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| Broadcast area | Metro D.C. |
| Frequency | 96.3MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | 96.3 WHUR |
| Programming | |
| Languages | English |
| Format | Urban adult contemporary |
| Subchannels |
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| Affiliations | Compass Media Networks Premiere Networks United Stations Radio Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Howard University |
| WHUT-TV | |
| History | |
First air date | 1939 (86 years ago) (1939) (W3XO experimental) September 1946 (78 years ago) (1946-09) |
Former call signs | W3XO (1939–1946) WINX-FM (1946–1949) WTOP-FM (1949–1971)[1] |
Former frequencies | 43.2 MHz (1939–1947) 44.7 MHz (1947) 92.9 MHz (1946–1947)[1] |
Call sign meaning | Howard University Radio |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 65707 |
| Class | B (Non-commercial) |
| ERP | 16,500watts |
| HAAT | 244 meters |
Transmitter coordinates | 38°57′01″N77°04′46″W / 38.950389°N 77.079417°W /38.950389; -77.079417 |
| Translator(s) | HD2: 98.3 W252DC (Reston, Virginia) |
| Links | |
| Webcast | Listen Live Listen Live (HD2) Listen Live (HD3) Listen Live (HD4) |
| Website | whur.com thequietstormstation.com (HD2) whbc963hd3.com (HD3) dcradio.gov (HD4) |
WHUR-FM (96.3MHz) is anurban adult contemporaryradio station that is licensed toWashington, D.C., and serving theMetro D.C. area. It is owned and operated byHoward University, making it one of the few commercial radio stations in the United States to be owned by a college or university, as well as being the only independent, locally-owned station in the Washington, D.C., area. Staff members of the station mentor the students of the university's school of communications. The studios are located on campus in its Lower Quad portion, and the transmitter tower is based in theTenleytown neighborhood. It is also co-owned with its television partner,WHUT-TV, one of D.C.'sPBS affiliates.
WHUR is also the home of the originalQuiet Storm program, which longtime D.C. listeners have rated number one in the evening since 1976, and which spawned the namesake music genre that now airs on many radio stations across the United States. In 2005, it also began broadcasting inIBOCdigital radio, using theHD Radio system fromiBiquity.
The station began operations in August 1939, as experimental FM station W3XO, on 43.2 MHz in theoriginal FM band.[3][4] It was founded by Jansky & Bailey, a local Washington firm headed by consulting radio engineers C. M. Jansky and Stuart Bailey.[5] In October 1945, W3XO was sold to WINX Broadcasting Company for $75,000.[6][7] This company also operatedWINX (1340 AM), and was owned by theWashington Post newspaper.
In May 1940, theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) had announced the establishment, effective January 1, 1941, of an FM band operating on 40 channels spanning 42–50 MHz.[8] However, as of 1945, there were no commercial FM stations in the Washington area, with the only local FM broadcasters consisting of two experimental authorizations: W3XO, plus Everett L. Dillard'sW3XL. In November 1945, the WINX Broadcasting Company filed an application to convert W3XO into the Washington-area's first commercial station. The application was granted the following August, and assigned the call letters WINX-FM.
WINX-FM started regular broadcasting in September 1946, with a daily schedule from 9:00 a.m. to 11:15 p.m., mostly duplicating the programming of WINX.[9] The FCC was in the process of reassigning the original FM band frequencies to other services, and ordered existing stations to move to a new band from 88 to 106 MHz, which was later expanded to 88–108 MHz. During a transition period from the original FM "low band" to the new "high band", some stations broadcast simultaneously on their old and new frequencies. Thus, initially WINX-FM transmitted on both 43.2 and 92.9 MHz. In July 1946, the FCC directed that FM stations currently operating on 42-44 MHz would have to move to new frequencies by the end of the year,[10] and the station received a temporary authorization to transmit on 44.7 MHz.[1] In 1947, WINX-FM was reassigned to 96.3 MHz.[11]
WINX-FM had the slogan "Sounds like Washington", to reflect the station's local ownership, which is still in use today. In 1949, thePost sold the AM station, WINX, and purchasedWTOP (1500 AM). At this point WINX-FM's call letters were changed to WTOP-FM.[1][12]
By 1970, WTOP-FM was playing pop music with large parts of the day spent simulcastingall-news WTOP. In December, thePost announced it would donate the station to Howard University. Howard had failed several months prior in its attempt to secure the last vacant FM allocation in the Washington market, 89.3 FM (nowWPFW). University presidentJames E. Cheek said in a statement that "we consider this a major step forward for Howard University in its determination to advance the role of black citizens toward a better America in the years ahead."[13]
On December 6, 1971, the station changed its call letters to WHUR-FM. WHUR became ajazz-formatted radio station, which it remained until April 1993, when it switched to anurban adult contemporary format.
Thequiet storm format of mellow,rhythm and blues andsoul music,smooth jazz and love songs often played at night on many radio stations originated at WHUR. Then-internMelvin Lindsey came up with the idea when he played a soothing string of songs during a particularly bad storm in 1976, even as power was cut to most other area radio stations. It is named after aSmokey Robinsonalbum of the same name. The quiet storm nighttime format has since been replicated in other major cities that have R&B station formats, such asSan Francisco-basedKBLX (which formerly utilized a 24-hour quiet storm format for three decades).
In 1977, WHUR-FM reporter and student intern Maurice Williams was killed during theHanafi siege.[14]
By 1995, WHUR became one of the highest-rated radio stations in the market, right behindWPGC-FM. Also that year, WHUR became the Washington radio and flagship affiliate of the syndicatedTom Joyner Morning Show (TJMS). However, in 1999,ABC Radio Networks did not renew its contract with WHUR and moved the show toWMMJ, thus ending its four-year relationship with the station. WHUR was forced to produce its own locally-based morning drive show. This initially affected the station's dominance over rivalWMMJ. WHUR, in 2002, acquiredTheMichael Baisden Show and later, in 2005,TheSteve Harvey Morning Show. The station regained its top two spots in the market to date, pacing number two in the 12+ demographic and number one in the 25–54 demographic and the number one urban formatted station in D.C. In 2013,The Michael Baisden Show was cancelled due to its distributor,Cumulus Media and Baisden failing to reach an agreement; WHUR has since replaced its P.M. drive with former Baltimore and Atlanta radio personalityFrank Ski, former host of the morning show onWVEE in Atlanta (where Ski still resides).
In September 2016, the station was awarded "Urban Station of The Year" by the National Association of Broadcasters'.[15]
WHUR-FM produces several ancillary programming streams, variously available over itsHD Radio signal andSiriusXM satellite radio:
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