Columbus OH Radio: iHM Abandons WWCD Call Letters

A key symbol of CD 92.9 FM has been tossed by the second alternative radio station to hold it within the span of a month, and is once again up for grabs.

According to NBC4i, iHeartMedia seemingly aimed to rebrand its local station, Columbus Alternative 105.7. The corporation seized the WWCD call letters the same day they fell out of use. When CD 92.9 went off the air on Feb. 1 and as the frequency’s new WXGT callsign went into effect, iHeartMedia filed to switch from WXZX to WWCD for its local station, Columbus Alternative 105.7.

However, iHeartMedia has appeared to have a change of heart. The same day that its new callsign went into effect, the corporation filed additional FCC paperwork to change it from WWCD back to WXZX. This latest swap went into effect on Feb. 12.

During its single week operating as WWCD, Columbus Alternative 105.7 did not appear to attempt any form of a rebrand besides the legal minimum. The FCC requires a broadcast station to announce its call letters at least once an hour, as close to the top of the hour as possible. Listening to the station’s broadcast showed that it maintained the same slogan and name, with a lone recording of the phrase “WWCD” rather than “WXZX” once an hour to meet the federal guidelines.

iHeartMedia’s FCC filing wasn’t the only hint of plans to rebrand the station. ICANN registration data shows someone obtained the website domains “cd1057.com” and “cd1057fm.com” on Jan. 25 and Jan. 31, respectively. While privacy protections mask who bought the domains, they do indicate an individual person bought them.

Columbus Alternative 105.7, on the other hand, only has a website through a subsection of iheart.com. It also uses a completely different host called Fastly. Separate from its internet stream, Malloy’s station uses Cloudflare for its main cd929.com page.

The shutdown of CD 92.9 was widely publicized, with a party at the station building on its last day broadcasting on terrestrial radio. It drew a failed attempt by U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown to keep the station on air as well.

Delmar and ICS then spun up their own station called 93X, which would maintain the same focus on the alternative genre and local artists. Meanwhile, CD 92.9 and owner Randy Malloy soldiered onto the internet under the moniker “WWCD Radio.”

The call letters WWCD, which Malloy continues to use for his internet radio station and as business entity WWCD, Ltd., are once again open for the taking. No new FCC filings to take the callsign appeared in online records as of Monday.