 | |
| Broadcast area | Greater Milwaukee - Southeast Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 106.1 MHz ( HD Radio) |
| Branding | FM 106.1 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Country |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WISN, WKKV-FM, WOKY, WRIT-FM, WRNW | |
| History | |
First air date | January 1, 1962 |
Former call signs | WAUX-FM (1962–1965) WAUK-FM (1965–1975) |
Call sign meaning | Milwaukee |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 63919 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 12,000 watts |
| HAAT | 304 meters (997 ft) |
| Links | |
| Webcast |
Listen Live Listen Live (HD2) |
| Website | fm106.iheart.com |
WMIL-FM (106.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Waukesha, Wisconsin, and serving the Greater Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin radio market. It carries a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on West Howard Avenue in the Milwaukee suburb of Greenfield.
WMIL-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 12,000 watts. The transmitter site is in Milwaukee's North Side off Humboldt Boulevard near Estabrook Park and the Milwaukee River. [1] WMIL-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. The HD2 digital subchannel formerly aired alternative rock from the 1990s and 2000s as "Alt 2K."
History
WAUX-FM, WAUK-FM
On January 1, 1962, the station signed on as WAUX-FM, sister station to WAUX 1510 AM. The stations were owned by the Waukesha Broadcasting Company. [2] At the time, WAUX-FM’s effective radiated power was 3,800 watts, a fraction of its current output.
Because WAUX was a daytimer, the two stations simulcast during the day and programming continued on WAUX-FM at night. A few years later in 1965, they became WAUK and WAUK-FM respectively. During the 1970s, WAUK-FM aired a beautiful music format.
WMIL-FM
In December 1975, the station adopted the WMIL-FM call sign (originally used by 95.7 FM). Stebbins Communications acquired the two stations in 1975. For a time, WMIL-FM was dark when Stebbins went bankrupt. The AM station had already been sold to another company in 1977.
Charter Broadcasting, which already owned WOKY 920 AM, purchased WMIL-FM in 1979. The company sold WOKY and WMIL-FM to Sundance Broadcasting in June 1983. The new owners had a different plan for WMIL-FM.
Country music
The present country music format was launched on WMIL-FM, competing against country rival 102.9 WBCS (now active rock station WHQG). As a country station, WMIL-FM has long been successful in the local ratings. Clear Channel Communications, a forerunner to today's iHeartMedia, bought WMIL-FM and WOKY for $40 million in 1997. [3]
In 2007, WMIL-FM was voted "Top Country Station in a Large Market". The station now competes with country stations in surrounding suburbs ( WMBZ in West Bend and WVTY in Racine), but generally has outdone any competitors in Milwaukee proper since the mid-80s.
Programming
The station's local morning show is co-hosted by Scott Dolphin and Shannen Oestereich (Scott & Shannen) with Shanna "Quinn" Hoy heard in afternoon drive time. Other shifts are voicetracked by iHeart country DJs including Billy Greenwood in middays and Ric Rush evenings.
Syndicated programming from co-owned Premiere Networks includes After Midnite With Granger Smith in overnights, The Bobby Bones Show on Sunday evenings and The Country House Party on Saturday evenings.
References
- ^ Radio-Locator.com/WMIL-FM
- ^ Information from the Broadcasting Yearbook 1964 page 179
- ^ Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook 2005 page D-576
External links
- FM 106.1
- Milwaukee radio: a retrospective
- WMIL-FM in the FCC FM station database
- WMIL-FM in Nielsen Audio's FM station database