WBBM-FM
 
|
|
| City | Chicago |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Chicago market |
| Branding | B96 |
| Slogan | Chicago's #1 Hit Music Channel |
| Frequency | 96.3 MHz (also on HD Radio) 96.3-HD2: Dance Top 40 |
| First air date | 1941 |
| Format | Top 40 (CHR) |
| 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 (from a slogan of its radio sister made from the calls) One of the two Bs in WBBM branding is used in B96 branding |
| Owner |
CBS Radio (CBS Radio East Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WBBM, WBBM-TV, WCFS-FM, WJMK-FM, WSCR, WUSN, WXRT |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | b96 |
WBBM-FM, known on air as "B96", is a Top 40 (CHR) radio station in Chicago owned by CBS Radio. 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.
WBBM-FM began as a simulcast of WBBM radio in 1941, a very conservative mix of music which appealed to a broad range of ages. "The Young Sound" format was invented by John DeWitt in 1966 for CBS Radio at WCBS-FM in New York. Bud Kelly was the announcer for "The Young Sound" on WBBM-FM; it was not Elevator Music. "The Young Sound" had an energy to it, and definitely skewed toward a younger audience than WBBM-FM had previously sought.
By 1969, WBBM-FM moved to a more progressive rock format, but by 1973 evolved to Top 40. Another change in the late 70s put WBBM-FM in a rhythmic format focusing on Disco & R & B. Dick Bartley, who later became a very popular syndicated personality, spent time at WBBM-FM as Program Director in the late '70s. By 1980 the format had changed yet again, this time to "Soft rock 96." WBBM-FM briefly carried "American Top 40" with Casey Kasem during the "Soft rock" years.
In March of 1982, WBBM-FM picked up a Top 40/AOR format known as Hot Hits, 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 soon to become CHR, but that concept has 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 recurrents or Oldies whatsoever. The format was delivered with up tempo energy and plenty of "Actualizers" a.k.a. "Fusion" jingles from TM Communications. The original staff of "96 Now", as the station was called, included Mark Windsor, Anthony "Tony The Wild Child" Hamilton, Chuck Evans, Steve Davis, Joseph "Smokin' Joe" Dawson, Gary Spears, David "Dave Rock 'N' Roll" Robbins, Bob Lewis, Frank Foster, Dick Biondi, Tony Taylor, Joseph "Joe Bohannon" Colborn, with Tomm Rivers and Don Geronimo. As a Hot Hits station, WBBM-FM played the Top 5 hottest hits every hour and in between other hits on the Top 50 chart.
...
Wikipedia