WHP (AM)

The Department of Commerce granted John S. Skane a license for a new station, WHBG, on February 20, 1925. It had studios at 2810 North Fourth Street in Harrisburg, transmitting on 1300 kHz.[6] In late 1926, ownership was transferred to Macks Battery Service, and the call sign was changed to WMBS.[7] As of December 31, 1926, the station was reported to be operating on a self-assigned frequency of 833 kHz.[8]

Following the formation of the Federal Radio Commission (FRC), the new regulators issued a series of temporary authorizations beginning on May 3, 1927, with WMBS assigned to 820 kHz.[9] That was changed on June 1, 1927 to 1280 kHz.[10] Stations were also informed that if they wanted to continue operating, they needed to file a formal license application by January 15, 1928, as the first step in determining whether they met the new "public interest, convenience, or necessity" standard.[11] On May 25, 1928, the FRC issued General Order 32, which notified 164 stations, including WMBS, that "From an examination of your application for future license it does not find that public interest, convenience, or necessity would be served by granting it."[12] However, the station successfully convinced the commission that it should remain licensed.

On November 11, 1928, the FRC implemented a major reallocation of station transmitting frequencies, as part of a reorganization resulting from its implementation of General Order 40. WMBS was assigned to 1430 kHz, sharing this frequency with WKBN in Youngstown, Ohio.[13] On October 19, 1928, the FRC granted Mack's Battery Company a construction permit to move the station to 1430 kHz, followed by a new license for operation on the new frequency on January 31, 1929. WMBS was required to share 1430 kHz with WBAK and hence it could not be a full-time station.[10]

The station's license was transferred by the FRC to Pennsylvania Broadcasting Company effective March 22, 1929, accompanied by a change in call sign to WHP. On December 1, 1930, the FRC granted another transfer of the license to WHP, Incorporated.[10] On January 26, 1933, WHP was granted full time operation, no longer having to share its frequency.[14] The FRC granted WHP full-time operation (6 a.m. to 1 a.m.) on April 27, 1934.[10]

WHP moved from 1430 kHz to 1460 kHz on March 29, 1941.[10] On that day, 795 US radio stations changed frequency as the result of the North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement (NARBA), signed in Havana with representatives from Canada, US, Mexico, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

For most of its history, WHP was a network affiliate of CBS Radio. It carried CBS's schedule of dramas, comedies, news, sports, soap operas, game shows and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio." In an advertisement in the 1952 Broadcasting Yearbook, WHP is described as "The Key Station of the Keystone State." The ad says WHP is "welcomed into tens of thousands of homes in Pennsylvania's rich South-Central belt. It is the CBS station serving Harrisburg, Lancaster, York and Lebanon."[15]

In 1946, an FM station was added, WHP-FM.[16] It originally broadcast on 43.5 MHz, moving to 97.3 MHz several months later. In its early years, WHP-FM mostly simulcast the AM station, later switching to beautiful music in the 1960s and is today classic rock WRVV "97.3 The River."

In 1953, a television station was added, WHP-TV, originally on Channel 55 and later on Channel 21. Because WHP had long been a CBS Radio affiliate, WHP-TV carried CBS television programs, along with some shows from the DuMont Television Network.

The Federal Communications Commission granted WHP a construction permit on January 6, 1950, to move the station from 1460 kHz to 580 kHz, followed by a license for operation on the new frequency effective May 1, 1952.[10] The frequency lower on the AM dial gave WHP a stronger signal. The move was coupled with an increase in nighttime power to 5,000 watts, allowing it to cover most of South Central Pennsylvania day and night.[17]

As network programming moved from radio to television in the 1950s and 1960s, WHP switched to a full service, middle of the road (MOR) format of popular adult music, news, talk and sports. In the 1980s, as music listening moved from AM to FM radio, WHP added more talk programming and by the 1990s, it had transitioned to a talk radio station.

In August 1998, the Dame Media stations, including WHP and WRVV, were sold to Clear Channel Communications, the forerunner to iHeartMedia.[18][19] In 2007, Clear Channel sold WHP-TV and its other television properties to concentrate on radio. WHP-TV is currently owned by the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, even though it continues to share its call letters with WHP Radio.

WHP 580 once broadcast using HD Radio technology. But its digital signal was reported off the air as of July 2017.[20] It remains on an FM HD radio subchannel of its sister station, WRVV 97.3 MHz.