In 1970, due to the CRTC's new rules on foreign ownership of Canadian media, RKO was forced to sell the stations to Baton Broadcasting.

The FM station had a country music format with news and talk oriented toward the Windsor audience (as opposed to the AM, which chiefly targeted the American side).

The station's staff spent months preparing for the change, commissioning new jingles, advertising extensively via billboards and television, and practicing the format until they were sure it was ready.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), however, refused to approve more than four hours of Top 40 programming a day, two in the morning and two in afternoon drive.

[3] The station instituted an oldies format meant to recapture the sound of the original CKLW (AM), with former "Big 8" DJ Dave Shafer as program director and morning show host.

The new CKLW-FM brought back the well-known Johnny Mann Singers performing jingles for the "Big 8", along with many of the legendary personalities and "20/20 News".

Then, the CKLW-FM call letters and the "Big 8"-inspired oldies format were once again restored around Labour Day of 1991, with the station branded as 93.9 The Legend.

On August 25, 2000, the station flipped to a soft adult contemporary format as Lite Rock 93-9 FM in an attempt to take on AC market leader WNIC.

About three quarters of the way through the All American Rejects' "Move Along", the song was interrupted by the sound of rushing water, and a promo for the River was broadcast.

In March 2011, Martz Communications Group (through licensee Radio Power, Inc.) filed an application with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to relocate the frequency of its Detroit FM translator station, W284BQ, from 104.7 to 93.9 MHz[6] If approved, the repeater would have interfered with CIDR-FM in much of the Greater Detroit area, though the licensee contended that the transmitter would be directional, not heard over the Canadian side of the border.

In November 2011, the 104.7 FM signal went silent after having broadcast a smooth jazz format (simulcasting WGPR-HD2) for several months, having been ordered off the air by the FCC due to interference with WIOT in Toledo, Ohio.

Furthermore, on January 31, 2012, Martz ceased operations of its HD feeds on WGPR, and the translators, due to financial and signal difficulties.

[9] This is also the only Virgin Radio Canada station that streams within the United States (as a side effect of the former River format targeting Detroit).