ABOUT US

Baton Rouge-based Guaranty Broadcasting, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Guaranty Corporation, came into existence in 1964 when a unique opportunity presented itself to Guaranty President George Foster, Jr. WAFB-TV Channel 9 – which at the time was headquartered in the red brick Guaranty Income Life Insurance Building – was to be sold to the owners of New Orleans TV station WDSU when, at the last minute, the owners of Channel 9 approached their landlord with a chance to own WAFB if he acted fast. Less than 24 hours later, Guaranty Broadcasting was born and was the proud owner of Baton Rouge’s first television station.

In 1968, Guaranty under George Foster sought to resurrect a long-dormant radio license which had been granted to the previous owners of the TV station. WAFB-FM was launched on 98.1 FM in the newly-realized FM Stereo process. For years afterward, 98.1 sought the right formula to take the 100kw station to the top of the radio market, with attempts in various formats: easy listening, soft rock, even disco.

In 1984, the call letters of WAFB-FM were changed to WGGZ and a rock-leaning top 40 station was unleashed on the city. Z98 quickly came to dominate Baton Rouge Radio with its emphasis on long blocks of music and just the right amount of personality.

As the eighties gave way to the nineties and the musical climate began to shift, 98.1’s format and identity was adjusted to “Oldies 98” in 1991. Five years later, it was decided to update both the format and the call letters, and WDGL-FM, “Eagle 98.1,” was born. Around that time, Guaranty secured the coveted rights and became the flagship broadcast outlet for LSU Sports, with football, basketball and baseball all airing on Eagle 98.1. As LSU won its two national championships in the early 2000’s, Eagle 98.1 was there.

Also in 1996, Guaranty began a series of strategic acquisitions to build the company’s station portfolio. Today, Guaranty owns and operates four radio stations on five frequencies alongside Eagle 98.1: Country-formatted WTGE/”100.7 The Tiger,” two-frequency Sports-talk simulcast WNXX/KNXX, “104.5/104.9 ESPN Baton Rouge,” and WBRP/”Talk 107.3 FM,” which since 2011 has been the Capitol City’s first and only full-time FM news-talk station.