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|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Baltimore metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 95.1MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Bright-FM |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Christian adult contemporary |
| Subchannels | HD2:Christian talk and teaching "WRBS-AM" |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Peter & John Radio Fellowship, Inc |
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| History | |
First air date | June 30, 1960 (1960-06-30) |
Call sign meaning | Reynolds Broadcasting System (original owner) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 52353 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 50,000 watts |
| HAAT | 152 meters (499 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°15′22″N76°40′26″W / 39.256°N 76.674°W /39.256; -76.674 |
| Repeaters |
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| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | |
| Website | |
WRBS-FM (95.1MHz, "Bright-FM") is a radio station inBaltimore, Maryland, serving theBaltimore metropolitan area. The station broadcasts aChristian adult contemporaryradio format and is owned by Peter & John Radio Fellowship, Inc.[2][3]
WRBS-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 50,000 watts, the maximum permitted for non-grandfathered FM stations in this region. Its studios andtransmitter are co-located off Commerce Drive nearInterstate 95 inHalethorpe, Maryland, using a Baltimore address.[4] WRBS-FM broadcasts usingHD Radio technology. The HD2digital subchannel broadcasts theChristian talk and teaching programs formerly heard onWRBS (1230 AM), and is still branded "WRBS-AM".
In 1948, three young ministers Peter and John Bisset, and Paul Plack, created "The Peter, Paul and John Broadcast" to reach non-church goers during the week onWFBR (1300 AM), then one of Baltimore's most popular radio stations. The Bisset's were the youngest of five brothers whose family had emigrated from Scotland. Paul Plack was a singer who had met the brothers during his evangelistic tours.
Paul left the broadcast in 1952, and the program was renamed "The Peter and John Broadcast". The brothers continued to host the show until Peter's sudden death of a heart attack in 1995.
On June 30, 1960, the station firstsigned on the air.[5] It was owned by John B. Reynolds, who served as the general manager and commercial manager. Thecall sign WRBS was chosen to represent Reynolds Broadcasting Service.
At the time, it carried aclassical music format, when few people owned FM receivers. It did not have an FMsuffix because Reynolds did not own an AMsister station. The FM station stood alone.
In 1964, Peter & John Radio Fellowship acquired WRBS.[6] The brothers upgraded WRBS's facilities in 1972. The station increased power to 50,000 watts, from 20,000 watts. It began broadcasting 24 hours daily coupled with a move from East Cold Spring Lane in Baltimore to its present site at 3500 Commerce Drive.
The station has been recognized as the first to airJohn MacArthur's sermons in the 1960s, later becoming theBible teaching programGrace to You.
In 2006, Peter and John Radio Fellowship, Inc., acquired a Baltimore AM radio station, the former WITH (1230 AM) and changed itscall sign to WRBS. The FM station is now licensed under the call letters WRBS-FM, using the FM suffix to distinguish it from the AM station. WRBS (AM) was sold in 2024 and is nowWFOA; its previous programming remains on the secondHD Radio channel of WRBS-FM.[7]
In August 2009, WRBS-FM was re-branded to feature contemporary Christian music, and began calling itself95.1 Shine FM. On May 2, 2022, WRBS-FM rebranded asBright-FM, afterOlivet Nazarene University withdrew its license to use theShine FM name.[8]
On February 11, 2023, WRBS-FM began rebroadcasting on the 103.1 FM frequency previously occupied byadult album alternative station WRNR-FM, which it bought in November 2022.[9] After the switch, its calls was changed toWRHS,[10] with the station's city of license of Grasonville being retained.
In July 2025, Peter and John Radio Fellowship purchased country station WAYZ (104.7 FM), licensed toHagerstown and serving a large swath of western Maryland, south-centralPennsylvania, northwesternVirginia and easternWest Virginia, for $3.1 million. That station's call sign changed toWRYS after the sale's closure.[11]