WBBM-FM

WBBM-FM

City Chicago
Broadcast area Chicago market
Branding B96
Slogan Chicago's New Hit Music
Frequency 96.3 MHz (also on HD Radio)
First air date 1941[1][2]
Format Top 40 (CHR)
HD-2: Dance Top 40
ERP 3,300 watts
HAAT 474 meters (1,555 ft)
Class B
Facility ID 9613
Callsign meaning World's Best Battery Maker (referring to a former owner of WBBM (AM))
We Broadcast Better Music[3] (from a slogan of its radio sister made from the calls)
One of the two Bs in WBBM branding is used in B96 branding
Former callsigns W67C (1941-1943)[1]
Former frequencies 46.7 MHz (1941-1946)[1]
99.3 MHz (1946-1947)[1]
97.1 (1947-1953)[1]
Owner Entercom
(CBS Radio East, LLC)
Sister stations WBBM, WCFS-FM, WBMX, WSCR, WUSN, WXRT
Webcast Listen Live
Website b96.com

WBBM-FM, known on air as "B96", is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station in Chicago owned by Entercom. The station broadcasts at 96.3 MHz with an ERP of 3.3 kW from a transmitter atop Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower), and its studios are located at Two Prudential Plaza in the Loop. WBBM-FM's main competition is WKSC-FM, as well as urban rivals WGCI-FM and WPWX.

WBBM-FM broadcasts two channels in the HD Radio format. HD2 is an all-dance format called B96 Dance.[4]

Station history

The early years

The station began broadcasting in 1941, as W67C, broadcasting at 46.7 MHz.[1][2] The station's transmitter was located atop the American National Bank Building, at 33 N. LaSalle Street.[1] The station was a simulcast of WBBM 780, airing a very conservative mix of music which appealed to a broad range of ages. In 1943, the station's call sign was changed to WBBM-FM.[1] In 1946, the station began broadcasting at 99.3 MHz.[1] In 1947, the station's frequency was changed to 97.1 MHz, and in 1953 the station's frequency was changed to 96.3 MHz.[1]

The Young Sound

In 1966, WBBM-FM split from simulcasting the AM and flipped to "The Young Sound", a format that was invented by John DeWitt for WCBS-FM in New York.[5][6][7] Bud Kelly was the announcer for "The Young Sound" on WBBM-FM.[5] "The Young Sound" aired contemporary pop and instrumental covers of recent hits, and had a contemporary energy that skewed the station towards a younger audience than WBBM-FM had previously sought.[5][7] Every hour's playlist was designed so that each song would compliment the songs that preceded and followed it.[5][6]

In 1970, the station's transmitter was moved to the John Hancock Center.[1]

Chicago's Favorite Rock

By the early 1970s, the station was airing a format consisting of top 40, album cuts, and past hits.[8] The station was branded "Stereo 96", "Chicago's Favorite Rock".[9]

Soft rock era

By 1977, the station had adopted an soft rock format branded "The Mellow Sound of Chicago".[10][11] Dick Bartley, who later became a popular syndicated personality, spent time at WBBM-FM as program director and morning disc jockey in the late '70s.[12][13] WBBM-FM briefly carried "American Top 40" with Casey Kasem during the soft rock years.[14]

Hot Hits 96 Now/Most Music/Hitradio B96

In May 1982, WBBM-FM picked up a Top 40/CHR format known as "Hot Hits",[15] which was created by consultant Mike Joseph in 1977 for WTIC-FM in Hartford, Connecticut. That concept is one of the earliest examples of what was soon to become "contemporary hit radio", but that concept also revitalized the top 40 format, and would play a role in bringing the format to the FM band throughout the 1980s. The concept was to play only the current hits on the top 30 and no recurrence or Oldies whatsoever. The format was delivered with up tempo energy and plenty of "Actualizers" (also known as "Fusion") jingles from TM Productions.

"The Killer Bee"/Dance/House music days

By 1989, WBBM-FM would start to embrace dance product, especially the home-grown house subgenre. That move resulted in B96 evolving into a very dance-leaning rhythmic top 40 direction by 1990 as "The Killer Bee: B96." Under this focus, they would see ratings skyrocket. The station broke Dance music acts from La Bouche to Rozalla in the United States.[16]

Transition to rhythmic Top 40

By 1997, however, the station would start embracing acts from the world of R&B/hip-hop and pop as the dance scene diminished.

In December 2005, the station an HD2 FM sub-carrier to program commercial-free Dance Top 40 hits 24/7, similar to the pioneering former Energy 92.7/5.[17]

Recent history

In October 2008, the station shifted back to Mainstream Top 40. The same action was taken in 2009 at sister rhythmic contemporary station KLUC-FM in Las Vegas, and in 2010 by KZON in Phoenix, Arizona.

CBS had owned WBBM-FM since the beginning, even though they merged with Westinghouse in 1995, Infinity in 1997, and Viacom in 2000. Through CBS Radio, the CBS Corporation continued to own WBBM-FM.

On February 2, 2017, CBS Radio announced it would merge with Entercom.[18] The merger was approved on November 9, 2017, and was consummated on the 17th.[19][20]

Morning show

B96 was probably most known for its flagship "Eddie & JoBo" morning zoo show. Joe Colborn (stage name "Bohannon") first signed on at B96 in 1984 hosting evening as "JoBo In Chicago". Ed Volkman started at B96 in 1986 hosting morning drive along with Karen Hand and Mike Elston. When Elston left B96 in 1988, Bohannon was moved to mornings along with Volkman and Hand, and the "Eddie & JoBo" show was born. The duo enjoyed success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The morning show was canceled on November 21, 2008.

On January 5, 2009, Julian Nieh and Jamar "J. Niice" McNeil started a new morning show, "J. Niice & Julian on the Radio". The two were previously together at Clear Channel's WIHT in Washington. Nieh stayed with the show until December 2012.[21] The show continued with the name "The J. Show with Showbiz Shelly", with J. Niice as the main morning host.[22][23]

Summer Bash concerts

B96 has held a summer concert[24] at various local venues since 1992, with the exception of one year that it wasn't held due to a perceived lack of good musical talent available to perform. When it started in 1992, it was held at the World Music Theatre in Tinley Park (now called First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre). After several years, it moved to the Joliet Raceway where it stayed until moving to the Maywood Park Racetrack for a year, and then to Toyota Park in Bridgeview in 2007. The event has hosted top musical acts as well as local acts. The station also began a winter holiday season version of the event called Jingle Bash.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 History Cards for WBBM-FM, fcc.gov. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2010, Broadcasting & Cable, 2010. p. D-185. Retrieved September 23, 2018.
  3. ↑ "What those letters on the dial mean", Chicago Tribune Magazine, March 4, 1979. p. 15. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  4. ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=4 Archived 2016-09-16 at the Wayback Machine. HD Radio Guide for Chicago
  5. 1 2 3 4 "What is 'The Young Sound'?", All That Is Music. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  6. 1 2 "'Young Sound' to Hit New York on Oct. 1", Billboard. October 1, 1966. p. 22. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  7. 1 2 CBS-FM Offers Service to Aid Small Markets With Separation", Billboard. December 16, 1966. pp. 26, 32. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
  8. ↑ "WBBM-FM Cuts Swath With Oldie LP Tracks", Billboard. July 10, 1971. p. 20. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  9. ↑ WBBM/FM Stereo 96 Chicago's Favorite Rock, WBBM-FM. May 12, 1973. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  10. ↑ Media Decisions, Volume 12, Part 1. N. Glenn Publications. 1977. p. 43.
  11. ↑ Broadcasting Yearbook 1978, Broadcasting, 1978. p. C-62. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  12. ↑ Ghrist, John R. (1996). Valley Voices: A Radio History. Crossroads Communications. p. 44.
  13. ↑ "Billboard Arbitron DJ Rating Performance", Billboard. September 30, 1978. p. 32. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  14. ↑ Hall, Doug. "Vox Jox", Billboard. August 11, 1979. p. 18. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  15. ↑ Penchansky, Alan. "WBBM-FM to Shift to 'Hot Hits' Format", Billboard. April 24, 1982. pp. 25, 36. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  16. ↑ "It's Over, Everyone Listens To Techno" from Radio-Info.com (September 27, 2011)
  17. ↑ http://www.hdradio.com/stations
  18. ↑ CBS Radio to Merge with Entercom
  19. ↑ Entercom Receives FCC Approval for Merger with CBS Radio
  20. ↑ Entercom Completes CBS Radio Merger
  21. ↑ http://chicagoradioandmedia.com/news/2958-julian-nieh-exits-b96
  22. ↑ http://www.timeoutchicago.com/arts-culture/chicago-media-blog/15907796/b96-reboots-morning-show-after-julian-jumps
  23. ↑ http://b96.cbslocal.com/show/the-j-show/
  24. ↑ "B96 summer music festival of pop", Chicago Tribune, June 11, 2010, accessed March 6, 2011.

Coordinates: 41°52′44″N 87°38′10″W / 41.879°N 87.636°W / 41.879; -87.636

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