WIL-FM

Last updated

WIL-FM
Broadcast area Greater St. Louis
Frequency 92.3 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding92.3 WIL
Programming
Format Country
Subchannels
Ownership
Owner
KPNT, KSHE, WARH, WXOS
History
First air date
July 15, 1962 (1962-07-15)
Former call signs
  • WIL-FM (1962–1973)
  • KFMS (1973–1974)
Call sign meaning
Carried over from the former WIL (1430 AM)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID 72390
Class C0
ERP 100,000 watts
HAAT 300 meters (980 ft)
Translator HD3: 94.3 W232CR (Alton, Illinois)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live
Website 923wil.com

WIL-FM (92.3 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and serving Greater St. Louis. It airs a country music format and is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. [2] [3] The studios are on Olive Boulevard, near Interstate 270 in Creve Coeur (with a St. Louis address).

Contents

The transmitter is on Butler Hill Road near Keller Road in St. Louis. [4] WIL-FM uses HD Radio technology. Its HD2 subchannel plays Americana music known as "Second Fiddle." The HD3 subchannel plays oldies and feeds FM translator W232CR at 94.3 MHz.

History

WIL-FM signed on the air on July 15, 1962, as the FM sister station to WIL (1430 AM). [5] In its first decade, it mostly simulcast the AM station, which aired a Top 40 format, and were owned by WIL, Inc., a subsidiary of Balaban Stations. At the time, their studios were in Broadcasting House in St. Louis. WIL-FM was only powered at 30,000 watts, a fraction of its current output.

WIL-FM took the call sign KFMS on March 30, 1973. After a year, it returned to WIL-FM, effective September 1, 1974. [6] In the 1970s, WIL had switched to a personality country format, while the FM aired a more music-intensive country format, with less chatter and fewer commercials. [7]

Over time, as more people tuned to the FM band for music listening, WIL-FM became the dominant station. Eventually, the AM station changed its call letters to KZQZ and is now dark. WIL-FM was later acquired by Salt Lake City-based Bonneville International.

Bonneville announced its sale of WIL-FM (and 16 other stations) to Hubbard Broadcasting on January 19, 2011. [8] The sale was completed on April 29, 2011. [9]

On January 30, 2017, WIL-FM re-branded as "New Country 92.3". [10] On October 6, 2020, the station dropped the "New Country 92.3" branding and returned to using its call letters in its branding as "92.3 WIL". [11]

HD Radio

Starting in 2012, WIL-FM's HD2 digital subchannel began airing Americana music, calling itself "Second Fiddle". Previously, WIL-FM-HD2 was branded as "Kerosene Country", and largely had the same playlist as WIL-FM.

On February 18, 2020, WIL-FM signed on a third subchannel, and began airing an oldies format, branded as "My Mix 94.3." The subchannel feeds FM translator W232CR at 94.3 MHz in Alton, Illinois. [12]

See also

References

  1. "Facility Technical Data for WIL-FM". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. "WIL-FM Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  3. "Station Information Profile". Arbitron. Summer 2009. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved December 22, 2009.
  4. FCC.gov/WIL-FM
  5. Broadcasting Yearbook 1965 page B-91. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  6. FCC’s history cards for WIL-FM; retrieved April 28, 2021.
  7. Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-124. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  8. "$505M sale: Bonneville sells Chicago, D.C., St. Louis and Cincinnati to Hubbard". Radio-Info.com. January 19, 2011. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  9. "Hubbard deal to purchase Bonneville stations closes". Radio Ink . May 2, 2011. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  10. WIL Rebrands as New Country 92.3 Radioinsight - January 30, 2017
  11. WIL Rebrands Back To Its Call Letters Radioinsight - October 6, 2020
  12. "WBGZ Moves to 107.1; Launches Oldies My Mix 94.3".