WCTL
| Broadcast area | Erie, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 106.3 MHz |
| Branding | 106.3 WCTL |
| Programming | |
| Format | Contemporary Christian |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Inspiration Time, Inc. |
| History | |
Call sign meaning | With Christ There's Life |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 28774 |
| Class | A |
| ERP | 860 watts |
| HAAT | 262.1 meters |
| Links | |
| Webcast | [1] |
| Website | wctl.org |
WCTL in Erie, Pennsylvania, is a Christian radio station, which focuses its ministry on "Faith, Family, and Fun." WCTL can be found at FM 106.3 (Erie), FM 93.1 (Girard), FM 99.1 (North East), and streams live on the Internet at www.wctl.org. WCTL's call letters stand for "With Christ There's Life." In October 2017, the station celebrated its 50th anniversary of broadcasting. WCTL is owned and operated by Inspiration Time, Inc., a non-profit corporation dedicated to excellence in Christian media.
The station began with the vision of one man and the support of 21 Christian businessmen and pastors who committed themselves to bringing Christian radio to the Erie, PA area in 1967. George Smith, a radio engineer by trade, received a vision that the Erie area needed Christian radio. After poring over topographic maps and spending time in thought and prayer, Smith found out about a small FM station in Union City that had become available. He contacted local pastors in the area and then approached the Full Gospel Businessmen's Association. Eventually, the Inspiration Time board reached agreement to buy the 250-watt FM station in Union City called WBVB and daily operation and management began on October 3 of that year. The station changed call letters to WCTL in January 1972 and increased power to 3,000 watts later that year.
Twenty years later (March, 1992), the hope of expanding the listening area came to reality with 6,000 watts of power providing a strong signal over the city of Erie and generating new listeners in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Southwestern New York, Northeastern Ohio, and Southern Ontario, Canada. With the power increase came a larger staff and increased listeners and advertisers, necessitating a larger facility more centrally located in Erie County. In October 1993, the current building was purchased on Route 19N/Peach Street in Waterford Township, just 5 1/2 miles south of Interstate 90.
Along with dozens of concerts and special events over the years, WCTL hosted a Christian music single-day festival on Labor Day weekend for six years. "Kingdom Bound by the Bay" was a free-to-listeners event that featured a full day of national artists and local talent performing in an outdoor amphitheatre along Lake Erie. The event was discontinued due to escalating costs and weather concerns but remains the source of many fond memories for listeners and staff alike.
To coincide with it's 50th Anniversary, WCTL's owner Inspiration Time, Inc. conducted a capital fundraising campaign to fund the purchase of WZTE radio, move that station to Union City, Pennsylvania, which would allow WCTL to move to the population center of Erie County, Pennsylvania. The FCC granted construction permits for the project and on January 2, 2019 construction was completed and program testing on the new 106.3 FM began, broadcasting at 600 feet near the intersection of US Route 19 and Interstate 90 in Pennsylvania.
Since the mid-80s, WCTL has provided live coverage of high school football contests as a service to the community, expanding from single team coverage to multiple schools in 1993. In April 2007, WCTL won the Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Award for Excellence in Broadcasting for "Outstanding Radio Coverage of a Local Sporting Event" for live play-by-play coverage of the AAA High School Football State Championship Game on December 15, 2006. The award has now been won a total of six times as the quality of WCTL's live football coverage continued to be recognized.
In addition to seasonal coverage of high school football and semiannual on-air fundraisers, the station hosts highly anticipated annual events, including a spring women's conference since 2009 and family comedy events since 2006. Along with these events, the station is celebrating 45 years of radio ministry with special activities throughout 2013.
External links
- Official website
- Facility details for Facility ID WCTL ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database