WHOL (1600 AM) is a

rhythmic contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

. The station is owned by licensee Major Keystone LLC, and airs a

radio format A radio format or programming format (not to be confused with broadcast programming) describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. The radio format emerged mainly in the United States in the 1950s, at a time when Radio broadcasting, ...

. It is

simulcast Simulcast (a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast") is the broadcasting of programs or events across more than one resolution, bitrate or medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at exactly the same time (that is, simultaneously) ...

with co-owned AM 1400

WEST West is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some Romance langu ...

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...

. The

studio A studio is a space set aside for creative work of any kind, including art, dance, music and theater. The word ''studio'' is derived from the , from , from ''studere'', meaning to study or zeal. Types Art The studio of any artist, esp ...

s and

transmitter In electronics and telecommunications, a radio transmitter or just transmitter (often abbreviated as XMTR or TX in technical documents) is an electronic device which produces radio waves with an antenna (radio), antenna with the purpose of sig ...

are on Colorado Street in Allentown. WHOL is powered at 1,000

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s by day. But to protect other stations on

1600 AM The following radio broadcasting, radio stations broadcast on AM broadcasting, AM frequency 1600 kHz: 1600 AM is classified as a regional frequency by the Federal Communications Commission. Argentina * Armonia in Caseros * EME (radio station), EM ...

, it reduces power to 56 watts at night. It uses a

directional antenna A directional antenna or beam antenna is an antenna that radiates or receives greater radio wave power in specific directions. Directional antennas can radiate radio waves in beams, when greater concentration of radiation in a certain directio ...

at all times. Programming is also heard on 99 watt

FM translator A broadcast relay station, also known as a satellite station, relay transmitter, broadcast translator (U.S.), re-broadcaster (Canada), repeater ( two-way radio) or complementary station (Mexico), is a broadcast transmitter which repeats (or tr ...

W295CR at 106.9

MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...

History

WHOL

signed on A sign-on (or start-up in Commonwealth countries except Canada) is the beginning of operations for a radio broadcasting, radio or television station, generally at the start of each day. It is the opposite of a sign-off (or closedown in Commonw ...

the air at 1230 AM, on September 5, 1948. It was a CBS Radio

Network affiliate In the broadcasting industry (particularly in North America, and even more in the United States), a network affiliate or affiliated station is a local broadcaster, owned by a company other than the owner of the network, which carries some or a ...

, bringing CBS programming to the Allentown area, including dramas, comedies, news, sports,

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

s and

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

broadcasts during the "

Golden Age of Radio The Golden Age of Radio, also known as the old-time radio (OTR) era, was an era of radio in the United States where it was the dominant electronic home entertainment medium. It began with the birth of commercial radio broadcasting in the earl ...

." Founded by the Allentown Broadcasting Corporation, the station was granted its

construction permit Planning permission or building permit refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. House building permits, for example, are subject to bu ...

in 1946. A suit was immediately brought by a competing applicant, Easton Publishing Co., owner of the daily '' Easton Express'' newspaper, charging that the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, internet, wi-fi, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains j ...

(FCC) erred in granting a fourth license to Allentown while Easton had only one radio frequency. The FCC reversed its decision in favor of the newspaper. The case eventually reached the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

, which in 1955 ruled the FCC had acted properly. The Express was subsequently awarded the 1230 AM frequency for a new full-time station,

WEEX WEEX (1230 AM) is a radio station in Easton, Pennsylvania, owned by Cumulus Media through licensee Radio License Holding CBC, LLC. The station airs a sports radio format branded as "Fox Sports Lehigh Valley", carrying the Fox Sports Radio networ ...

, while WHOL moved to 1600 AM as a daytime only operation. Currently, WHOL operates full-time with reduced wattage at night. For much of the 2000s and 2010s, it aired a

Spanish language Spanish () or Castilian () is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family that evolved from the Vulgar Latin spoken on the Iberian Peninsula of Europe. Today, it is a world language, gl ...

Tropical Music Tropical music () is a term in the Latin music industry that refers to music genres deriving from or influenced by the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean. It includes the islands of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and the Caribbean ...

format

with 1400

Easton. During 2014, WHOL changed is image from "Hola Radio" to "La Ola Radio" and added a translator, W258BM, that allows the station to also be heard on FM radio at 99.5. On January 1, 2017, at the stroke of Midnight, WHOL, WEST, and W258BM rebranded as "Mega 99.5". On October 19, 2020, WHOL split from its simulcast with WEST and changed its format to syndicated

conservative talk Conservative talk radio is a talk radio format in the United States and other countries devoted to expressing conservative viewpoints of issues, as opposed to progressive talk radio. The definition of conservative talk is generally broad enough ...

, branded as "106.9 The Talk". 77 days later, on January 5, 2021, WHOL dropped its conservative talk format and began stunting with a heartbeat, interspersed with a voice saying "It's coming! It's almost here! Very soon!". The next day, WHOL flipped to a

Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hit ...

format as "Loud 106.9/99.5", once again simulcasting WEST. The station, along with WEST and translators W258DV and W295CR, was sold to Major Keystone LLC on January 17, 2022 in exchange for the licenses to WGLD, WTKZ, and W296EA. The swap was consummated on March 31, 2022.

References

External links

* * * * {{Rhythmic Contemporary Radio Stations in Pennsylvania 1948 establishments in Pennsylvania Radio stations established in 1948

HOL HOL or Hol may refer to: Places * Hol, Norway, in Buskerud county * Hol Municipality (Nordland), a former municipality in Norway * Hol, Tjeldsund, Norway * Hol, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Science and technology * HOL (proof assistant), a family of i ...

Rhythmic contemporary radio stations in the United States

History

See also

References

External links