WCKL (FM)

WCKL

Chicago, Illinois United States
Broadcast area	Chicago metro area
Frequency	97.9 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding	K-Love
Programming
Format	Christian contemporary
Subchannels	HD2: Air1 HD3: Christian hip hop HD4: Radio Nueva Vida
Network	K-Love
Ownership
Owner	Educational Media Foundation
Sister stations	WAWE WAWY WLWX WOKL WSRI WZKL
History
First air date	April 7, 1942 (82 years ago) (1942-04-07)[1]
Former call signs	W83C (1942–1943) WEHS (1943–1963) WHFC (1963–1965) WSDM (1965–1977) WLUP (1977–1987) WLUP-FM (1987–2018) WCKL-FM (2018–2020)
Former frequencies	48.3 MHz (1942–1946) 100.1 MHz (1946–1947)
Call sign meaning	"Chicago's K-Love"
Technical information[2]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	73233
Class	B
ERP	4,000 watts
HAAT	425 meters (1,394 ft)
Transmitter coordinates	41°53′56.1″N 87°37′23.2″W / 41.898917°N 87.623111°W / 41.898917; -87.623111 (WCKL)
Translator(s)	HD1: 99.1 W256CA (Joliet) HD3: 97.5 W248BB (Chicago) HD4: 101.5 W268AY (Seward Township)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	klove.com myboostnation.com/chicago/ (HD3) nuevavida.com (HD4)

WCKL (97.9 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Chicago, Illinois, featuring a Christian contemporary format via the K-Love network. Owned and operated by Educational Media Foundation (EMF), WCKL serves the Chicago metro area with a transmitter located atop the John Hancock Center.

One of the oldest surviving FM stations in Chicago, this station signed on the air on April 7, 1942, as W83C. Throughout the station's early existence, it changed callsigns, formats and owners before relaunching itself on March 14, 1977, as WLUP "97.9 The Loop", a nod to the Chicago Loop. As WLUP, the station aired various formats ranging from classic rock, pop rock, pop alternative, and adult alternative formats. It changed ownership several times before being sold to Merlin Media in 2011 and subsequently entered a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Cumulus Media in 2014. This LMA was terminated after Cumulus entered into bankruptcy proceedings, prompting Merlin Media to sell the station to EMF, which relaunched the station as part of the K-Love network on March 10, 2018. The classic rock format and "Loop" branding was retained on the second HD subchannel of WKQX.

In addition to a standard analog transmission, WCKL broadcasts over four HD subchannels and is available online. WCKL-HD2 carries Air1 programming, WCKL-HD3 carries "Boost Radio" Christian hip hop and WCKL-HD4 features Radio Nueva Vida programming.