WCNS changes radio format from talk to adult contemporary music
Latrobe-based AM radio station WCNS announced it is changing its programming format from talk to adult contemporary music.
The move comes as Laurel Highlands Total Communications — the parent company of LHTC Media, the station's owner — anticipates Federal Communications Commission approval for a new FM sister station that would broadcast the same content as the AM station, in accordance with commission rules.
With the format change, the Latrobe station, formerly known as News Talk 1480, is now called Lite Favorites 1480 WCNS.
According to General Manager Brandon Kail, WCNS will continue to air football and basketball coverage of Greater Latrobe High School and Saint Vincent College.
“We'll continue to have local news updates,” Kail said in a news release, adding that the station's “weekend talk blocks will continue as will the Sunday church services we broadcast.”
Shows like the Greater Latrobe-Laurel Valley Regional Chamber of Commerce's Good Morning, Greater Latrobe, The Westmoreland County Chamber Business Journal, Laurel Highlands Happenings, Westmoreland Heritage Happenings and the Better Business Bureau Show also will continue, he said.
Kail explained the new music format, geared to those 45 and older, features songs spanning five decades, back to the 1970s — from artists like Adele, Celine Dion and Billy Joel.
The talk format that had aired on WCNS can still be heard on two other LHTC stations — PA Talk (98.7 FM) and 910 AM (WAVL) in Apollo.
While continuing to operate AM stations, LHTC is shifting its emphasis to FM, Kail said. The company is awaiting FCC approval for a translator in Trafford to be relocated to Latrobe, allowing WCNS AM content also to be heard on 97.3 FM.
“WCNS will still be there and if people want to listen on 1480 AM, they can,” Kail said. “But we're going to market the FM station more.
“When most people scan the dial in their vehicles, they scan the FM dial, not the AM. If people are listening to AM, it's appointment listening.”
The FM station will offer a clearer signal limited to the coverage of the AM signal, which is most of Westmoreland County, he explained.
The station's parent company has plans to build new corporate headquarters on a 132-acre area in Donegal. Kail noted that new technology has made possible the potential for having the company's various stations under one roof at some point.
In June, the company finalized acquisition of several stations in the Morgantown/Fairmont area of West Virginia, including WZST-FM, the flagship station for West Virginia University sports; WRLF-FM, a classic rock station; WMMN-AM, a Fox Sports affiliate; and WTCS-AM.
“Our goal is to have four FM frequencies in Morgantown,” Kail said.
