WNOW-FM

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For the New York radio station that used these call letters, see WNYL (FM).
WNOW-FM
WNOW RadioNow100.9 logo.png
CitySpeedway, Indiana
Broadcast areaIndianapolis, Indiana
Frequency100.9 MHz (HD Radio)
BrandingRadioNOW 100.9
Programming
FormatTop 40 (CHR)
SubchannelsHD1: WNOW-FM analog
HD2: Regional Mexican "La Grande 105.1"
HD3: Regional Mexican "La Grande 105.1"
Ownership
OwnerUrban One
(Radio One of Indiana, LLC)
WHHH, WTLC-AM, WTLC
History
First air date
May 28, 1967; 54 years ago (1967-05-28) (as WNON-FM)[1]
Former call signs
WNON-FM (1967–1985)
WBCI (1985–1990)
WIRE (1990–1998)
WYJZ (1998–2007)
WNOU (2007–2014)
Call sign meaning
We are NOW
Technical information
Facility ID6420
ClassA
ERP6,000 watts
HAAT100 meters (330 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
39°48′1.0″N 86°4′39.0″W / 39.800278°N 86.077500°W / 39.800278; -86.077500
Translator(s)105.1 W286CM (Indianapolis, relays HD3)
Links
WebcastWNOW-FM Webstream
WNOW-HD2 Webstream
Websiteradionowindy.com
lagrandeindy.com (HD2)

WNOW-FM (100.9 FM) is a commercial Top 40 (CHR) radio station licensed to Speedway, Indiana, serving the Indianapolis Metro area. WNOW is owned and operated by Urban One alongside sister stations WTLC, WTLC-AM, WHHH and TV station WDNI-CD. All four stations and TV outlet share studios on Meridian Street in downtown Indianapolis with its transmitter located on the city's east side.

Specialty programming includes the Friday Vibe and the Saturday Vibe with various house DJs including DJ Orion, DJ Cool Hand Lex, and DJ Indiana Jones.

WNOW-FM is licensed to broadcast in the HD Radio (hybrid) format.[2][3]

History[]

Smooth Jazz 100.9[]

Prior to October 2007, the 100.9 FM frequency was home to WYJZ, a smooth jazz format that began broadcasting on June 15, 1998.[4]

RadioNow 100.9[]

On October 8, 2007, at Noon, the "RadioNow" Top 40/CHR format was dropped from the 93.1 FM frequency (then owned by Emmis Communications) when it switched to Christmas music in advance of picking up the talk format from sister WIBC, which in turn was moving from AM 1070 to clear a spot for sports radio WFNI in December 2007.

Two days later, on October 10, at 4:30 p.m., after playing "Anthem For a New America" by Jeff Lorber, WYJZ dropped its smooth jazz format and picked up the Top 40/CHR format of WNOU after stunting for a half-hour with a loop of an announcer saying "RadioNOW, now at 100.9". Radio One purchased the intellectual property of WNOU including its "RadioNOW" branding, format and logo, which were all installed on 100.9 FM. Radio One management claimed that they would offer the displaced staffers of the original WNOU the first chance of joining the station's lineup, and would use the same imaging as the former Radio Now. The first song played on "RadioNOW 100.9" was "Bartender" by T-Pain.

On October 31, 2007, WYJZ picked up the WNOU call sign, completing the "move" of "Radio Now" to 100.9.

By 2009, when Cumulus Media's WRWM picked up the CHR format, WNOU started to lean more rhythmic as it forced sister station WHHH to move from rhythmic to urban. The rhythmic lean was reduced when WRWM switched to hot adult contemporary. WRWM has since reformatted to rock and is no longer is in direct competition with WNOW.

On June 30, 2014, WNOU changed its call letters to WNOW-FM, after the previous station carrying those call letters dropped the call sign and rebranded to AMP Radio.[5]

WNOW-FM carried The Joe & Alex Show from 2015 to 2020; from 2018 to 2020, the show was syndicated to sister station KROI-FM in Houston. It was then cancelled on February 28, 2020, and WNOW-FM became an affiliate of The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show on March 20.

HD Radio[]

On December 14, 2015, at 3 p.m., WNOW-FM launched an HD2 sub-channel carrying a classic hip hop format, branded as "Boom 102.9" (in reference to translator 102.9 W275BD). The first song on "Boom" was "Straight Outta Compton" by N.W.A.[6] Around July 2018, W275BD was shut down (likely due to interference with nearby WXCH in Columbus, Indiana), with "Boom" going HD-only at that point.[7][8]

On December 8, 2017, WNOW-FM launched an HD3 sub-channel carrying a regional Mexican format, branded as "La Grande 105.1".[9] Before the launch, the 105.1 translator, W286CM, had been carrying a 1990s-oriented rock format from September until December 2017.[10][11]

References[]

  1. ^ WNOW-FM - The Indiana Radio Archive
  2. ^ "Station Search Details".
  3. ^ http://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=41 HD Radio Guide for Indianapolis
  4. ^ http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1998/RR-1998-06-19.pdf
  5. ^ "WNOW-FM Call Sign History". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.
  6. ^ Radio One Launches Boom 102.9 Indianapolis
  7. ^ "Boom 102.9 off air? : indianapolis". Reddit. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 2018-12-24.
  8. ^ Federal Communications Commission https://licensing.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/prod/cdbs/forms/prod/getimportletter_exh.cgi?import_letter_id=70636. Retrieved 2018-12-24. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ Urban One Launches 'La Grande 105.1' Indianapolis
  10. ^ Venta, Lance (December 11, 2017). "URBAN ONE LAUNCHES LA GRANDE 105.1 INDIANAPOLIS". RadioInsight.
  11. ^ "What happened to radio station 105.1? : indianapolis". Reddit.

External links[]

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