WMIL-FM

Broadcast areaGreater Milwaukee - Southeast WisconsinFrequency106.1 MHz (HD Radio)BrandingFM 106.1ProgrammingFormatCountryAffiliationsPremiere NetworksOwnershipOwnerWISN, WKKV-FM, WOKY, WRIT-FM, WRNWHistoryJanuary 1, 1962; 62 years ago (1962-01-01)WAUX-FM (1962–1965)
WAUK-FM (1965–1975)MilwaukeeTechnical informationFacility ID63919ClassBERP12,000 wattsHAAT304 meters (997 ft)LinksWebcastListen Live
Listen Live (HD2)Websitefm106.iheart.com

WMIL-FM (106.1 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Waukesha, Wisconsin, and serving the Greater Milwaukee and Southeast Wisconsin radio market. It carries a country music radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. The studios and offices are on West Howard Avenue in the Milwaukee suburb of Greenfield.

WMIL-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 12,000 watts. The transmitter site is in Milwaukee's North Side off Humboldt Boulevard near Estabrook Park and the Milwaukee River.^[1] WMIL-FM broadcasts in the HD Radio hybrid format. The HD2 digital subchannel formerly aired alternative rock from the 1990s and 2000s as "Alt 2K."

History

WAUX-FM, WAUK-FM

On January 1, 1962, the station signed on as WAUX-FM, sister station to WAUX 1510 AM. The stations were owned by the Waukesha Broadcasting Company.^[2] At the time, WAUX-FM’s effective radiated power was 3,800 watts, a fraction of its current output.

Because WAUX was a daytimer, the two stations simulcast during the day and programming continued on WAUX-FM at night. A few years later in 1965, they became WAUK and WAUK-FM respectively. During the 1970s, WAUK-FM aired a beautiful music format.

WMIL-FM

In December 1975, the station adopted the WMIL-FM call sign (originally used by 95.7 FM). Stebbins Communications acquired the two stations in 1975. For a time, WMIL-FM was dark when Stebbins went bankrupt. The AM station had already been sold to another company in 1977.

Charter Broadcasting, which already owned WOKY 920 AM, purchased WMIL-FM in 1979. The company sold WOKY and WMIL-FM to Sundance Broadcasting in June 1983. The new owners had a different plan for WMIL-FM.

Country music

The present country music format was launched on WMIL-FM, competing against country rival 102.9 WBCS (now active rock station WHQG). As a country station, WMIL-FM has long been successful in the local ratings. Clear Channel Communications, a forerunner to today's iHeartMedia, bought WMIL-FM and WOKY for $40 million in 1997.^[3]

In 2007, WMIL-FM was voted "Top Country Station in a Large Market". The station now competes with country stations in surrounding suburbs (WMBZ in West Bend and WVTY in Racine), but generally has outdone any competitors in Milwaukee proper since the mid-80s.

Programming

The station's local morning show is co-hosted by Scott Dolphin and Shannen Oestereich (Scott & Shannen) with Shanna "Quinn" Hoy heard in afternoon drive time. Other shifts are voicetracked by iHeart country DJs including Billy Greenwood in middays and Ric Rush evenings.

Syndicated programming from co-owned Premiere Networks includes After Midnite With Granger Smith in overnights, a weekly "best-of" compilation of the weekday morning The Bobby Bones Show on Sunday evenings (to maintain rights over the program in the Milwaukee market) and The Country House Party on Saturday evenings.

References

External links

• FM 106.1
• Milwaukee radio: a retrospective
• ‹The template FMQ is being considered for deletion.› WMIL-FM in the FCC FM station database
• WMIL-FM in Nielsen Audio's FM station database

43°05′46″N 87°54′14″W / 43.096°N 87.904°W / 43.096; -87.904