ARCHBOLD WEATHER

WBCL Acquires 10th Station


WBCL, the radio service of Taylor University, Upland, Ind., announced the acquisition of a tenth broadcasting station.

In a press release, WBCL officials announced they have acquired WTPG, an FM station licensed to Whitehouse. Reports say the purchase price was $500,000.

WBCL Christian programming can now be heard on the WTPG 88.9 megahertz frequency.

“This acquisition greatly increases WBCL’s reach,” company officials said in the press release.

“The 88.9 signal reaches all of Toledo’s total survey area. When the total Nielson survey market population of Fort Wayne 90.3 and Toledo 88.9 are combined, WBCL’s mission will be in front of well over 1.6 million people.

“This number does not include any of the station’s eight other outlying signals.”

WBCL operates stations and “translators” (low-power transmitters that retransmit a parent station signal) in Archbold, Upland, Ind., Spencerville, Bronson, Mich., Muncie, Ind., Adrian, Mich., Findlay, and Marion, Ind.

WTPG transmits from an approximately 274-foot tower, located east of I-75, roughly four miles north of Bowling Green. The transmitter power is 12,300 watts.

Expansion

“We were not looking at expanding our terrestrial signal, but God put this opportunity in front of us in a manner that we couldn’t ignore,” said Ross McCampbell, WBCL executive director.

In a 1988 interivew, Steve Wyse, then of Bil-Jax, said he invited WBCL to Archbold. He offered the station space on a tower at the former Bil-Jax facility on East Lugbill Road.

That year, WBCL applied to the Federal Communications Commission for a permit to operate a station serving Archbold and the area.

The FCC granted the Archbold station call letters WBCY.

Originally envisioned as a 3,000-watt station, as the project developed WBCY went on the air in December 1992 as a 20,000-watt station transmitting on 89.5 FM from a roughly-300 foot tower located in Henry County on Co. Rd. W, east of St. Rt. 66.