| Broadcast area | South Central Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 830kHz |
| Branding | 830 AM WEEU |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Network | Townhall News |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | January 4, 1932 (93 years ago) (1932-01-04) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 70508 |
| Class | B |
| Power |
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Transmitter coordinates | 40°30′54.33″N76°07′2.0″W / 40.5150917°N 76.117222°W /40.5150917; -76.117222 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live |
| Website | www |
WEEU (830kHz) is a commercial AM radio station inReading, Pennsylvania. It has anews/talkradio format and is owned by The Treese Media Group, LLC, led by John and Kristine Treese. The studios and offices are on North Fourth Street.[2]
WEEU is powered at 20,000watts by day. Because830 AM is aclear channel frequency reserved forClass A stationWCCO inMinneapolis, WEEU must reduce power to 6,000 watts at night to avoid interference. It uses a six-tower array to create differentdirectional signal patterns for daytime and nighttime. During the day, WEEU's signal is aimed toward the northwest and the southeast from itstransmitter inShartlesville, nearInterstate 78.[3] At night, WEEU's signal is directed toward the southeast, away from Minneapolis.
WEEU has two local talk shows on weekdays:Mornings with Mike is hosted by Mike Keller and Bob McCool indrive time.Feedback with Bill Saunders is heard in late mornings. The rest of the weekday schedule isnationally syndicatedconservative talk programs:The Brian Kilmeade Show,Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla,The Ramsey Show withDave Ramsey, Markley, Van Camp and Robbins, Rich Valdés America at Night,Red Eye Radio andAmerica in the Morning.
Weekends include local showsJack's Backyard andPet Radio. Weekday talk shows are also repeated. Most hours begin with an update fromTownhall Radio News.
WEEU is part of thePhiladelphia Eagles Radio Network broadcastingEaglesfootball games, and thePhiladelphia Phillies Radio Network, broadcastingPhilliesbaseball games.Penn StateNittany Lions football and basketball also air on WEEU.
The station broadcastshigh school football and basketball games from area schools. Shows focusing on local teams includeA Slice of Sports andThe Scoreboard Show hosted by Jeff Nolan.
On January 4, 1932, WEEUsigned on the air. It originally broadcast on 830 kHz as adaytime-only station with 1,000 watts of power.[4] It was owned by Berks Broadcasting with studios at 533 Penn Street.[5]
In 1941, WEEU's frequency was changed to 850 kHz as a result ofNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA). In 1949, WEEU was granted fulltime authorization by theFederal Communications Commission (FCC) by adding adirectional nighttime signal. In 1999, WEEU moved back to 830 kHz with a more powerful signal. It was powered at 5,000 watts in the daytime and 6,000 watts at night. It used a new five-tower array, just north ofInterstate 78 inShartlesville. In the early 2000s, WEEU added a sixth tower to its array. That allowed it to upgrad its daytime signal to 20,000 watts. 50,000 watts is the maximum for AM stations in the U.S. WEEU kept its 6,000 watt nighttime power.
Starting in the 1940s, WEEU was anABC RadioNetwork affiliate.[6] It switched toTownhall Radio News in the 2020s.
WEEU had been co-owned with theReading Eagle daily newspaper. As a result of thebankruptcy of theReading Eagle Company and the May 2019 sale of most its assets toMediaNews Group, WEEU was put up for sale. There were tentative plans to shut the station down at the completion of the sale of the newspaper, which was to take place before July 31, 2019. Any potential buyer would be allowed to use the station's transmission facilities for up to five years, if not sold by MediaNews Group beforehand.[7]
In June 2019, Twilight Broadcasting agreed to purchase WEEU, allowing the station to remain on the air with most of its existing programming. However, another Reading station, 1340WRAW owned byiHeartMedia, claimed programming from iHeart'sPremiere Networks as the bankruptcy took effect. That meant the popular syndicated talk program,The Rush Limbaugh Show moved from 830 to 1340 AM.
Alocal marketing agreement (LMA) began on July 1, upon the completion of MediaNews Group's acquisition ofThe Reading Eagle.[8] The purchase was consummated on September 12, at a price of $88,500. WEEU programming wassimulcast on co-owned 1160WBYN inLehighton until 2021.
The station was sold again to Treese Media Group LLC, led by John Treese and his wife Kristine in November 2023. Treese had been aDJ forWNPV,WQKX andWVLY-FM before becoming an owner. The sale closed on February 2, 2024.[9]
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