Broadcast area | Springfield, Illinois metropolitan area |
---|---|
Frequency | 1450 kHz |
Branding | Sports Radio 92.3FM 1450AM |
Programming | |
Format | Sports radio |
Affiliations | ESPN Radio Fox Sports Radio WICS |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
WCVS, WFMB-FM, WXAJ | |
History | |
First air date | August 19, 1926 (as WCBS, a portable radio station) [1] |
Former call signs |
|
Technical information [2] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 48333 |
Class | C |
Power | 1,000 watts unlimited |
Translator(s) | 92.3 W222CG (Springfield) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | website |
WFMB (1450 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a sports radio format. Licensed to Springfield, Illinois, the station is owned by Neuhoff Corp., through licensee Neuhoff Media Springfield, LLC. WFMB features local hosts in morning and afternoon drive time, plus agricultural reports weekdays at 5:30 a.m. and noon. The rest of the schedule comes from ESPN Radio.
WFMB is powered at 1,000 watts non-directional. Its programming is also carried by FM translator W222CG at 92.3 MHz. [3]
The station was first licensed, with the call sign WCBS, on August 19, 1926. [1] The call letters were unrelated to the CBS Radio Network or WCBS in New York City.
WCBS was originally a portable broadcasting station, assigned to Harold L. Dewing and Charles H. Messter of Providence, Rhode Island. [4] It was the second portable station licensed to Messter, joining WCBR, first licensed in 1924. [5] Portable stations could be transported from place-to-place on movable platforms such as trucks. They were commonly hired out for a few weeks at a time to theaters located in small towns that did not have their own radio stations, to be used for special programs broadcast to the local community. Regulating "moving targets" proved difficult, so in May 1928 the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) announced it was ending the licensing of portable facilities, [6] and WCBR was deleted in the summer of 1928. [7]
WCBS was only briefly used as a portable station. Finding limited prospects in New England, Harold Dewing set out for the Midwest. [8] WCBS moved to Springfield in late 1926, where it gave a debut broadcast from the Lyric Theater on December 10, [9] and Springfield become WCBS's permanent home in 1927. [10]
After a period when, due to an adverse court ruling, the government lost most of its authority to regulate radio stations, the Federal Radio Commission (FRC) was established, which issued temporary authorizations, starting with one on May 3, 1927, which assigned WCBS to 1230 kHz. [11] During 1927, WCBS's frequency assignment was changed to 1430 kHz, and then to 1210 kHz. [1] The FRC also informed stations that if they wanted to continue operating, they needed to file a formal license application by January 15, 1928, as the first step in determining whether they met the new "public interest, convenience, or necessity" standard. [12] On May 25, 1928, the FRC issued General Order 32, which notified 164 stations, including WCBS, that "From an examination of your application for future license it does not find that public interest, convenience, or necessity would be served by granting it." [13] However, WCBS successfully convinced the commission that it should remain licensed.
On November 11, 1928, the FRC implemented a major reallocation of station transmitting frequencies, as part of a reorganization resulting from its implementation of General Order 40. WCBS was assigned to 1210 kHz with 100 watts, sharing time on the frequency with WTAX. [14] The frequency assigned to WCBS was changed to 1420 kHz in 1935. [1] Its daytime power was increased to 250 watts in 1937 and its nighttime power was increased to 250 watts in 1939. [1] Its frequency was changed to 1450 kHz in March 1941, as a result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement. [1]
On September 8, 1946, the station call sign was changed to WCVS, so that the flagship Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) radio station in New York City could become WCBS. [15]
In 1958, WCVS was sold to Jerome William O'Connor's WPFA Radio Inc. for $285,000. [16] [1] [17] Its daytime power was increased to 1,000 watts in 1962. [1] In 1966, the station was sold to Eastern Broadcasting Corporation for $700,000. [17] [1]
WCVS aired a Top 40 format in the 1960s and 1970s. [18] [19] [20] In the mid 1980s, as contemporary hit music was moving the FM band, the station switched a full service, adult contemporary format. [21] [22] In 1989, the station was sold to Neuhoff Broadcasting, along with 104.5 WFMB, for $4,250,000. [23] [24] [25] By 1989, the station had adopted an oldies format. [26] [27] [28]
On October 1, 1992, the station's call sign was changed to WFMB, and it adopted a country music format, with programming from the Real Country network. [29] [28] In 1994, the station adopted a sports talk format. [30] [31]
In 1996, the station was sold to Patterson Broadcasting, which, after a series of acquisitions, would become part of Clear Channel Communications. [32] [33] In 2007, as Clear Channel was selling most of its stations in smaller markets, Neuhoff bought back the Springfield stations they had sold, including WFMB-FM. [33]
The station still operates from an historic radio tower in suburban Springfield, IL (Southern View), which was constructed in the late 1940s, and was the original transmitter location for WICS TV 20. [34]
WFMB is also heard on 92.3 MHz, through a translator in Springfield, Illinois. The translator formerly broadcast at 107.1, with a strongly directional signal to the northeast, from about 2014 until February 2019. On February 22, 2019, the translator moved to a non-directional signal at 92.3.
Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | FCC info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
W222CG | 92.3 FM | Springfield, Illinois | 138645 | 250 | 124 m (407 ft) | LMS |
WCBS is a radio station licensed to New York, New York and is owned and operated by Audacy, Inc. WCBS's studios are located in the combined Audacy facility in the Hudson Square neighborhood of lower Manhattan and its transmitter site is located on High Island in the Bronx. Its 50,000-watt clear channel signal can be heard at night throughout much of the eastern United States and Canada.
WKBF was a radio station licensed to Rock Island, Illinois, which last carried a regional Mexican format. The station's frequency was 1270 kHz, and was broadcast at a power of 5 kW. It last broadcast in Autumn 2018, and its license was cancelled on June 1, 2020. Its transmitter was located on 22nd Avenue in Moline, alongside the Moline–East Moline border just off 53rd Street and Avenue of the Cities.
WADO is a commercial radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned by Latino Media Network. It broadcasts a Spanish-language sports radio format.
WZRC, known on-air as "AM1480", is a radio station licensed to New York City. The station is owned by Multicultural Broadcasting and airs Cantonese programming. It is one of two Cantonese radio stations serving the New York metropolitan area, the other is Chung Wah Chinese Broadcasting Company. WZRC's transmitting facility is located in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey.
WHP is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, serving the Harrisburg metropolitan area of South Central Pennsylvania. It broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios are on Corporate Circle in Harrisburg, off North Progress Avenue.
WYCK is a radio station that is owned by Bold Gold Media. Licensed to the city of Plains, it serves the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton radio market and broadcasts with 810 watts, non-directional.
WDBZ is an urban talk/urban contemporary-formatted radio station serving Cincinnati, Ohio. The station mostly plays urban talk while also providing urban oldies and urban contemporary gospel music. Owned by Urban One, its studios are located at Centennial Plaza in Downtown Cincinnati and the transmitter site is in Eden Park.
WMBD is a commercial AM radio station. It is the oldest station in the Peoria, Illinois, area. It broadcasts a news/talk format and is owned by Duke Wright with the license held by Midwest Communications, Inc. The radio studios and offices are on Fulton Street in Peoria. The WMBD transmitter site is located on County Road 2100 East in Groveland Township, Illinois. The station is powered at 5,000 watts, with a directional signal. By day, a two-tower array is used, switching to a four-tower array at night to avoid causing interference with other stations.
KNML is a sports talk formatted radio station owned by Cumulus Media and licensed to Albuquerque, New Mexico. Its studios are located in Downtown Albuquerque and it utilizes daytime and nighttime transmitters that are located within yards of each other in the southwest quadrant of the city, between the Rio Grande and the Albuquerque International Sunport.
WBTK is a Spanish religious formatted broadcast radio station licensed to and serving Richmond, Virginia. WBTK is owned and operated by Mount Rich Media, LLC.
WTAX is a commercial AM radio station in Springfield, Illinois. It is owned by Saga Communications, and operates as part of its Capitol Radio Group. WTAX simulcasts a news/talk radio format with 93.9 WTAX-FM. The radio studios and offices are on East Sangamon Avenue in Springfield.
WCVS-FM is a commercial radio station licensed to Virden, Illinois, and serving the Springfield metropolitan area. It broadcasts an adult hits radio format, branded as "96.7 BOB FM." The station is currently owned by Neuhoff Corp., through licensee Neuhoff Media Springfield, LLC.
WIBA is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Madison, Wisconsin. Owned by iHeartMedia, the station airs a Conservative Talk format, under the slogan "Madison's News/Talk Station."
WCLO is a radio station broadcasting a news–talk format. Licensed to Janesville, Wisconsin, United States, the station serves the Janesville area. The station is currently owned by Benjamin Thompson and features programming from CBS News Radio, Genesis Communications Network, Premiere Networks, Radio America, USA Radio Network, and Westwood One.
KSGF is an AM radio station licensed to serve Springfield, Missouri, United States. The station, which launched in 1926 as KGBX, is owned by SummitMedia. The station is also simulcast on 104.1 FM, which is licensed to Ash Grove, Missouri, United States.
WJOL is a radio station broadcasting a news talk/sports format. Licensed to Joliet, Illinois, United States, the station is currently owned by Alpha Media, through licensee Alpha Media Licensee LLC. WJOL carries a variety of local programming, as well as nationally syndicated shows. WJOL's studios are located in Crest Hill, and its transmitter site is in Joliet.
WSOY is a commercial AM radio station broadcasting a Talk radio format. Licensed to Decatur, Illinois, the station is owned by Neuhoff Corp., through licensee Neuhoff Media Decatur, LLC. Neuhoff owns four other local radio stations, WCZQ, WDZ, WDZQ and WSOY-FM. Studios and offices are located on North Water Street and the transmitter site is near St. Louis Bridge Road, sharing the same tower as WDZ.
WTAD is a radio station broadcasting a news talk format. Licensed to Quincy, Illinois, the station is owned by STARadio Corporation.
Portable broadcasting stations in the United States was a category of AM band radio stations, which were not restricted to operation in a specific community, but instead were permitted to be transported for broadcasting from various locations. These authorizations began in the early 1920s during a period when radio regulation in the United States was the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. However, after the newly formed Federal Radio Commission (FRC) took over in early 1927, it was decided that allowing stations to make unrestricted relocations was impractical, and in 1928 the FRC announced that existing portables that had not settled into permanent locations would be deleted. Station owner C. L. Carrell attempted to overturn the new policy, but was unsuccessful.
WLWL was a noncommercial radio station in New York City. It was operated by the Paulist Fathers, with its main goal being "the spread of Catholic truth and culture". WLWL began broadcasting in September 1925, and was sold in 1937, becoming WBIL. WBIL in turn was deleted in 1939, as part of a consolidation that resulted in an upgrade for station WOV.