The station's local popularity was never sufficient to make it very profitable, and Wickus Island Broadcasting, which owned it through the latter half of the 1970s and suffered increasing losses, was obliged to declare bankruptcy at the start of the 1980s. WCAS finally went under in early 1981, and became gospel station WLVG. Prior to that, WCAS had two close calls in which they were nearly sold to religious broadcasters, once in late 1973, and again in 1975. However, in both of those situations, there was a loud public outcry which disrupted the sales, and enabled WCAS to last as long as it did. (Singer David Misch played a key role in organizing these.)