WIL-FM (92.3MHz) is acommercialradio station inSt. Louis, Missouri. It airs acountry musicformat and is owned byHubbard Broadcasting.[2] The studios are on Olive Boulevard, nearInterstate 270 inCreve Coeur (with a St. Louis address).
Broadcast area | Greater St. Louis |
---|---|
Frequency | 92.3MHz (HD Radio) |
Branding | 92.3 WIL |
Programming | |
Format | Country |
Subchannels | |
Ownership | |
Owner |
|
KPNT,KSHE,WARH,WXOS | |
History | |
First air date | July 15, 1962; 62 years ago (1962-07-15) |
Former call signs | KFMS (March 30, 1973-September 1, 1974) |
Call sign meaning | carried over from the formerWIL (1430 AM) |
Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
Facility ID | 72390 |
Class | C0 |
ERP |
|
HAAT | 300 meters (980 ft) |
Translator(s) | HD3: 94.3 W232CR (Alton, Illinois) |
Links | |
Public license information | |
Webcast | Listen Live |
Website | 923wil |
WIL-FM is aClass C station. It has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 100,000watts, the maximum for most stations.[3] Thetransmitter is on Butler Hill Road near Keller Road in St. Louis, amid thetowers for other local FM and TV stations.[4] WIL-FM usesHD Radio technology. Its HD2subchannel playsAmericana music, known as "Second Fiddle." The HD3 subchannel playsoldies and feedsFM translatorW232CR at 94.3 MHz.
Format
editWIL-FM plays a variety of country music, concentrating on the hits from the current charts and the last 25 years.[5] WIL-FM personalities include Kasey and Marty Brooks. WIL-FM is programmed by Tommy Mattern and the music director is Marty Brooks. WIL-FM primarily competes withiHeartMedia'sKSD-FM for country listeners in St. Louis.
History
editWIL-FMsigned on the air on July 15, 1962; 62 years ago (1962-07-15), as the FMsister station toWIL (1430 AM).[6] In its first decade, it mostlysimulcast the AM station, which aired aTop 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 thecall sign KFMS on March 30, 1973. After a year, it returned to WIL-FM, effective September 1, 1974.[7] 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.[8]
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 nowdark. WIL-FM was later acquired bySalt Lake City-basedBonneville International.
Bonneville announced its sale of WIL-FM (and 16 other stations) toHubbard Broadcasting on January 19, 2011.[9] The sale was completed on April 29, 2011.[10]
On January 30, 2017, WIL-FM re-branded as "New Country 92.3".[11] 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".[12]
HD Radio
editStarting in 2012, WIL-FM'sHD2digital subchannel began airingAmericana music, calling itself "Second Fiddle". Previously, WIL-FM-HD2 was branded as "Kerosene Country", and largely had the sameplaylist as WIL-FM.
On February 18, 2020, WIL-FM signed on a third subchannel, and began airing anoldies format, branded as "My Mix 94.3." The subchannel feedsFM translatorW232CR at 94.3 MHz inAlton, Illinois.[13]
References
edit- ^"Facility Technical Data for WIL-FM".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
- ^"WIL-FM Facility Record".United StatesFederal Communications Commission, audio division. RetrievedDecember 22, 2009.
- ^FCC.gov/WIL-FM
- ^Radio-Locator.com/WIL-FM
- ^"Station Information Profile".Arbitron. Summer 2009. Archived fromthe original on September 23, 2009. RetrievedDecember 22, 2009.
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1965 page B-91. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ^FCC’s history cards for WIL-FM; retrieved April 28, 2021.
- ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-124. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ^"$505M sale: Bonneville sells Chicago, D.C., St. Louis and Cincinnati to Hubbard".Radio-Info.com. January 19, 2011. Archived fromthe original on January 22, 2011. RetrievedJanuary 19, 2011.
- ^"Hubbard deal to purchase Bonneville stations closes".Radio Ink. May 2, 2011. Archived fromthe original on March 12, 2012. RetrievedMay 2, 2011.
- ^WIL Rebrands as New Country 92.3 Radioinsight - January 30, 2017
- ^WIL Rebrands Back To Its Call Letters Radioinsight - October 6, 2020
- ^"WBGZ Moves to 107.1; Launches Oldies My Mix 94.3".
External links
edit- Official website
- WIL Radio Collection finding aid at theSt. Louis Public Library
- Facility details for Facility ID 72390 (WIL-FM) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
- WIL-FM inNielsen Audio's FM station database
- STLRadio.com - Historic information about St. Louis radio broadcasting
- Facility details for Facility ID 144705 (W232CR) in theFCC Licensing and Management System
- W232CR at FCCdata.org