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|---|---|
| Broadcast area |
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| Frequency | 106.1MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | FM 106.1 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| WISN,WKKV-FM,WOKY,WRIT-FM,WRNW | |
| History | |
First air date | January 1, 1962; 63 years ago (1962-01-01) |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | Milwaukee |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 63919 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 12,000watts |
| HAAT | 304 meters (997 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 43°05′46″N87°54′14″W / 43.096°N 87.904°W /43.096; -87.904 |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen live (viaiHeartRadio) |
| Website | fm106 |
WMIL-FM (106.1MHz) is acommercialradio stationlicensed toWaukesha, Wisconsin, and serving theGreater Milwaukee and SoutheastWisconsinradio market. It carries acountry musicradio format and is owned byiHeartMedia, Inc. Thestudios and offices are on West Howard Avenue in the Milwaukee suburb ofGreenfield.
WMIL-FM has aneffective radiated power (ERP) of 12,000watts. Thetransmitter site is in Milwaukee's North Side off Humboldt Boulevard nearEstabrook Park and theMilwaukee River.[2] WMIL-FM broadcasts in theHD Radio hybrid format. The HD2digital subchannel formerly airedalternative rock from the1990s and2000s as "Alt 2K".
On January 1, 1962, the stationsigned on as WAUX-FM, the FMsister station toWAUX (1510 AM). The stations were owned by the Waukesha Broadcasting Company.[3] At the time, WAUX-FM’s effective radiated power was 3,800 watts, a fraction of its current output.
Because WAUX was adaytimer, the two stationssimulcast during the day and programming continued on WAUX-FM at night. A few years later in 1965, they became WAUK and WAUK-FM respectively. During the 1970s, WAUK-FM aired abeautiful music format.
In December 1975, the station adopted the WMIL-FMcall sign (originally used by 95.7 FM). Stebbins Communications acquired the two stations in 1975. For a time, WMIL-FM wasdark when Stebbins went bankrupt. The AM station had already been sold to another company in 1977.
Charter Broadcasting, which already ownedWOKY, purchased WMIL-FM in 1979. The company sold WOKY and WMIL-FM to Sundance Broadcasting in June1983.
Shortly after the completion of the sale, the present country music format was launched on WMIL-FM, competing against rival WBCS (nowactive rock stationWHQG). As a country station, WMIL-FM has long been successful in the local ratings.Clear Channel Communications, a forerunner to today's iHeartMedia, bought WMIL-FM and WOKY for $40 million in 1997.[4]
In2007, WMIL-FM was voted "Top Country Station in a Large Market". The station now competes with country stations in surrounding suburbs (WMBZ inWest Bend andWVTY inRacine), but generally has outdone any competitors in Milwaukee proper since the mid-1980s.
The station's local morning show is co-hosted by Scott Dolphin and Shannen Oestereich (Scott & Shannen) with Shanna "Quinn" Hoy heard in afternoondrive time. Other shifts arevoicetracked by iHeart countryDJs including Billy Greenwood in middays and Ric Rush evenings.
Syndicated programming from co-ownedPremiere Networks includesAfter Midnite With Granger Smith in overnights, a weekly "best-of" compilation of the weekday morningThe Bobby Bones Show on Sunday evenings (to maintain rights over the program in the Milwaukee market) andThe Country House Party on Saturday evenings.