trick-wmxl-becomes-first-all-christmas-station-of-2023/ |access-date=October 31, 2023 |language=en-US}} Inside Radio, which also identified WMXL as first, stated that WMGA had "slipp(ed) under the radar."{{Cite web |date=November 1, 2023 |title=November Blizzard: Christmas Flips Are Busting Out All Over The Dial. |url=https://www.insideradio.com/free/november-blizzard-christmas-flips-are-busting-out-all-over-the-dial/article_e99915ba-78da-11ee-8cf1-5b191aace9dd.html |access-date=November 1, 2023 |website=Insideradio.com |language=en}}
Following the Christmas music stint, on December 26, 2023, the station, still under the "River" branding, shifted to an oldies format focused primarily on 1960s and 1970s music. The format shift was deemed a "very personal" project for Kindred president/CEO Mike Kirtner, who had grown up in the Huntington area and claimed said music was deemed a "forgotten generation" by most radio outlets in the area.[https://radioinsight.com/headlines/262493/97-9-the-river-shifts-to-oldies/ 97.9 The River Shifts to Oldies]
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://979theriver.com/ 97.9 The River Online]
- {{FM station data|164110|WMGA}}
{{Huntington WV Radio}}
{{Classic Hits Radio Stations in West Virginia}}
{{Oldies Radio Stations in West Virginia}}
Category:Classic hits radio stations in the United States
Category:Oldies radio stations in the United States