WNTR
| City of license | Indianapolis, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Branding | 107.9 The Mix |
| Slogan | Indy's 10 In A Row Variety Station |
| Frequency | 107.9 MHz(also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | 1984 (as WTPI) |
| Format | AC HD2: Smooth Jazz |
| ERP | 22,000 watts |
| HAAT | 232 meters |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 47143 |
| Callsign meaning | W iNdianapolis T Radio |
| Former callsigns | WTPI (1984–2005) |
| Owner | Entercom Communications (Entercom License, LLC) |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | indysmix.com |
WNTR is a commercial radio station located in Indianapolis, Indiana, broadcasting on 107.9 FM. WNTR airs a AC format under ownership of Entercom. Its studios are located on Meridian Street in Indy's northside, and its transmitter tower is on the northwest side.
History
Indiana Broadcasting Company was granted a Construction Permit to build WISH-FM on July 21, 1960.[1] The radio station, today known as WNTR, first went on the air on October 22, 1961[2] as WISH-FM, a sister station to WISH (1310 AM) and WISH-TV (Channel 8). In November 1963,[3] both of the radio stations were sold to Don Burden's Star Stations of Indiana and became WIFE and WIFE-FM. Lucky 13 WIFE was a Top 40 dynasty into the 1970s, while the FM operation was an automated beautiful music station. However, Burden ran afoul of the FCC and his stations had their operating licenses revoked in May 1976, forcing a sale. The new ownership maintained the stations for several years during a time when AM was continuing to rapidly lose market share to FM. WIFE-FM was ordered off the air, and signed off on September 2, 1976.[4] The frequency would remain vacant until granted to Peoples Broadcasting Corporation on May 10, 1982.[5]
On October 15, 1984,[6] the increasingly valuable FM station was relaunched, using the call letters WTPI, as assigned on August 13, 1984.[7] WTPI was called "the Top for Indianapolis," relating to its location at the top of the Indianapolis FM dial. The first program director at WTPI was Mark Edwards and the station's new studios overlooked Monument Circle in downtown Indy. Longtime morning personality, Steve Cooper (a.k.a. Jim Carr) was with the station for its entire lifetime. Cooper also did stints at WNDE-AM (1260) and WIFE-AM (1310). Overnights were handled by Mike O'Brien (a.k.a. Dave Heck now an engineer at Emmis Radio) for nearly 20 years. The station was known for "Night Breeze" a nightly light AC and Jazz show in the 1990s.
The radio station eventually moved from Monument Circle to the 3100 block of North Meridian Street and finally to 9245 North Meridian, where it remains to the present day under the WNTR call letters. Long-time WTPI program director was Gary Havens.
On October 3, 2005, current owner Entercom changed the WTPI calls, and dropped the adult contemporary music format in favor of adult hits along with a change to its current call letters of WNTR. The station's on-air identifier was "107.9 The Track." Programming featured a somewhat "Jack-like" format proclaiming "We Play Everything." A popular live syndicated show featuring Tom Kent occupied the evening shift on WNTR. They also broadcast American Top 40 The '80s with Casey Kasem on Saturday at 6:00 am and also on Sunday at 8:00 am; this show is now heard on competitor AC station B105.7.
On November 13, 2009, WNTR began stunting with Christmas music with a format flip coming after Christmas Day.
On December 28, 2009, at 12:28 p.m., WNTR was rebranded as "My 107.9", retaining the adult hits format.
On May 22, 2013 after playing Kesha's Blow, and a goodbye message, followed by Simple Minds' Don't You (Forget About Me), WNTR began stunting with micro-formats. They were Rock as Rock 107.9, all Garth Brooks as Garth 107.9, Christmas music as Yule 107.9, all boy bands as Heartthrob 107.9, all Midwestern-born artists as 107.9 Heartland Radio, and sounds of nature as Earth 107.9. The following day at 5 PM, an AC format was introduced under the name "107.9 The Mix", with Dave Smiley from sister station WZPL[8] launching the station with Fall Out Boy's My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up).[9]
WNTR is licensed to broadcast in the HD Radio format.[10]
References
- ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1960/B%201%20Radio%20Yearbook%201960.pdf
- ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1963/B%20A-M%20Radio%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201963.pdf
- ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC-YB/1964/Section%20B1%20A%20M%20Broadcasting%20Yearbook%201964.pdf
- ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=bg13QcMSsq8C&pg=PA356&lpg=PA356&dq=wife+fm+indianapolis&source=bl&ots=ahNXFlPRql&sig=DpoHlIWy4kVuJrfjVm5qLndzDO8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=XT5pVKSgLImeNs7QgrgG&ved=0CDcQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=wife%20fm%20indianapolis&f=false
- ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/82-OCR/1982-06-07-BC-OCR-Page-0094.pdf#search=%22107.9%22
- ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Annuals/Archive-BC-YB-IDX/80s-OCR-YB/1985-YB/1985-BC-YB-OCR-Page-0175.pdf#search=%22wtpi%22
- ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=47143&Callsign=WNTR
- ↑ http://formatchange.com/wntr-becomes-107-9-the-mix/
- ↑ http://radioinsight.com/blog/headlines/netgnomes/82086/my-indianapolis-mix-up/
- ↑ http://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/sta_det.pl?Facility_id=47143
External links
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WNTR
- Radio-Locator information on WNTR
- Query Nielsen Audio's FM station database for WNTR
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