WMLM 1520 to go silent

[ZenithCKLW]

https://radioinsight.com/headlines/2906 ... perations/

I frequently forget the station exists. When I was in college in Mt. Pleasant, this station's signal was relatively quiet even at that short distance.

[ChrisWL1980]

Sad but not surprising. Even with an FM translator they couldn't make it. I would imagine WFYC and WQBX are soaking up most of whatever ad dollars remain in Gratiot County these days. WHMI and WJSZ essentially have no terrestrial competition for local ad dollars in Livingston and Shiawassee Counties respectively, and WRSR of course serves Flint.
I will say their signal quality seems to have improved under Krol's ownership. On my last couple of drives up north, I could easily pick them up around Saginaw and Bay City, and they put a pretty strong signal into Mount Pleasant. The AM could get as far north as Petoskey at night. Even the translator made it to Mount Pleasant on a good day. That certainly wasn't the case when Siefker owned them. But with so many other options - even classic country options (especially since WMMI flipped) - WMLM had sadly become redundant.
If they're not turning in the license, it wouldn't surprise me to see Smile, Strong Tower or some other religious broadcaster make a go for it to get the 105.9 translator, since they're determined to cover every square inch of the state anyway. RadioU interestingly still has a translator in Alma even though they sold the Saginaw translator to Smile.

[MWmetalhead]

I forgot this station existed, too.

I also have always found it a bit odd that WJSZ hypertargets Owosso as opposed to Alma / St. Louis / Ithaca, where its signal is stronger.

[edj]

I would assume they would try to sell, likely to a religious broadcaster, before turning in the license. Some FM translators are married to their AM station, meaning they would have to take both.

[BayCityJohn2337]

They had a country gold/new country format mixed together. It just didn't jive. WGDN 103.1 and WHMI 92.3 sound really good actually. WGDN probably has most of the country gold listeners anyhow.

[GrahamWellington]

Any way to move the FM translator to Mount Pleasant? Seems like that could be a potential benefit to any future owner.

[Frosty]

Another sad moment in radio broadcast history, at least for me. I worked at WFYC/Alma in the early '80s and drove by the WMLM studios every day, since I lived up the hill from it in St. Louis. Stopped in there once. Nice people, as I remember.

[ftballfan]

I think 105.9 was in one of the earlier translator windows, so AFAIK it can be separated from 1520. If that is the case, WFYC could grab the translator since I don't think they have one.

[ChrisWL1980]

WFYC does not have a translator, so that could be an option.
WJSZ has always tried to be primarily an Owosso station, back to its original "all request" format days. It obviously can't get any closer to Owosso because of WDZZ, but I wonder if the original owners ever tried to get a frequency other than 92.5. They were also boxed in by what is now WLMI, as that was on 92.7 back then.

[Colonel Flagg]

I forgot this station existed, too.

I also have always found it a bit odd that WJSZ hypertargets Owosso as opposed to Alma / St. Louis / Ithaca, where its signal is stronger.

As backward and out of touch as Owosso may be, there's a lot more commerce there, than in the cornfield trio above. WOAP's former news director, who's name escapes me, started WJSZ.

[GrahamWellington]

Looks like they are shutting it down permanently:

https://fccdata.org/?facid=&call=wmlm&c ... d=&lang=en

[statmanmi]

I think 105.9 was in one of the earlier translator windows, so AFAIK it can be separated from 1520. If that is the case, WFYC could grab the translator since I don't think they have one.

Looks like they are shutting it down permanently:

https://fccdata.org/?facid=&call=wmlm&c ... d=&lang=en

Agreed that their FCC filings are directly to Cancellation, and not first Silence (pending a future disposition decision). The translator on FM 105.9 has also had a Cancellation filed on Monday (1/6/2025):

https://fccdata.org/?lang=en&facid=202094

Cheers! ~~ Statmanmi