It is owned by the Chapel Hill Media Group and it has a format of news, talk, sports and adult album alternative music.

WCHL served as the launching point for the Village Broadcasting Companies, which bought Burlington's WBAG-FM in 1983, moving it to Raleigh as WZZU (now WNCB "B93.9").

The WCHL news department brought home many Associated Press awards and launched the career of several nationally renowned journalists and sports broadcasters.

Charles Kuralt and Jim Lampley began their broadcast careers at WCHL while students at the University of North Carolina.

Vilcom's longtime owner, Jim Heavner, sold a minority stake in WCHL to Barry Leffler, former president of WNCN in Raleigh, in late 2009.

On January 21, 2010, WCHL's network Air America filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and ceased live programming the same night.

[5] In August 2015, WCHL was purchased by Leslie Rudd who brought in several local investors, Chris Ehrenfeld, Jim Kitchen and Mark Vitali to form Chapel Hill Media Group, LLC.

The station has continuously broadcast from its two-tower array on Franklin Street, noticeable for being emblazoned with metal call letters on one tower and its frequency on the other.

[8] The station, previously licensed to Creedmoor, North Carolina, at 98.5 FM, moved to Chapel Hill and to 97.9 MHz.

The translator is intended to improve nighttime reception of the station and to allow listeners who prefer FM radio to tune in.