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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Harrisburg metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 580kHz |
| Branding | NewsRadio WHP 580 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Talk radio |
| Affiliations | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | February 10, 1925; 100 years ago (1925-02-10) |
Former call signs |
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Former frequencies |
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Call sign meaning | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 15322 |
| Class | B |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
Transmitter coordinates | 40°18′11.32″N76°57′5.91″W / 40.3031444°N 76.9516417°W /40.3031444; -76.9516417 |
| Translator | 103.7 W279EC (Harrisburg) |
| Repeater | 97.3 WRVV-HD2 (Harrisburg) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | whp580 |
WHP (580kHz) is acommercial radio station licensed toHarrisburg, Pennsylvania, serving theHarrisburg metropolitan area. It broadcasts atalk radio format, and is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. The station's studios are on Corporate Circle in Harrisburg, off North Progress Avenue.
WHP is powered at 5,000 watts,non-directional during the day. To protect other stations on580 AM from interference at night, it uses adirectional antenna with a six-tower array. Itstransmitter is on Tower Road nearInterstate 81 inEast Pennsboro Township. Programming issimulcast on 130-wattFM translator 103.7 W279EC and on the HD2digital subchannel ofsister station 97.3WRVV.[2]
Weekday mornings begin with a news and interview program hosted by R.J. Harris. The show is simulcast on co-owned 1340WRAW inReading. The rest of the weekday schedule is from iHeart subsidiaryPremiere Networks:The Glenn Beck Radio Program,The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show,The Sean Hannity Show,The Jesse Kelly Show andCoast to Coast AM withGeorge Noory. Weekends feature shows on money, health, guns, gardening, travel and technology, some of which are paidbrokered programming. Syndicated weekend hosts includeRich DeMuro on Tech,Sunday Night with Bill Cunningham andSomewhere in Time with Art Bell. Most hours begin with an update fromFox News Radio.
Until July 2022, WHP had a local afternoondrive time host,Ken Matthews. Matthews was named one of the 100 most important talk radio show hosts (the "Heavy Hundred") in America byTalkers Magazine in 2020.[3] Another past host on WHP wasBob Durgin, on the station from 1989 to 2013.[4]
The Department of Commerce granted John S. Skane a license for a new station, WHBG, on February 20, 1925. It had studios at 2810 North Fourth Street in Harrisburg, transmitting on 1300 kHz.[5] In late 1926, ownership was transferred to Macks Battery Service, and thecall sign was changed to WMBS.[6] As of December 31, 1926, the station was reported to be operating on a self-assigned frequency of 833 kHz.[7]
Following the formation of theFederal Radio Commission (FRC), the new regulators issued a series of temporary authorizations beginning on May 3, 1927, with WMBS assigned to 820 kHz.[8] That was changed on June 1, 1927, to 1280 kHz.[9] Stations were also informed 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.[10] On May 25, 1928, the FRC issuedGeneral Order 32, which notified 164 stations, including WMBS, 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."[11] However, the station 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 ofGeneral Order 40. WMBS was assigned to 1430 kHz, sharing this frequency withWKBN inYoungstown, Ohio.[12] On October 19, 1928, the FRC granted Mack's Battery Company aconstruction permit to move the station to 1430 kHz, followed by a new license for operation on the new frequency on January 31, 1929. WMBS was required to share 1430 kHz with WBAK and hence it could not be a full-time station.[9]
The station's license was transferred by the FRC to Pennsylvania Broadcasting Company effective March 22, 1929, accompanied by a change in call sign to WHP. On December 1, 1930, the FRC granted another transfer of the license to WHP, Incorporated.[9] On January 26, 1933, WHP was granted full time operation, no longer having to share its frequency.[13] The FRC granted WHP full-time operation (6 am to 1 am) on April 27, 1934.[9]
WHP moved from 1430 kHz to 1460 kHz on March 29, 1941.[9] On that day, 795 US radio stations changed frequency as the result of theNorth American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), signed in Havana with representatives from Canada, US, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.
For most of its history, WHP was anetwork affiliate ofCBS Radio. It carried CBS's schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows andbig band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio". In an advertisement in the 1952Broadcasting Yearbook, WHP is described as "The Key Station of the Keystone State". The ad says WHP is "welcomed into tens of thousands of homes in Pennsylvania's rich South-Central belt. It is the CBS station serving Harrisburg, Lancaster, York and Lebanon."[14]
In 1946, an FM station was added, WHP-FM.[15] It originally broadcast on 43.5MHz, moving to 97.3 MHz several months later. In its early years, WHP-FM mostlysimulcast the AM station, later switching tobeautiful music in the 1960s and is todayclassic rockWRVV "97.3 The River".
In 1953, a television station was added,WHP-TV, originally on Channel 55 and later on Channel 21. Because WHP had long been a CBS Radio affiliate, WHP-TV carriedCBS television programs, along with some shows from theDuMont Television Network.
TheFederal Communications Commission granted WHP a construction permit on January 6, 1950, to move the station from 1460 kHz to 580 kHz, followed by a license for operation on the new frequency effective May 1, 1952.[9] The frequency lower on the AM dial gave WHP a stronger signal. The move was coupled with an increase in nighttime power to 5,000 watts, allowing it to cover most ofSouth Central Pennsylvania day and night.[16]
As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950s and 1960s, WHP switched to afull service,middle of the road (MOR) format of popular adult music, news, talk and sports. In the 1980s, as music listening moved from AM to FM radio, WHP added more talk programming and by the 1990s, it had transitioned to a talk radio station.
In August 1998, the Dame Media stations, including WHP and WRVV, were sold toClear Channel Communications, the forerunner to iHeartMedia.[17][18] In 2007, Clear Channel sold WHP-TV and its other television properties to concentrate on radio. WHP-TV is currently owned by theSinclair Broadcast Group, even though it continues to share its call letters with WHP radio.
WHP once broadcast usingHD Radio technology. Its digital signal was reported off the air as of July 2017.[19] It remains on an FM HD radio subchannel of WRVV.
WHP (AM) programming issimulcast on the followingFM translator:
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W279EC | 103.7 FM | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | 202574 | 130 | 224 m (735 ft) | D | 40°11′31.3″N76°52′0.1″W / 40.192028°N 76.866694°W /40.192028; -76.866694 (W279EC) | LMS |