Columbus, Ohio’s WWCD Radio has “played its last song” as the station shuts down its stream following a long, public battle to save the Alternative signal after 34 years. The announcement of the station’s closure was made via the CD 92.9 Facebook page.
Originally known as CD 101 and later rebranded to CD 102.5 and CD 92.9, the station announced its closure at midnight on April 29. WWCD owner Randy Malloy says the decision to shut down was influenced by several factors, which went unnamed.
The statement reads, “It has been a great adventure serving our beloved community, but the time has come that we must announce with heavy hearts that WWCD Radio has played its last song. It has been an incredible journey, one that legend can be told with memories and cherished moments shared with you that will never be forgotten. Thank you to each and every one of you.”
“The end of operations is not due to any one factor, but a number of reasons that others will undoubtedly speculate on forever, and we wish you the best in doing so. It is not a decision that we wanted to make, but, as with life, sometimes you have to make difficult choices. So with that said, we reflect on the joy and happiness that (as many have aptly named it) the soundtrack of our lives has given all of us and place it back in your control.”
“It has been said before, but we can never express our deepest gratitude enough to the fans, musicians, staff, advertisers, collaborators, and families for letting us be part of your lives these past 34 years.”
In January, WWCD owner Randy Malloy had revealed that the station could not secure an agreement with the owners of the 92.9 frequency, Delmar and ICS Communications, which would have allowed it to continue its operations. This led to the station going off-air on February 1.
Delmar and ICS attempted to claim the WWCD call sign for themselves, but were sent a cease-and-desist over the brand from Malloy. This led to a brief rebranding to 93X (WXGT) by Delmar and ICS.
As this was going on, iHeartMedia quickly adopted the WWCD call letters for its own Columbus Alternative 105.7 (WXZX). However, this move was short-lived as iHeartMedia reversed the call letters back to WXZX within a week.
Delmar’s 93X flipped to Oldies formatted My 92.9 after 36 days.
