WPIA

WPIA (98.5 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Eureka, Illinois, and serving the Peoria metropolitan area. The station broadcasts a Top 40 - CHR radio format, simulcast with WHPI 96.5 FM. Both stations are owned and operated by Advanced Media Partners, LLC, and are known as 96.5 and 98.5 KISS FM.

WPIA
Broadcast areaPeoria metropolitan area
Frequency98.5 MHz
Branding98.5 Kiss FM
Programming
FormatTop 40/CHR
AffiliationsCompass Media Networks
Premiere Networks
Ownership
OwnerAdvanced Media Partners, LLC
WHPI, WWCT, WZPN
History
First air date
August 22, 1988 (1988-08-22)
Former call signs
WCRI (1988–1994)[1]
WIVR (1994–1997)
WEEK-FM (1997–1999)
WPPY (1999–2000)
WRVP (2000–2004)
Call sign meaning
Peoria (also Peoria airport code)
Technical information
Facility ID28317
ClassA
ERP6,000 watts
HAAT100 meters (330 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°42′57.1″N 89°27′50.3″W (NAD83)
Translator(s)104.3 MHz W282BS (Dunlap)
Repeater(s)96.5 WHPI (Lexington)
Links
WebcastListen Live
Websitewww.kisspeoria.com

WPIA and WHPI carry two nationally syndicated shows from Premiere Networks: Elvis Duran and the Morning Show from WHTZ New York City and American Top 40 with Ryan Seacrest on weekends, along with Liveline hosted live by Mason Kelter from his house in Boston every weeknight.

History

The station signed on the air on August 22, 1988 (1988-08-22). It originally was WCRI, playing an adult standards - middle of the road (MOR) format.[2] It was owned by Woodford County Radio, Inc. WCRI programmed local news, farm news including grain and livestock prices, high school and Eureka College sports as well as a blend of 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s music. Local librarians created and hosted a weekly five-minute program "Queries, Quips and Quotes." The daily talk show "Woodford County Today" focused on community and area events. Students from the local grade school read the daily lunch menu. The station operated at 3,000 watts; the transmitter and antenna were located about a mile north of Eureka. The studios were at 103 North Major, across the street from the courthouse to the west and Eureka Hospital to the south. The station was sold in 1994 to the owner of WPOK/Pontiac, and his business partners, and became WIVR with an adult contemporary format.[3]

After three years as WIVR, "98.5 The River," the station was bought by the owners of WEEK-TV in 1996, who would turn it into "Oldies 98.5" with the callsign WEEK-FM the following year, the only radio station owned by Granite Broadcasting.[4] After 93.3 became WPBG ("Big Oldies 93.3"), putting it in direct competition with WEEK-FM, 98.5's ratings slid and Granite sold the radio station. In March 1998, WEEK-FM flipped to Hot AC.[5][6]

Beginning in August 1999, the station was called WPPY, "98.5 The Party", with a Top 40/CHR format.[7] In August 2000, WPPY added a simulcast on 101.1 WRVP (now WHPI), then swapping callsigns with 101.1 to become WRVP itself.[8]

In March 2004, the simulcast with WPPY was broken, as WRVP's call letters were changed to WPIA and flipped to Christian rock as "Hope 98.5."[9] In September 2006, then-owners Regent Communications (who were also the owner of rival WZPW until its sale to Cumulus Media in 2012) sold the station and 101.1 FM (then WVEL-FM) to Independence Media Holdings, who also bought 96.5 WHPI (then WWCT) from another company and returned the Top 40/CHR format to 98.5, but this time adding a simulcast with the latter frequency to form "96.5 & 98.5 KISS FM".[10] On July 1, 2007, 98.5 stopped simulcasting 96.5.[11]

Independence Media Holdings sold WPIA, along with its other three Peoria-area stations (WZPN, WWCT, and WHPI) to Advanced Media Partners on November 15, 2010.[12]

On September 5, 2020, at midnight, the station added a simulcast once again on 96.5 as that frequency ended its run as an ESPN Radio affiliate.

Previous logos

through June 2018

References
  1. "WPIA(FM)". FCCInfo.com. Cavell Mertz & Associates, Inc. 4 September 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
  2. "Eureka" (PDF). p. 184. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. "Broadcasting Year Book" (PDF). Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  4. "Eureka Radio Station Finds Buyer; WEEK Owner Purchases WIVR For $1 Million," The Peoria Journal-Star, May 9, 1996.
  5. "What's The Frequency Peoria? Changes in the Central Illinois Radio Market Prove the Industry Can Be Very Unpredictable," The Peoria Journal-Star, November 8, 1998.
  6. "WEEK-FM To Join Cromwell Group," The Peoria Journal-Star, Mary 6, 1999.
  7. "Peoria Radio Remains a Source of Local Identity Even as Stations Change Hands," The Peoria Journal-Star, October 10, 1999.
  8. "Column Right," The Peoria Journal-Star, August 10, 2000.
  9. "Radio stations changing formats as winter turns into spring," The Peoria Journal-Star, March 7, 2004.
  10. "On the Air -- Radio dial has heads spinning," The Peoria Journal-Star, October 1, 2006.
  11. "Sports fans get local voice". Archived from the original on 6 July 2007. Retrieved 2 July 2007.
  12. "Application Search Details (BALH-20100723AEO)". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 27 November 2010.
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