WCBL
Broadcast areaJackson Purchase
Frequency1290 kHz
BrandingGreat Oldies 99.1
Programming
FormatOldies
AffiliationsSt. Louis Cardinals Radio Network[1]

Titans Radio Network[2]

UK Sports Network[3]
Ownership
Owner
  • Jim W. Freeland
  • (Freeland Broadcasting Co, Inc.)
WCCK, WCBL-FM
History
First air date
December 13, 1954 (1954-12-13)
Call sign meaning
Calvert City-Benton-Lakes[4]
Technical information
Facility ID53943
ClassD
Power5,000 watts (day)
53 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates
36°51′31″N 88°20′11″W / 36.85861°N 88.33639°W / 36.85861; -88.33639
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.marshallcountydaily.com
Simulcast station
WCBL-FM
Frequency99.1 MHz
History
First air date
1966
Former frequencies
102.3 MHz[4]
Technical information
Facility ID53944
ClassC3
ERP16,000 watts
HAAT127 meters (417 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
36°51′31″N 88°20′11″W / 36.85861°N 88.33639°W / 36.85861; -88.33639

WCBL (1290 AM) is an oldies-formatted radio station licensed to Benton. Kentucky, United States, and serving the broader Jackson Purchase region of western Kentucky, including Paducah. The station is owned by Jim Freeland in conjunction with Calvert City, Kentucky–licensed classic country station WCCK (95.7 FM) The station's studios and transmitter are located on Eggner's Ferry Road in Benton.[5]

In addition to its primary AM signal, WCBL is also simulcast on full-power station WCBL-FM (99.1 MHz). Licensed to Grand Rivers, it broadcasts from a transmitter in rural southern Livingston County southeast of Smithland.

History

The station began broadcasting on December 13, 1954. It was originally owned by local politician James Shelby McCallum, who also owned a theater in the town of Benton and a few other towns. He also started WCBL-FM when it was launched in 1966. McCallum once persuaded then-future Kentucky governor Edward T. Breathitt to go into politics at a Hopkinsville based-theater he owned at that time. McCallum was also involved in civic matters locally in Marshall County, where Benton is located, and also served as part-owner of Benton’s cable television system. McCallum owned the station under licensee Purchase Broadcasting until his 1987 death. Afterwards, owner Jim Freeland, who became general manager of the station seven years before, ended up owning the station.[4]

WCBL mostly played country music for much of its first three decades on the air until 2000, when it was moved to WCCK. WCBL now simulcasts the oldies format with WCBL-FM.

In 1980, a control booth for WCBL was used in the filming of a scene in the Loretta Lynn biography movie, Coal Miner's Daughter. One of that movie’s writers was from the area.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Kentucky Radio". St. Louis Cardinals Radio Network. St. Louis Cardinals/Major League Baseball. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  2. ↑ "Titans Radio Affiliates". Titans Radio Network. Cumulus Media. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  3. ↑ "UK Sports Network Radio Affiliates". UK Sports Network. Kentucky Wildcats. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Nash, Francis M. (1995). Towers Over Kentucky: A History of Radio and Television in the Bluegrass State. Lexington, Kentucky: HOST Communications. p. 82 and 83.
  5. ↑ WCBL-FM 99.1 MHz - Grand Rivers, KY
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