In December 1998, the station changed its format to contemporary hit radio (Top 40).[3] WJHR briefly broadcast a talk radio format called "Chat Radio" on May 3, 1999, and the station turned off the AM stereo system. It later had short stints as a business talk station and a sports radio station affiliated with ESPN Radio before adopting the call sign and religious format of WCHR, which had been operating on 920 AM in Trenton, in 2002.
Sports station
On January 3, 2008, Nassau Broadcasting Partners announced that 1040 AM would drop the religious format and switch to a full-time simulcast of New York City's ESPN Radio station WEPN.[4] Nassau moved the religious programming and the WCHR call sign back to 920, which had been broadcasting as a Philadelphia-oriented ESPN Radio affiliate under the call letters WPHY.[5] On February 5, 2008, the station took the WNJE call sign.
On May 21, 2012, WNJE ended the simulcast of WEPN and joined ESPN Deportes Radio, a Spanish-language sports station. This came in advance of WEPN's own switch to ESPN Deportes Radio in September, after ESPN Radio took over the operations of WEPN-FM in April.
The WCHR studios are at the Townsquare Media office in Ewing, co-located with the studios for New Jersey 101.5 and 94.5 WPST
WNJE and nine other Nassau stations in New Jersey and Pennsylvania were purchased at a bankruptcy auction by NB Broadcasting in May 2012. NB Broadcasting was controlled by Nassau's creditors — Goldman Sachs, Pluss Enterprises, and P.E. Capital.[6][7] In November, NB Broadcasting filed a motion to assign its rights to the stations to Connoisseur Media.[8]
Back to Christian radio
On December 3, 2012, WNJE dropped ESPN Deportes Radio and began simulcasting the religious format of WCHR (920 AM). The sale to Connoisseur Media, at a price of $38.7million, was consummated on May 29, 2013.
On November 13, 2013, the simulcast of the religious format ended, and the Christian programming was subsequently heard only on 1040. AM 920 adopted a secular talk radio format, changed its call letters to WNJE and later was sold. (It is now a Regional Mexican station.) The WCHR call sign was once again moved to 1040.
Effective July 2, 2018, WCHR and sister stations WNJE and WPST were sold to Townsquare Media for $17.3million.
