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| Broadcast area | Baltimore metropolitan area |
| Frequency | 101.9MHz (HD Radio) |
| Branding | Today's 101.9 |
| Programming | |
| Language | English |
| Format | Adult contemporary |
| Subchannels |
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| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | February 6, 1960; 65 years ago (1960-02-06)[2] |
Former call signs |
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Call sign meaning | "Life" |
| Technical information[5] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 28637 |
| Class | B |
| ERP |
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| HAAT | 290 meters (950 ft) |
Transmitter coordinates | 39°25′7.4″N76°33′15.9″W / 39.418722°N 76.554417°W /39.418722; -76.554417 (WLIF) |
| Translator(s) | See § Translators |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast |
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| Website | www |
WLIF (101.9FM, "Today's 101.9") is a commercialradio station licensed to serveBaltimore, Maryland. The station is owned byAudacy, Inc. through licensee Audacy License, LLC and broadcasts anadult contemporaryformat. Its studios are located on Clarkview Road in theMount Washington neighborhood of Baltimore, while its broadcast tower is located nearLoch Raven Reservoir nearTowson. at (39°25′7.0″N76°33′16.2″W / 39.418611°N 76.554500°W /39.418611; -76.554500).[7]
The station began broadcasting February 6, 1960, as WAQE-FM, simulcastingWAQE (1570 AM).[8] In 1967, the station's call sign was changed to WTOW-FM, and the station simulcast the programming of their then-AM sister station, who changed call letters toWTOW.[9][3]
In 1970, the station's call sign was changed to WLIF.[3] The station went silent February 18, 1970,[3] and returned to the air on December 24, 1970, after Sudbrink Broadcasting bought the station.Cox Broadcasting would eventually take control of the station sometime in the 70s before selling the station on an unknown date.[10] In the 1970s and into 1980s, WLIF aired abeautiful music format.[11][12][13][14] The station featured SRP programming (Schulke Radio Productions, created by Jim Schulke).[15] WLIF was one of the highest-rated stations in Baltimore during its beautiful music years.[16]
The station played mostly instrumental renditions of popular songs. Featured artists includedPercy Faith, John Fox,Chet Atkins,Richard Clayderman,Frank Mills,Henry Mancini,Ray Anthony,Floyd Cramer, and many others. The station played four vocal selections per hour and they were only smooth vocal stylings of artists likeFrank Sinatra,Ray Charles,Nat King Cole,Neil Diamond,Tony Bennett,Patti Page,Dionne Warwick,Barbra Streisand, and others. Its slogan was "The Beautiful Place In Your Life" branded asFM-102. In the 1980s, WLIF began playing moresoft rock hits, such as those byLinda Ronstadt,The Beatles,The Temptations,Elton John, along with the previously played artists. During morning and afternoon drives, the station was about half instrumental and half vocal, while other times the station continued to play one vocal every quarter-hour. In the late 1980s, the station shifted to roughly half vocalists and half instrumentals.
By 1990, WLIF had shifted to asoft adult contemporary format, and began to be simulcast onWLIF (AM 1300).[17][18] This simulcast lasted until September 1991.[19][20] The station was brandedLite 102.[21] By 1993, WLIF began mixing in current material in its playlist.
In 2001, the station changed branding again, to101.9 Lite FM. Today, its lineup consists ofadult contemporary hits. In the late 2000s, the station carried the syndicatedDelilah radio show to complement the popular local love songs programming that was hosted by Fran Lane (Lane left WLIF in December 2019); however, Delilah aired during the late-night hours, and this resulted in its eventual elimination from the station. On the weekends, WLIF featured "The Flashback Weekend" featuring formerWQSR announcers Dave Alan, John Summers and Diane Lyn (Lyn left WLIF in July 2019) playing the greatest hits of the 1960s and 1970s. However, in recent years, these songs have been replaced by music from the 1980s, thus creating an "All-80s Weekend"; the eighties songs were mixed in with the sixties and seventies hits during the latter part of the "Flashback Weekend" era.
In addition, WLIF (along withWWIN) also played jazz music during the weekends for many years. WLIF continued to play jazz until 2004, whenWSMJ became Baltimore's full-time Smooth Jazz station (that station has since changed formats, first to Alternative in 2008, then to Top-40/CHR a year later).
On December 29, 2013, at midnight, after playing "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" byJohnny Mathis, WLIF rebranded asToday's 101.9, with its first song being "Hey Soul Sister" byTrain. Like its AC sister stationsKEZK-FM inSt. Louis,WDOK inCleveland, andKVIL inDallas, WLIF retooled its format to morehot adult contemporary-leaning fare to attract a new generation of listeners, even though it also continues to play the standard AC songs from the 1980s to present.[22] It was the last surviving "Lite FM"-branded station to be owned by CBS Radio, with the moniker having been dropped from KVIL in Dallas andWLTE inMinneapolis (with the latter station also undergoing a format change to country at the time).
On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge withEntercom.[23] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on November 17.[24][25]
WLIF is well known for itsChristmas programming. For decades, WLIF began mixing in Christmas music the week before Thanksgiving and went to wall-to-wall Christmas music about two weeks before Christmas. They would remain all Christmas music until the middle of December 26 or later, and would keep mixing in Christmas music until New Year's Day.
Beginning in 2001, every year, starting the week before Thanksgiving, the station plays nothing but Christmas music, well into December 26 or 27. There are noadvertisements all day on Christmas Day. After 2007, WLIF played wall to wall Christmas music not only before Thanksgiving, but all the way until New Year's Eve. They were the last station left playing Christmas music at New Year's. Most stations in the market that feature Christmas music continue mixing it in throughout the last week of the year, unlike many places that end abruptly on December 26. In 2010, WLIF dropped Christmas music early on December 27, but continued mixing a few songs in rather than remaining wall-to-wall until January 1. In 2014, WLIF dropped Christmas Music at midnight on December 26, drawing negative feedback from many listeners. They continued this practice through 2018. In 2019, WLIF dropped Christmas music on December 29.
WLIF beganHD Radio broadcasts in 2006. WLIF-HD2 aired acountry format, branded asNew Country @ 106.1. The format began on October 25, 2013, at Noon, replacing the 1980s hits "Flashback" format that has aired since WLIF began HD Radio operations. The programming was simulcast on translator W291BA (106.1 FM), which is owned by Hope Christian Church of Marlton, and is being leased to CBS to operate it.[26] WLIF-HD3 formerly aired anoldies format, branded asThe Flashback Channel, while WLIF-HD4 airs programming from "HOPE FM" as part of an agreement between CBS and Hope Christian Church where CBS will operate W291BA and another translator, W248AO (97.5 FM), which airs analternative rock format branded as "HFS @ 97-5" (that format has since been moved to another translator owned by Hope, W285EJ (104.9 FM)).
On April 9, 2015,Radio One announced that they will assume operations of W291BA from CBS, and flipped the format tourban gospel, branded asPraise 106.1, on May 1.[27]
The following translators are licensed to Hope Christian Church of Marlton, Inc and simulcast the programming of WLIF-HD2 and WLIF-HD3:
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W291BA | 106.1 FM | Baltimore, Maryland | 141926 | 250 | 279 m (915 ft) | D | 39°20′5.4″N76°39′1.9″W / 39.334833°N 76.650528°W /39.334833; -76.650528 (W291BA) | LMS |
| Call sign | Frequency | City of license | FID | ERP (W) | HAAT | Class | Transmitter coordinates | FCC info |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W248AO | 97.5 FM | Baltimore, Maryland | 154229 | 250 | 225.8 m (741 ft) | D | 39°20′5.4″N76°39′1.9″W / 39.334833°N 76.650528°W /39.334833; -76.650528 (W248AO) | LMS |
WLIF is short-spaced toWAVT-FMT102 (licensed to servePottsville, Pennsylvania) as they both operate on the same channel and the distance between the stations' transmitters is 99 miles (159 km) as determined by FCC rules.[28] The minimum distance between twoClass B stations operating on the same channel according to currentFCC rules is 150 miles (240 km).[29]