Wikipedia

WARH

WARH(106.5MHz"106-5 The Arch" ) is a commercialFMradio stationlicensedtoGranite City, Illinoisand servingGreater St. Louisincluding sections ofIllinoisandMissouri.[2]WARH is owned byHubbard Broadcastingand airs anadult hitsradio format.The studios and offices are inCreve Coeur, Missouri(although a St. Louis address is used).[3]Thetransmitteris located near Resurrection Cemetery off Mackenzie Road in St. Louis.[4]

WARH
Broadcast areaGreater St. Louis
Frequency106.5MHz(HD Radio)
Branding106.5 The Arch
Programming
FormatAdult hits
SubchannelsHD2:Talk(simulcast ofKTMY/Minneapolis-St. Paul)
HD3:80's hits"My 80s Mix"
Ownership
Owner
KPNT,KSHE,WIL-FM,WXOS
History
First air date
November 24,1965(as WGNU-FM)
Former call signs
WGNU-FM (1965–1977)
WWWK (1977-?)
KWK-FM (1987–1988)
WKBQ (1988–1994)
WKKX (1994–2000)
WSSM (2000–2005)
Call signmeaning
TheARcH(referencing theGateway Arch)
Technical information[1]
Licensing authority
FCC
Facility ID74577
ClassC1
ERP90,000watts
HAAT309 meters (1014 ft)
Links
Public license information
WebcastListen Live
Website1065TheArch

"106-5 The Arch" using the primary slogan "You never know what we're going to play next." The station's name pays tribute to the iconicGateway Archmonument inDowntown St. Louis.The format is musically similar to thesyndicatedJack FMstations in the U.S. andCanada.However, "The Arch" uses a live and localDJstaff around the clock, whereas "Jack" stations are, for the most part,automatedwith no live voices. WARH uses voice actor Howard Cogan for voice imaging; Cogan was the former voice of the network syndicated version of Jack FM.

WARH broadcasts in theHD Radioformat; WARH-HD2 carries co-ownedKTMYfromMinneapolis,known as "My Talk Radio." (Before March 2017, it featured less familiar rock songs from the 1960s to the present, branded as "106-5 The Deep." ) WARH-HD3 carries an all-80s hitsformat branded as “My 80s Mix”; this launched on WARH-HD3 in May 2021, after being moved fromKSHE's HD3 sub-channel.

History

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Country (1965–1977)

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On November 24, 1965, WGNU-FM firstsigned onas the FM counterpart ofWGNU(920 AM), under the ownership of Chuck Norman.[5]Both stationssimulcastedacountry musicformat for Granite City and its surrounding communities.

AOR (1977–1987)

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In 1977, Norman sold the FM station toDoubleday Broadcasting,who would boost the station's signal to cover most of the St. Louisradio market.Thecall signwas changed to WWWK, with the station simulcasting thealbum oriented rock(AOR) format of KWK (1380 AM, nowKXFN).[6]The stations called themselves "Stereo WK."

In November 1986, the two stations were bought by Chase Broadcasting.

Top 40 (1987–1993)

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The simulcast ended in 1987, with AM 1380 flipping tooldiesas KGLD, while FM 106.5 (now with the call sign KWK-FM) moved to aTop 40/CHRformat.

In February 1988, KWK-FM changed call letters to WKBQ-FM, and retained the Top 40 format, but would rebrand as "Q106.5." After the market's CHR powerhouse stationKHTRdropped its CHR format that November, WKBQ became the only Top 40 station in the area until the launch ofKHTKin August 1989. When mid-1989 rolled along, WKBQ briefly went towards a rock-lean, but returned back to a mainstream direction by mid-1990. In September 1991, WKBQ-FM brought the morning team of "Steve & DC" to St. Louis fromBirmingham, Alabama.In 1993, "Steve & DC" and WKBQ-FM faced controversy over the use of a racial epithet on the air. The following year, they aired an interview with a woman accusing a local broadcaster of harassing her, which may have contributed to his death by suicide in a small plane crash.[7]Also in 1993, WKBQ-FM again was simulcast on AM 1380.

Country (1993–2000)

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In late 1993, WKBQ-FM was purchased by Zimmer Radio Group ofCape Girardeau, Missouri.On January 20, 1994, WKBQ-FM andcountry-formatted sister station WKKX swapped frequencies, with WKBQ-FM moving to 104.1 FM, and WKKX moving to 106.5 FM (AM 1380 would continue to simulcast WKBQ-FM after the swap).[8][9]The station became "New Country Kix 106.5," with the popular morning duo "Steve & DC" heard for the second time on the 106.5 MHz frequency. That led to the team scoring its biggest ratings in St. Louis, as the "Steve & DC" morning show consistently ranked #1 in the all-important Persons 18-49 and Persons 25-54 demographics on WKKX.

In November 1996,Emmis Broadcastingbought the station.

Smooth jazz (2000–2005)

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In 2000, Emmis swapped WKKX toBonneville InternationalforLos Angelescountry music station KZLA (nowKLLI). At 12:00 a.m. on October 4, 2000, after the sale to Bonneville closed, WKKX changed call letters toWSSMand adopted aSmooth Jazzformat as "Smooth 106.5" (later "106.5 Smooth Jazz" ).[10][11]

Adult hits (2005–present)

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On April 10, 2005, after playing "Thank You" byEuge Groove,the station adopted its currentadult hitsformat, branded as "106-5 The Arch." The first song on "The Arch" was "Roll With the Changes"byREO Speedwagon.[12]The station adopted its currentWARHcall letters on April 18, 2005. WARH was initially programmed by Jules Riley. The Program Director since 2019 is Marty Linck, who also serves as the program director for sister stationKSHE.

On January 19, 2011, Bonneville announced the sale of WARH, as well as 16 other stations in four markets (St. Louis,Chicago,CincinnatiandWashington, D.C.), to Minneapolis-based Hubbard Broadcasting.[13]The sale was completed on April 29, 2011.[14]

References

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  1. ^"Facility Technical Data for WARH".Licensing and Management System.Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ^WARHFCC.gov
  3. ^"1065TheArch /contact".Retrieved9 November2023.
  4. ^"WARH-FM Radio Station Coverage Map".radio-locator.Retrieved9 November2023.
  5. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1969 page B-54
  6. ^Broadcasting Yearbook 1982 page C-141
  7. ^Wilson, D. J."The Worst of D.C."Riverfront Times.Retrieved2024-08-20.
  8. ^Stark, Phyllis (January 15, 1994). "Vox Jox".Billboard.Vol. 106, no. 3. p. 64.
  9. ^American Radio History
  10. ^American Radio History
  11. ^World Radio History
  12. ^American Radio History
  13. ^"$505M sale: Bonneville sells Chicago, D.C., St. Louis and Cincinnati to Hubbard".Radio-Info.January 19, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon January 22, 2011.RetrievedJanuary 19,2011.
  14. ^"Hubbard deal to purchase Bonneville stations closes".Radio Ink.May 2, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon March 12, 2012.RetrievedMay 2,2011.
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38°34′24″N90°19′30″W/ 38.5734°N 90.3251°W/38.5734; -90.3251

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