WHPI

WHPI is an FM broadcasting station on 96.5 MHz, licensed for Farmington, Illinois near Peoria, Illinois. It simulcasts Top 40/CHR station WPIA 98.5 KISS FM.

This article is about the station on 96.5. For the station on 101.1 that has had two of the same call signs as 96.5, see WZPN.
WHPI
CityFarmington, Illinois
Broadcast areaPeoria, Illinois
Frequency96.5 MHz
Branding98.5 KISS FM
Programming
FormatTop 40/CHR
Ownership
OwnerMichael S. Rea
(Advanced Media Partners, LLC)
History
First air date
September 8, 1997 (1997-09-08)
Former call signs
  • WJPL (1997–2003)
  • WXMP (September 2003)
  • WWCT (2003–2006)
  • WRIA (2006–2007)
  • WZPN (2007–2018)[1]
Technical information
Facility ID76410
ClassA
ERP4,300 watts
HAAT115 meters (377 ft)
Transmitter coordinates
40°40′10.1″N 89°53′31.4″W (NAD83)
Links
Websitekisspeoria.com

History

The station was assigned the call sign WJPL in 1997[1] and received its license on February 13, 1998.[2] It came on the air under the ownership of Ann Johnston and Mike Rea.[3] Johnston and Rea merged their station ownership into a larger group, AAA Entertainment, in June 2000.[3][4]

The radio station originally went on the air in November 1997 with a rock format, then changed to "Smooth Jazz 96.5" through the rest of the decade.[5] In August 2001, WJPL flipped to Hot AC as "The Point", featuring the syndicated Bob & Sheri morning show. The station added simulcast 94.3 for a short time.[6]

In June 2003, AAA Entertainment moved the format to the much stronger 105.7 and rebranded as "Mix 105.7". WWCT, known for years as "Rock 106", moved down the dial to 96.5 to become "Rock 96.5" featuring Mancow in the morning.[7] The station struggled with several airstaff changes and variations, including an all-request format.

AAA decided to sell the stations in 2006,[3] finalizing the transfer to Independence Media in 2007.[8] In September 2006, Independence Media began simulcasting its new CHR format on sister WPIA 98.5 as WRIA until its format change to sports talk on July 1, 2007. 96.5 had changed its callsign to WZPN six days earlier.[9][10]

In November 2010, Independence Media Holdings sold WPIA, along with its other 3 Peoria-area stations (98.5 WPIA Eureka, 99.9 WWCT Bartonville, and 101.1 WHPI Glasford) to Michael S. Rea Advanced Media Partners.[3][11]

On June 6, 2018, sister station WHPI became the primary station for "ESPN Peoria" with 96.5 as the simulcast until a new format is planned.[12] The stations swapped call signs on June 26, 2018, with 96.5 taking the call sign WHPI and 101.1 taking the WZPN call sign.[1][13][14]

On September 5, 2020, at midnight, the station dropped its sports format and resumed simulcasting WPIA's Top 40/CHR format as "98.5 KISS FM".

References
  1. "WHPI(FM)". FCCInfo.com. Manassas, Virginia: Cavell, Mertz & Associates, Inc. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  2. "Application Search Details (BLH-19971113KC)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  3. "Enter the Media Plaza". InterBusiness Issues. Peoria, Illinois: Central Illinois Business Publishers. September 2011.
  4. "Application Search Details (BALH-20000301ABE)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  5. "New Station Turning Out Smooth Jazz," The Peoria Journal-Star, November 9, 1997.
  6. "Two Peoria radio stations change tunes," The Peoria Journal-Star, August 17, 2001.
  7. "Light rock, oldies top Peoria radio charts," The Peoria Journal-Star, July 24, 2003.
  8. "Application Search Details (BALH-20061027ACS)". CDBS Public Access. Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  9. "On The Air -- Radio dial has heads spinning," The Peoria Journal-Star, October 1, 2006.
  10. Tartar, Steve (July 1, 2007). "Sports fans get local voice". PJStar.com. Archived from the original on 2007-07-06. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  11. "Application Search Details (BALH-20100723AEO)". Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2010-11-27. Also includes BALH-20100723AER for 96.5.
  12. "ESPN Peoria Moves To 101.1 FM". AllAccess.com. Malibu, California: All Access Music Group. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
  13. "WZPN(FM)". FCCInfo.com. Manassas, Virginia: Cavell, Mertz & Associates, Inc. Retrieved 2019-03-31.
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