WJON
WJON is a local AM 1240 news, talk, and sports radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota, owned by Townsquare Media, that serves Central Minnesota residents with hyperlocal content and sells bundled radio-plus-digital advertising to local small businesses.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded-
- HeadquartersSaint Cloud, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What WJON does
WJON (AM 1240) is a local radio station founded in 1935, headquartered in St. Cloud, Minnesota, and serving the St. Cloud and Central Minnesota region with news, talk, and sports programming. It is owned and operated by Townsquare Media, Inc., a publicly traded media conglomerate listed on the NYSE under ticker TSQ. The station's audience consists of local residents seeking hyperlocal news, weather, traffic, sports, and community information, alongside SMB advertisers in Central Minnesota seeking access to those listeners.
The station's product stack includes its flagship AM 1240 broadcast, an FM translator at 95.3 FM (W237EU), the WJON Mobile App, the Value Connection Mobile App, on-demand newscast streaming, and a dedicated weather service. Distribution is multi-platform: traditional AM, FM translator, mobile apps for iOS and Android, smart speakers (Alexa, Google Nest Audio), SONOS via the RadioPup app, and website streaming. Content licensing relationships with The Associated Press and Getty Images support the newsroom, and the station operates under an FCC broadcast license with public inspection file obligations.
Commercially, WJON generates revenue through on-air advertising, digital advertising (display, mobile, video, geo-fencing, YouTube pre-roll) sold via parent Townsquare's Ignite platform, website sponsorships, and add-on marketing services such as website design, SEO, and social media management. Pricing is custom and not publicly disclosed; sales are handled directly by Director of Sales Steve Lahr on multi-year contracts bundling radio and digital. Engagement at the cluster level is reported at 104,300 CUME radio listeners, 691,719 monthly digital uniques, and 158,553 social followers, although WJON's standalone share of these metrics is not disclosed.
WJON firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- WJON
- Legal name
- Townsquare Media, Inc.
- Website
- https://wjon.com
- Company type
- Private
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- WJON is a local AM 1240 news, talk, and sports radio station in St. Cloud, Minnesota, owned by Townsquare Media, that serves Central Minnesota residents with hyperlocal content and sells bundled radio-plus-digital advertising to local small businesses.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where WJON is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Saint Cloud
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
WJON business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Radio Advertising: Traditional AM radio spots and on-air advertising packages sold to local businesses and advertisers in the St. Cloud and Central Minnesota market
- Digital Advertising: Website display ads, targeted digital advertising, mobile solutions, and video advertising across digital platforms. Townsquare offers geo-fencing tactics, targeted display advertising using 1st and 3rd party data, and YouTube pre-roll advertising
- Website Sponsorships: Sponsorship of specific website sections, features, and content including weather and community content
- Marketing Solutions Services: Website design, SEO services, social media management, and promotional partnerships sold to local businesses
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Multi-year contract | Targeted Digital and Mobile Advertising |
| Other | Multi-year contract | Radio and Digital Combined Packages |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
WJON product offering
Product offeringCore offering
WJON operates as a local AM radio station (AM 1240) broadcasting news, talk, and sports content for St. Cloud and Central Minnesota. The station distributes content through an FM translator (95.3), dedicated mobile applications, on-demand streaming, smart speakers, and its website, while generating revenue primarily by selling radio spots, digital display advertising, website sponsorships, and marketing services to local businesses.
Product overview
WJON (AM 1240) is a local radio station serving St. Cloud and Central Minnesota, owned by Townsquare Media. The station operates a traditional AM broadcast alongside digital products including mobile applications (WJON Mobile App, Value Connection Mobile App), streaming services (Listen Live, On Demand), and weather services (St. Cloud Weather). The offering represents a single-platform media brand with multiple digital access points rather than a modular platform architecture.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- The Value Connection Mobile App: A mobile application for accessing value-connection features and deals.
- WJON Mobile App
Products and services
- AM 1240 WJON Radio Broadcast AM 1240 WJON is the flagship radio station broadcasting News, Talk, and Sports content serving the St. Cloud and Central Minnesota community. It operates as part of Townsquare Media's portfolio of local radio stations.
- Listen Live Streaming Real-time internet streaming of WJON's AM broadcast, allowing listeners to tune in via the website from any location with internet connectivity.
- WJON On Demand On-demand access to WJON's newscasts and radio content, allowing users to listen to previously broadcast news segments at their convenience.
- WJON Mobile App Mobile application for iOS and Android enabling users to listen to WJON live, access on-demand newscasts, and engage with station content from smartphones and tablets.
- Value Connection Mobile App Companion mobile application offering deals, contests, and value-connection features for WJON listeners.
- Townsquare Ignite Digital Advertising Digital advertising platform offering targeted display advertising, mobile solutions, geo-fencing campaigns, YouTube pre-roll advertising, and video advertising sold to local businesses across Townsquare Media St. Cloud's digital properties.
- Marketing Solutions Services Professional services including website design, SEO services, social media management, and promotional partnerships sold to local businesses in Central Minnesota.
Companies that use WJON
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
WJON technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature4 records
WJON partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- The Associated PresscoreLicensed news content and information services from Associated Press for news coverage
- Getty ImagesminorLicensed photography services for news coverage and visual content on website and social media
- FCCcoreLicensed broadcast operations under FCC regulations with public inspection file requirements
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
WJON competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Townsquare Media (other stations): Sister stations within Townsquare Media's local-market portfolio, sharing the same news/talk/sports format, Townsquare Ignite digital ad platform, and centralized sales infrastructure as WJON. They compete for the same local advertiser dollars and operate under identical operating models.
- Beasley Broadcast Group: Operator of AM/FM stations in mid-sized U.S. markets, often combining local news/talk content with digital ad sales. Comparable to WJON in scale, market size, and reliance on local SMB advertising.
- Salem Communications: Owner of news/talk radio stations across the U.S., with a strong focus on local news and talk formats. Directly comparable in format and audience profile to WJON, particularly for local advertisers seeking conservative-news audiences.
- Bonneville International: Family-owned broadcaster operating local news/talk and sports radio stations in select markets. Similar operating model and reliance on local advertisers to WJON, though typically focused on larger markets.
- Hubbard Broadcasting: Regional broadcaster with a mix of local radio and TV stations, including news/talk formats. Comparable to WJON in operating local-market stations and selling bundled advertising packages to regional SMBs.
Broad incumbents
- iHeartMedia: One of the largest U.S. radio broadcasters with a national portfolio of AM/FM news, talk, and sports stations. Operates a comparable multi-platform ad sales model (iHeartRadio) and competes with WJON for local and regional ad budgets in markets where both overlap.
- Audacy: Large U.S. radio broadcaster with a portfolio of AM/FM stations and digital audio (Audacy app). Competes for local news/talk audiences and SMB advertiser budgets in similar mid-sized regional markets.
- Cumulus Media: Major U.S. radio broadcaster with hundreds of local stations across mid-sized markets, including news/talk and sports formats. Competes with WJON in adjacent Central Minnesota markets and shares similar advertising-supported business models.
Others
- Townsquare Ignite: Townsquare Media's digital advertising platform used by WJON to sell programmatic, geo-fenced, and multi-channel digital campaigns to local advertisers. Enables WJON's competitive digital offering against pure-play digital ad competitors.
- Nielsen Audio (NRC): Provides audience measurement and ratings data for radio stations like WJON, underpinning the ad-sales value proposition. Indirect ecosystem participant rather than a competitor, but critical to WJON's commercial monetization.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
WJON social profiles
Digital presenceWJON financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
WJON leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
WJON funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
WJON M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about WJON
What does WJON do?
WJON operates as a local AM radio station (AM 1240) broadcasting news, talk, and sports content for St. Cloud and Central Minnesota. The station distributes content through an FM translator (95.3), dedicated mobile applications, on-demand streaming, smart speakers, and its website, while generating revenue primarily by selling radio spots, digital display advertising, website sponsorships, and marketing services to local businesses.
Is WJON a public or private company?
WJON is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was WJON founded?
WJON was founded in -1. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is WJON based?
WJON is headquartered in Saint Cloud, United States, in the North America region.
How does WJON make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Radio Advertising is the primary driver. The others are digital Advertising, website Sponsorships and marketing Solutions Services.
Who are WJON's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Townsquare Media (other stations), Beasley Broadcast Group, Salem Communications, Bonneville International and Hubbard Broadcasting. Broad incumbents are iHeartMedia, Audacy and Cumulus Media. Others are Townsquare Ignite and Nielsen Audio (NRC).
Does WJON have an API?
No public API is recorded for WJON.