WTMX

WTMX
City Skokie, Illinois
Broadcast area Chicago metropolitan area
Branding The Mix
Frequency 101.9 MHz (also on HD Radio)
101.9-HD2 FM Smooth Jazz "The Groove 103.9"
Translator(s) 103.9 W280EM (Chicago, relays HD2)
First air date August 18, 1961 (as WRSV)
Format Adult Top 40
ERP 4,200 watts
HAAT 476 meters (1,562 ft)
Class B
Facility ID 6377
Callsign meaning W The MiX
Former callsigns WRSV (1961-1970)
WCLR (1970-2/21/1989)[1]
Owner Hubbard Broadcasting
(Chicago FCC License Sub, LLC)
Sister stations WDRV, WWDV, WSHE-FM
Webcast Listen Live
Website wtmx.com

WTMX (101.9 FM "The Mix") is an Adult Top 40 radio station in Chicago, Illinois. Licensed to the suburb of Skokie, it is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting. WTMX has studios at One Prudential Plaza and its transmitter co-located atop Willis Tower (the former Sears Tower).

WTMX broadcasts in the HD digital hybrid format.[2]

History

The station began as WRSV (Radio Skokie Valley) from 1961-1970. It became WCLR in 1970 until 1989. The station ran a "beautiful music" format for years. The station played easy listening renditions of pop standards/other songs along with a few vocalists and AC artists. The station dropped the instrumentals in the late 1970s and became a very Soft AC station still known as MOR playing a blend of easy listening vocals and soft pop songs from the 1950s to 1970s.

By the early 1980s, the station evolved to a straight-ahead AC format with studios located at 8833 Gross Point Road in Skokie. WCLR was "Chicago's Lite Rock" from about 1982 until 1989. The station was best known for its soft rock starsets in the 1980s and their Saturday night all-request oldies program.

On February 21, 1989, WCLR moved to a hot AC format, changed its call letters to WTMX, and became known as "The Mix".[3] By 1995, WTMX had moved its studios to One Prudential Plaza and began leaning more toward modern rock. By February 1996, the format was modern AC, basically modern rock without any hard rock. They played more female vocalists and 1980s music than most modern rock stations and were hot AC in tempo and presentation.[4] In 2006, WTMX followed suit as the Hot AC format nationally evolved toward an Adult Top 40 sound featuring artists such as Pink, Justin Timberlake, Timbaland and Rihanna.

On January 19, 2011, Bonneville International announced the sale of WTMX, as well as 16 other stations, to Hubbard Broadcasting.[5] The sale was completed on April 29, 2011.[6]

Morning Show

Led by Chicago native Eric Ferguson, along with Melissa McGurren and Brian "Whip" Paruch, the "Mix Morning Show" (formerly titled "The Eric & Kathy Show") has boasted strong listenership among the 25-to-54-year-old female demographic for most of their tenure at the station. The key to the success of this entertainment based, lifestyle driven show has been its ability to keep the content edgy enough to engage grownups but with enough tongue in cheek humor to sail right over the heads of kids. On any given week, The Mix Morning Show Show will feature interviews with top Hollywood celebrities, including Robert Downey Jr., Melissa McCarthy, Will Ferrell, Amy Schumer, Jenny McCarthy, Jeff Garlin and others. In addition to celebrated guests, the show has played host to live performances from platinum selling, chart topping artists like Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Kelly Clarkson, P!NK and others.

On September 7, 2017, Hubbard Radio announced that morning show co-host Kathy Hart will not be returning to the station. Ferguson, who has hosted mornings with Hart since August 1996, will continue to host mornings, along with co-hosts Melissa McGurren, Brian "Whip" Paruch, Cynthia DeNicolo and John "Swany" Swanson.[7]

References

  1. ↑ "Call Sign History (WTMX)". Retrieved April 15, 2010.
  2. ↑ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=4 Archived 2016-09-16 at the Wayback Machine. HD Radio Guide for Chicago
  3. ↑ https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-3930072.html
  4. ↑ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1996/R&R-1996-02-01.pdf
  5. ↑ "$505M sale: Bonneville sells Chicago, D.C., St. Louis and Cincinnati to Hubbard". Radio-Info.com. January 19, 2011. Archived from the original on January 22, 2011. Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Hubbard deal to purchase Bonneville stations closes". Radio Ink. May 2, 2011. Archived from the original on March 12, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2011.
  7. ↑ Kathy Hart Will Not Return to WTMX Chicago

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

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