WICU (AM)

WICU (1310 AM; "Happi Radio") is a radio station broadcasting a contemporary hit radio format. Licensed to Warren, Pennsylvania, United States, the station is a simulcast of Erie-based WICU-FM (92.7); its programming is also heard on translator station W244DY (96.7 FM). WICU is owned by Lilly Broadcasting.^[2]

WICU

Simulcast of WICU-FM, Lawrence Park–Erie
Warren, Pennsylvania
Broadcast area	Jamestown, New York
Frequency	1310 kHz
Branding	Happi Radio
Programming
Format	Contemporary hit radio
Ownership
Owner	Lilly Broadcasting (Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania LLC)
Sister stations	WRRN, WNAE
History
First air date	December 31, 1946; 78 years ago (1946-12-31)
Former call signs	WNAE (1946–2020)
Call sign meaning	derived from sister station WICU-TV
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority	FCC
Facility ID	34928
Class	D
Power	5,000 watts (day) 94 watts (night)
Transmitter coordinates	41°48′50.00″N 79°10′4.00″W
Translator(s)	96.7 W244DY (Warren)
Links
Public license information	Public file LMS
Webcast	Listen live
Website	www.happi927.com

History

The station signed on December 31, 1946,^[3] as WNAE. Northern Allegheny Broadcasting sold the station to Kinzua Broadcasting Company in 1974.^[4]

The station was a long time local fixture, airing a contemporary music format, with a strong focus on local news and community information, as well as broadcasting local and national sports. It switched to a mostly talk format in the late 2000s, and eventually began simulcasting on 96.7 (W244DY), known as "News/Talk 96.7".

Kinzua Broadcasting sold WNAE, along with sister stations WRRN and WKNB, to Frank Iorio, who already owned the construction permit for a station on 102.7 FM in Clarendon, in 2005 for $1.25 million.^[5] In 2019, after a failed attempt to sell the stations to Laurel Media two years prior, Iorio (who owned the stations under the name Radio Partners LLC) sold WNAE, WKNB, and WRRN, to Lilly Broadcasting, which operates WICU-TV and WSEE-TV in Erie, Pennsylvania, for $900,000.^[6] The call sign was changed to WICU on March 4, 2020,^[7] matching WICU-TV and WICU-FM in Erie; the change was a prelude to the replacement of WNAE's former talk radio format with a simulcast of WICU-FM's contemporary hit radio programming on April 1. The WNAE call sign was concurrently transferred to the former WKNB.^[8]