WNTR

WNTR is a commercial radio station located in Indianapolis, Indiana, broadcasting on 107.9 FM. WNTR airs an adult contemporary format under the ownership of Cumulus Media. Its studios are located on North Meridian Street, and its transmitter tower is on the northwest side.

WNTR
CityIndianapolis, Indiana
Broadcast areaIndianapolis, Indiana
Frequency107.9 MHz (HD Radio)
Branding107.9 The Mix
SloganThe 80s to Now
Programming
FormatFM/HD1: Adult contemporary
HD2: Smooth jazz
Ownership
OwnerCumulus Media
(Radio License Holding SRC LLC)
Sister stationsWFMS, WJJK, WXNT, WNDX, WZPL
History
First air dateOctober 15, 1984 (1984-10-15) (as WTPI)
Former call signsWTPI (1984–2005)
Call sign meaningW INdianapolis TRack
(former branding)
Technical information
Facility ID47143
ClassB
ERP22,000 watts
HAAT232 meters (761 ft)
Transmitter coordinates39.895°N 86.201°W / 39.895; -86.201
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websiteindysmix.com

History

Prior use of 107.9 FM in Indianapolis
Main article: WIFE-FM (Indianapolis)

Indiana Broadcasting Company was granted a construction permit to build a new radio station on 107.9 FM in Indianapolis on July 21, 1960.[1] The station went on air October 22, 1961, as WISH-FM, a sister station to WISH (1310 AM) and WISH-TV (channel 8). In November 1963, owner Corinthian Broadcasting opted to focus on its television stations and sold the WISH radio stations to the Star Stations group, headed by Don Burden. Under Burden, WISH-AM-FM became WIFE-AM-FM. Lucky 13 WIFE was a Top 40 dynasty into the 1970s, while the FM operation was an automated beautiful music station. However, Burden ran afoul of the Federal Communications Commission for a number of serious violations, some of them concerning the Indianapolis operation, and the FCC ruled to deny license renewals to all Star Stations in 1975. After the exhaustion of all appeals, the transfer of the AM station to a competing applicant, and a short-lived flip to country as "CB-108" in the final months, WIFE-FM left the air on September 2, 1976.

WTPI

Even before WIFE-FM had signed off, applicants formed to make bids on the vacant 107.9 MHz frequency.[2] After receiving nine applications by the November 1976 cut-off date,[3] In 1978, the FCC designated five bids for comparative hearing, from Peoples Broadcasting Corporation; Radio Circle City, headed by former WIFE-AM-FM general manager Robert Kiley;[2] Mediacom; Radio Corporation of Indiana, consisting of several local investors;[4] and Indianapolis Communications Corporation.[5]

The FCC did not rule in favor of any of the applications until May 1982, when it selected Peoples.[6] However, the winning applicant had developed a flaw in the intervening years, as Peoples head Joseph Cantor died in September 1981.[6] FCC rules which froze the qualifications of competing applicants at a certain point in time meant that the two ruling administrative law judges had to consider Peoples as if Cantor was still alive.[7] The losing bidders appealed, but the FCC review board[8] and the full commission[9] upheld the decision.

On October 15, 1984,[10] Peoples Broadcasting went on the air, using the call letters WTPI. The station was called "the Top for Indianapolis," relating to its location at the top of the Indianapolis FM dial. The first program director at WTPI was Mark Edwards, and the station's new studios overlooked Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis. Longtime morning personality Steve Cooper (a.k.a. Jim Carr) was with the station for its entire lifetime. Cooper also did stints at WNDE (1260) and WIFE (1310). Overnights were handled by Mike O'Brien (a.k.a. Dave Heck, now an engineer at Emmis Radio) for nearly 20 years. The station was known for "Night Breeze", a nightly light AC and Jazz show in the 1990s. Over the years, WTPI was the radio home of Jennifer Carr, Paul Poteet, Oleta Martin, Pat Moore, Jerry Curtis, Gia Berns, and Kelli Jack, to name a few.

WTPI was sold twice in the 1980s. In 1986, original owner Peoples sold the station for $8.5 million to the Somerset Group, a local firm.[11] Three years later, the Pinnacle Group—renamed MyStar Communications in 1990[12]—acquired WTPI for $12 million.[13] The radio station eventually moved from Monument Circle to the 3100 block of North Meridian Street, and finally to its current site at 9245 North Meridian. Long-time WTPI program director was Gary Havens.

Recent history

On October 3, 2005, Entercom dropped the adult contemporary music format in favor of adult hits, and changed the call letters to WNTR. The station's on-air identifier was "107.9 The Track." Programming featured a somewhat "Jack-like" format proclaiming "We Play Everything." A popular live syndicated show featuring Tom Kent occupied the evening shift on WNTR. They also broadcast American Top 40 The 1980s with Casey Kasem on Saturday at 6:00 am and also on Sunday at 8:00 am.

On November 13, 2009, WNTR began stunting with Christmas music with a format flip coming after Christmas Day. On December 28, 2009, at 12:28 p.m., WNTR was rebranded as "My 107.9", retaining the adult hits format.

On May 22, 2013 at 5PM, after playing Kesha's "Blow", and a goodbye message, followed by Simple Minds' "Don't You (Forget About Me)", WNTR began stunting with micro-formats (Rock as Rock 107.9, all Garth Brooks as Garth 107.9, Christmas music as Yule 107.9, all boy bands as Heartthrob 107.9, all Midwestern-born artists as 107.9 Heartland Radio, and sounds of nature as Earth 107.9). The following day at 5 PM, an AC format was introduced under the name "107.9 The Mix", with Dave Smiley from sister station WZPL[14] launching the station with Fall Out Boy's "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light Em Up)".[15]

On February 13, 2019, Cumulus Media and Entercom announced an agreement in which WNTR, WXNT, and WZPL would be swapped to Cumulus in exchange for WNSH in New York City and WHLL and WMAS-FM in Springfield, Massachusetts. Under the terms of the deal, Cumulus began operating WNTR under a local marketing agreement on March 1, 2019.[16] The swap was completed on May 13, 2019.[17]

On April 10, 2020 WNTR dropped its hot AC format and began stunting with Christmas music again. The stunting was framed as a form of escapism in response to the global uncertainly brought on by the COVID-19 Pandemic.[18] On May 14, 2020 WNTR ended its Christmas music stunt and launched an adult contemporary format, still branded as Mix 107.9.[19]

HD Radio

WNTR is licensed to broadcast in the HD Radio format.[20][21]

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References
  1. "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. August 1, 1960. p. 97. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  2. Inman, Julia (June 11, 1976). "WIFE-FM Is Sought". The Indianapolis Star. p. 13. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  3. Inman, Julia (November 5, 1976). "Crowd Gathers For FM Station License". The Indianapolis Star. p. 17. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  4. Inman, Julia (July 23, 1976). "'Howdy Doody' Will Return In September". The Indianapolis Star. p. 11. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  5. "Public Notice". The Indianapolis Star. August 30, 1978. p. 50. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  6. Shull, Richard K. (May 20, 1982). "Finally, A Winner For WIFE-FM". The Indianapolis News. p. 17. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  7. "FCC awards unusual FM-radio permit". Seymour Daily Tribune. Associated Press. August 3, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  8. Inman, Julia (January 29, 1983). "ABC adds midseason shows". The Indianapolis Star. p. 23. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  9. "For the Record" (PDF). Broadcasting. January 2, 1984. p. 94. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  10. Hanshew, Dennis (October 12, 1984). "WTPI to sign on Monday". Indianapolis Star. p. 29. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  11. Koenig, Bill (November 8, 1986). "N.J. firm buys 2 Anderson papers; Radio station WTPI sold to Indianapolis company". The Indianapolis Star. p. 23. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  12. "Medland Now MyStar Exec. VP, WTPI VP/GM" (PDF). Radio & Records. February 9, 1990. p. 5. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  13. "Somerset Reaches Pinnacle With $12 Million Indy FM" (PDF). Radio & Records. September 29, 1989. p. 6. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  14. Venta, Lance (May 23, 2013). "WNTR Becomes 107.9 The Mix". FormatChange. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  15. "107.9 The Mix Indianapolis Launches". RadioInsight. May 23, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2020.
  16. "Cumulus Sells Six To EMF & Swaps With Entercom In New York & Indianapolis". RadioInsight. 2019-02-13. Retrieved 2019-02-13.
  17. "Cumulus, Entercom Close Six-Station Swap". Inside Radio. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  18. "107.9 The Mix Indianapolis Goes All-Christmas". RadioInsight. 2020-04-10. Retrieved 2020-08-02.
  19. WNTR Ends Over A Month Of Christmas Music With AC Shift Radioinsight - May 14, 2020
  20. FCC Internet Services Staff. "Station Search Details".
  21. https://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?latitude=39.8646455&longitude=-86.1039189 HD Radio Guide for Indianapolis
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