WIBX explained

WIBX
City:Utica, New York
Area:Mohawk Valley
Branding:WIBX and wibx950.com
Frequency:950 kHz
Format:News/talk
Power:WIBX: 5,000 watts
W295DI: 250 watts
Class:AM: B
FM: D
Facility Id:WIBX: 168
W295DI: 202325
Coordinates:43.1033°N -75.3419°W
Former Frequencies:1460 kHz (1925–1926)
1280 kHz (1926–1927)
1260 kHz (1927–1928)
1200 kHz (1928–1941)
1230 kHz (1941–1948)
Affiliations:Fox News Radio
NBC News Radio
Compass Media Networks
Premiere Networks
Salem Radio Network
Westwood One
Owner:Townsquare Media
Licensee:Townsquare Media Licensee of Utica/Rome, Inc.
Sister Stations:WLZW, WFRG-FM, WODZ-FM, WOUR
Webcast:Listen Live
Website:wibx950.com
Licensing Authority:FCC

WIBX (950 AM) is a commercial radio station in Utica, New York. It is one of Central New York's oldest radio stations, dating back to 1925. The station airs a news/talk format and is owned by Townsquare Media as part of a cluster with adult contemporary 98.7 WLZW, country music 104.3 WFRG-FM, classic hits 96.1 WODZ, and classic rock 96.9 WOUR. The studios and offices are on River Road in Marcy, New York.[1]

WIBX broadcasts at 5,000 watts around the clock. It uses a directional antenna system with a four-tower array to avoid interfering with other stations on AM 950. The transmitter is off Clark Mills Road in Whitesboro, New York.[2] WIBX also simulcasts on translator station W295DI at 92.3 FM.[3] The translator signed on in 2022 and had previously broadcast on 106.9 FM. It moved to 92.3 FM on April 15, 2024 due to interference complaints by listeners of WSYR-FM in Syracuse.[4] [5]

Programming

Weekday mornings begin with a local news and talk program hosted by longtime Central New York media personality Bill Keeler. The rest of the day, WIBX primarily broadcasts nationally syndicated conservative talk programs from Premiere Networks, Westwood One, the Salem Radio Network and Fox News Radio. The Brian Kilmeade Show, Fox Across America with Jimmy Failla, The Sean Hannity Show, Ben Shapiro, Larry Elder, and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory all air weekdays on WIBX.

On weekends the station features shows about money, health, house repair, car repair and technology. Weekend syndicated hosts include Chris Plante, Jim Bohannon, The Kim Komando Show, The Weekend with Joe Pags, Handel on the Law with Bill Handel and Somewhere in Time with Art Bell, as well as repeats of weekday shows. World and national news are supplied by Fox News Radio.

History

Early years

WIBX began broadcasting on December 5, 1925.[6] Its call letters were randomly assigned from a sequential roster of available call signs, and the station was originally owned by Grid Leak, Inc., a local radio dealer. The company put the station on the air to provide programming for customers who bought radios. WIBX's facilities were housed at the store. The following April, Grid Leak transferred the station to a subsidiary, WIBX, Inc., and a month later a new studios were opened at the Hotel Utica. Initially operating at 1460 kilocycles, WIBX moved to 1280 kHz in late 1926, and then to 1260 kHz in April 1927. Among Central New York radio stations, only WSYR is older, going on the air in 1922.

The Boston Store acquired the station in early 1928, a move intended to keep WIBX in Utica. That April, the station was taken over by John C. Drummond. The Federal Radio Commission moved WIBX to 1200 kHz on November 11. On December 1, the station moved its studios to the First National Bank Building. The Buffalo Broadcasting Corporation, which operated several stations in Buffalo, New York, including WGR, WKBW, and WMAK, acquired WIBX in August 1929. In March 1931, the station was sold to a partnership of Percy B. Brown and Scott Howe Bowen. Bowen soon acquired Brown's stake; his family would maintain ownership for nearly five decades.

CBS Affiliation

On October 14, 1934, WIBX became a network affiliate of the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS).[7] Through the Golden Age of Radio, the station carried the CBS network's line up of dramas, comedies, soap operas, game shows, sports and big band remotes, as well as newscasts.

WIBX remained a CBS Radio Network affiliate for 76 years.[8]

Power Increase

The North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA) moved WIBX to 1230 kHz on March 29, 1941. However, on this frequency, the station remained at low-power, 250 watts, as had been the case at 1200 kHz). That meant it could not be easily heard in nearby Rome at night, leading the Rome Sentinel to apply for a 5,000-watt station serving both cities in 1946.[9] Afraid that the new station, which eventually became WRUN, would prove more attractive for CBS, WIBX sought to upgrade to its own 5,000-watt facility.[10]

On May 2, 1947, the Federal Communications Commission granted WIBX a move to 950 kHz from a transmitter site in Whitesboro, New York, with the new facility going on the air in early 1948. The 1230 frequency was relocated to nearby Little Falls, and would return to the air in 1952 when WLFH (now WIXT) signed-on. The WIBX studios would relocate to Whitesboro as well in the early 1960s. An FM sister station at 98.7, WIBQ (now WLZW), was added January 1, 1974.[11] [12] An earlier WIBX-FM at 96.9 FM first signed on in October 1946, but left the air during the early 1950s, when few people owned FM radios.

Sportswatch

WIBX included in its line up the sports program Sportswatch, which debuted in the 1950s and included among its numerous hosts Bill O'Donnell, Lee "Hacksaw" Hamilton, Tim Roye, Bob Papa, Jim Jackson, and Mike Haynes. Sportswatch ended its run in January 2013.[13]

All-Talk Format

The Bowen family sold WIBX to Marathon Communications in 1979. Soon afterward, the station's longstanding full service middle of the road format began evolving away from music in favor of increased news, talk, and sports programming. After REBS, Inc. acquired WIBX in 1985, music programming was dropped entirely, outside of the station's Sunday morning Polish language program, Polonaise. Maritime Broadcasting bought the station in 1988. The station was then sold to 950 Communications Corporation in 1992,[14] to Forever Broadcasting in 1996,[15] and to Regent Communications (the predecessor to Townsquare Media) in 1999.[16] Regent moved its Utica-area stations to studios in Marcy, New York, in 2003. WIBX ended its long affiliation with CBS on February 28, 2011, when it joined Fox News Radio.

In 2015, WIBX reached an agreement with Nexstar Broadcasting Group and Mission Broadcasting, whose stations are managed by Nexstar under shared services and local marketing agreements, to share programming, allowing Nexstar-owned Channel 33 WFXV to simulcast WIBX's morning show starring Bill Keeler, while WIBX began simulcasting Mission-owned WUTR Channel 20's 6 p.m. newscast.[17] Citing closed-captioning expenses, WFXV dropped the simulcast of Keeler's show on January 4, 2016, but reinstated it May 9, 2016.[18] [19] Keeler's show was dropped again in 2022 when WFXV began simulcasting Morning in America from corporate sibling NewsNation, but WIBX continues to simulcast WUTR's 6 p.m. newscast.

Charitable Broadcasts

The station conducts a radiothon for the American Heart Association every March. It was first held in 1971 in memory of Ralph Allinger, a WIBX staffer who died of a heart attack. In subsequent years, the American Heart Association has also held additional fundraisers in the Mohawk Valley, including a run and walk, to supplement the radiothon.

External links

Notes and References

  1. http://wibx950.com/help/ WIBX website
  2. http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/patg?id=WIBX-AM RadioLocator.com
  3. Web site: Did you hear? WIBX is broadcasting on a new FM signal.
  4. Web site: W295DI-FM 106.9 MHZ - Utica, NY .
  5. https://cnyradio.com/2022/01/10/news-talk-wibx-adds-fm-signal/ News/Talk WIBX Adds FM Signal
  6. Web site: POTW: Early Days of WIBX (c.1926). Reed, Jerry . Naughton, Peter . CNYRadio.com. December 5, 2010. December 3, 2010.
  7. Web site: Some History of CBS. History of American Broadcasting. February 28, 2011.
  8. News: Switch from CBS to Fox Part of WIBX Rebranding. March 1, 2011. CNYRadio.com. February 28, 2011.
  9. News: Sentinel Company Files Applications For 2 Radio Stations. April 25, 1946. Rome Sentinel. December 5, 2010.
  10. Web site: Alan Cole. Utica AM Radio. December 5, 2010.
  11. Book: Broadcasting Yearbook 1975. 1975. C-133. December 5, 2010.
  12. Book: Broadcasting & Cable Market Place. 1992. A-245. December 5, 2010.
  13. http://www.cnyradio.com/2013/01/16/former-wibx-hosts-offer-sportswatch-post-mortems/ Former WIBX hosts offer Sportswatch postmortems
  14. Web site: Application Search Details (1). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 5, 2010.
  15. Web site: Application Search Details (2). CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. December 5, 2010.
  16. News: Fybush. Scott. Sales Galore!. December 5, 2010. North East RadioWatch. August 6, 1999.
  17. Web site: Keeeler radio show to be simulcast on WFXV-TV. WIBX. June 26, 2015. June 27, 2015.
  18. Web site: Keeler Show Notes for 1/4/16.
  19. Web site: Keeler Show to be Simulcast Daily on WFXV FOX 33 TV.