WARM-FM
 | |
| City | York, Pennsylvania |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | South Central Pennsylvania |
| Branding | Warm 103.3 |
| Slogan | Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites |
| Frequency | 103.3 MHz (also on HD Radio) |
| First air date | September 1, 1962 (as WSBA-FM) |
| Format |
Adult Contemporary Christmas music (Nov.-Dec.) |
| ERP | 6,400 watts |
| HAAT | 398 meters (1,306 ft) |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 73980 |
| Transmitter coordinates | 40°01′38.00″N 76°36′0.00″W / 40.0272222°N 76.6000000°W (NAD27) |
| Callsign meaning | WARM 103.3 branding |
| Former callsigns | WSBA-FM (1962-1988) |
| Owner |
Cumulus Media Inc. (Radio License Holding SRC LLC) |
| Sister stations | WGLD, WIOV-FM, WNNK-FM. WQXA-FM, WSBA, WSOX, WWKL, WZCY-FM |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website |
www |
WARM-FM (103.3 FM, "Warm 103.3") is a commercial FM radio station licensed to serve York, Pennsylvania. It is owned and operated by Cumulus Media through licensee Radio License Holding SRC LLC and airs an adult contemporary format, using the slogan "Today's Hits and Yesterday's Favorites." Starting in mid-November, the station plays all Christmas music until December 26. At night, WARM-FM runs the syndicated "John Tesh Show." Sunday mornings, the station carries the syndicated "Jim Brickman Show."
WARM-FM's studios and offices are located on Susquehanna Plaza Drive off U.S. Route 30 in York, halfway between downtown York and Lancaster.[1] The transmitter is nearby off Brummer Lane.[2]
History
Easy Listening WSBA-FM
On September 1, 1962, the station first signed on as WSBA-FM.[3] It was owned by Susquehanna Broadcasting. Susquehanna also owned AM 910 WSBA and Channel 43 WSBA-TV (now WPMT). Susquehanna eventually owned more than 40 stations in Pennsylvania and other parts of the country, with its headquarters in York.
At first, WSBA-FM simulcast its AM counterpart. But a short time later, WSBA-FM switched to a beautiful music format of soft instrumentals with limited talking and commercials. WSBA-FM remained easy listening for the next two decades, competing with WGAL-FM (later WNCE) 101.3 FM licensed to serve Lancaster. But by the 1980s, the easy listening format started to age. WSBA-FM added more vocals until the mid 1980s when it switched to a soft adult contemporary sound.
Move to Adult Contemporary
In 1988, the WARM-FM call sign was moved to the station, having previously been used by a Susquehanna-owned station in Atlanta called "Warm 99," now WWWQ. In addition, there is a station at AM 590 in Scranton, also with the WARM call letters. It was also owned by Susquehanna and today is also owned by Cumulus. WARM-FM has always broadcast some type of adult music format from the time of its inception and was repeatedly ranked at the #1 spot in the York radio market into the early 2000s, with significant listening also in the Lancaster and Harrisburg radio markets.
However, following the trends of other AC stations in the country, the station "freshened up" its playlist in the mid-2000s and discarded all but a handful of pre-1980 titles, focusing more heavily on current and recent pop hits. The station began leaning slightly in a Hot AC direction, although still positioned as a Mainstream AC, as it continued to play a considerable percentage of soft hits from the 1980s and 1990s. In 2007, Susquehanna Broadcasting's radio properties, including WARM-FM, were sold to Cumulus Media, one of the biggest owners of radio stations in the U.S.
Switch to WINK 103
On September 7, 2011, WARM-FM officially changed its branding to Wink 103, similar to co-owned 104.1 WNNK-FM, often the #1 station in nearby Harrisburg, which has been known as "Wink 104" for many years. As Wink 103, WARM-FM straddled the line between AC and Hot AC. It dropped the Wink identification a few years later, returning to the "Warm 103.3" branding.
Christmas Music
On November 23, 2012, WARM-FM began playing all Christmas music. On December 26, 2012, after the Christmas season, the station returned to its adult contemporary format.[4] Each year it has followed the same pattern of going All-Christmas in early to mid-November and returning to its AC format on December 26. While the FM station plays holiday tunes, the website also offers what it calls its "Scrooge Stream" playing the usual format.
Signal Note
WARM-FM is short-spaced to WPRB (licensed to serve Princeton, New Jersey) as they operate on the same channel and the cities they are licensed to serve are only 112 miles apart.[5] The minimum distance between two Class B stations operating on the same channel according to current FCC rules is 150 miles.[6]
References
- ↑ "Warm 103.3 Station Information". warm1033.com. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
- ↑ "Predicted Coverage Area for WARM 103.3 FM, York, PA". radiolocator.com. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
- ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1964 page B-138
- ↑ Venta, Lance (December 26, 2012). "Wink 103 York Returns To Its Warm Roots". radioinsight.com. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
- ↑ "How Far is it Between Princeton, NJ, United States and York, PA, United States". Free Map Tools. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
- ↑ "Minimum distance separation between stations. 47 CFR § 73.207 (1)" (PDF). Retrieved 2017-11-26.