WTOD-AM 1470 tuning out

Station’s format will carry on at WQQO-HD2 100.7-FM

9/24/2016

As of midnight Saturday, WTOD-AM 1470 will not exist. But the station’s format will carry on the FM dial in a new home later next week: WQQO-HD2 100.7-FM.

Also, WTOD’s live broadcasts of Bowling Green State University football and basketball games are moving to 100.7, while broadcasts of University of Michigan’s football and basketball games will relocate to WMIM-FM 98.3 (Nash Icon).

That’s the good news, at least for the audience of 1470’s syndicated programming: Don Imus, Chris Plante, Jonathon Brandmeir, Dave Ramsey, Mark Levin, and Michael Savage.

The bad news is for those who tune in to the alternative rock format of 100.7-FM (The Zone). The Zone is essentially dead, said Andy Stuart, regional vice president and market manager for Cumulus Media Toledo, which owns WTOD and WQQO-HD2, though he stressed: “Nobody is losing their job out of this. There is plenty of work to be done.”

The reason for the switch dates back at least a decade ago, when the FCC informed Cumulus that its AM station was out of compliance with its prescribed license limits.

In layman’s terms, WTOD’s transmission system in Oregon was not able to generate the signal as granted by the FCC, which affected its range in the coverage area.

While Cumulus wasn't fined, Stuart said, “the FCC has said we are out of time: either fix the transmitter site or turn the license back in. But the cost to fix it and what the expected return is not a good investment. We decided the best thing is to turn [the license] back and maybe someone else will want to operate it.”