WSBT (AM)
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| City | South Bend, Indiana |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Michiana (Michigan & Indiana) |
| Branding | News & Sports Radio 96.1 FM & 960 AM |
| Slogan | Local News, Local Talk, and Notre Dame Football |
| Frequency | 960 kHz |
| Translator(s) | 96.1 W241AD (South Bend) |
| First air date | 1922 (as WGAZ) |
| Format | News/Talk/Sports |
| Power | 5,000 watts |
| Class | B |
| Facility ID | 73985 |
| Callsign meaning | W South Bend Tribune |
| Former callsigns | WGAZ (1922-1925) |
| Affiliations | CBS Sports Radio |
| Owner |
Mid-West Family Broadcasting (WSJM, Inc.) |
| Sister stations | WQLQ, WNSN, WZOC |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | WSBT Radio |
WSBT (960 AM), known locally as News & Sports Radio 96.1 FM & 960 AM, is a news/talk/sports radio station in South Bend, Indiana. The transmitter is located in the southern portion of South Bend.
Prior to its current News/Talk/Sports format, WSBT was a Full-Service Adult Contemporary radio station, featuring soft pop and oldies music, personalities, CBS and local news, evening talk programming and play-by-play sports.
WSBT first signed on in 1922 as WGAZ. The call letters stood for World's Greatest Automotive Zone—a nod to Studebaker, which was headquartered in South Bend. The call letters became WSBT in 1925.
Schurz Communications announced on September 14, 2015 that it would exit broadcasting and sell its television and radio stations, including WSBT, to Gray Television for $442.5 million. The sale, which will end 93 years of ownership by the company, will separate WSBT radio from both the station's longtime sister newspaper, the South Bend Tribune (which Schurz will keep), and WSBT-TV (which will be sold separately due to Gray's existing ownership of WNDU-TV). Though Gray initially intended to keep Schurz' radio stations, on November 2, it announced that Mid-West Family Broadcasting would acquire WSBT and Schurz' other South Bend radio stations for $5.5 million. The sale to Mid-West was consummated on February 16, 2016.
On March 30, 2012, WSBT began broadcasting on 96.1 through a translator in South Bend. The translator had previously been operated by Friends of Christian Radio, Inc. and repeated the Christian Contemporary programming of WFRN-FM. It serves mainly to fill in the gaps in WSBT's nighttime signal, which is marginal at best outside of St. Joseph County. WSBT now emphasizes 96.1 in its branding, even though 960 is the main signal.
WSBT is not licensed to broadcast a digital HD signal.
Past local personalities have included:
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Wikipedia