WGCU-FM
Radio station in Fort Myers, Florida / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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WGCU-FM (90.1 FM) is an NPR-member radio station. Licensed to Fort Myers, Florida, United States, the station is owned by Florida Gulf Coast University. WGCU also operates WMKO 91.7, a full-time satellite station licensed to Marco Island to serve the Naples area. As of June 25, 2018, WGCU's schedule is entirely NPR news and talk programming.
Broadcast area | Southwest Florida |
---|---|
Frequency | 90.1 MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | WGCU |
Programming | |
Format | News/talk |
Subchannels | HD2: Classical 24 |
Affiliations | NPR |
Ownership | |
Owner | Florida Gulf Coast University |
WGCU-TV | |
History | |
First air date | 1983 (1983) |
Former call signs | WSFP-FM (1983–1996) |
Call sign meaning | Florida Gulf Coast University |
Technical information | |
Facility ID | 69042 |
Class | C1 |
ERP | 100,000 watts |
HAAT | 248 meters (814 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 26°48′55.2″N 81°45′42.5″W |
Repeater(s) | 91.7 WMKO (Marco Island) |
Links | |
Webcast | |
Website | wgcu.org |
WGCU-FM first signed on in 1983 as WSFP-FM, a station owned by the University of South Florida in Tampa, owners of public broadcasting stations WUSF FM and TV. At the time, Fort Myers / Naples was the only media market in Florida without any public broadcasting stations. WSFP-FM was largely a rebroadcast of WUSF-FM.
The broadcast license was transferred to the new Florida Gulf Coast University in 1996. WSFP-FM changed its calls to WGCU-FM on June 13, 1997, two months before FGCU opened.
Despite operating at a full 100,000 watts, the main WGCU-FM signal is barely listenable in parts of Collier County. This is because its transmitter is located in southern Charlotte County; however, its grade B signal reaches much of northern Collier County, including much of Naples itself. Soon after FGCU opened, it requested funding for a second station to improve its coverage in Naples. WMKO signed on for the first time in 1999, filling in coverage gaps in southern Collier County.