WIHB-FM (96.5
FM, "96.5 The Bull") is a U.S.
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission 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 radi ...
serving the
Macon metropolitan area The Macon metropolitan area is a metropolitan area consisting of five counties in Central Georgia ( Bibb, Crawford, Jones, Monroe, and Twiggs) anchored by the principal city of Macon. The Office of Management and Budget defines the area as one ...
in
central Georgia
Central Georgia is the area containing the metropolitan region surrounding the city of Macon, in Bibb County in the U.S. state of Georgia. It abuts the Atlanta metropolitan area, just to the north.
Similar and coextensive names for this region ...
, and having
Gray, Georgia
Gray is a city in Jones County, Georgia, United States. The population was 3,276 at the 2010 census, up from 1,811 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Jones County. It is part of the Macon Metropolitan Area.
History
Gray was founde ...
as its
city of license
In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.
In North American b ...
. The station is owned by
iHeartMedia, Inc.
iHeartMedia, Inc., formerly CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc. (formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc.), a company fou ...
It airs a
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...
format
Format may refer to:
Printing and visual media
* Text formatting, the typesetting of text elements
* Paper formats, or paper size standards
* Newspaper format, the size of the paper page
Computing
* File format, particular way that informati ...
.
History
This station was assigned the WPCH
call letters
In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally assign ...
by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...
on November 1,
2006.
It was previously used on "Peach 94.9", a station which had a very similar
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 was compelle ...
in
metro Atlanta
Metro Atlanta, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as the Atlanta–Sandy Springs–Alpharetta, GA Metropolitan Statistical Area, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Georgia and the ...
, the next
media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area (DMA), television market area, or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same (or similar) television and radio station offerings, and may also in ...
to the north. That station is now
WUBL, "94.9 The Bull".
The call letters actually go back to an AM station in New York City. In the early 1930s, WPCH operated on 570 kHz in the New York metropolitan area.
During the week of March 17, 2008, fans of classic hits station "Peach 96.5" were told that they could listen to the station online until the station returned to the air as "Peach 102.5" on March 24, 2008. During this transition, the country format known as "The Bull" broadcast on both the 102.5 and 96.5 frequencies. In late 2008, the classic hits format returned as a simulcast on both 96.5 and 102.5 FM.
On March 22, 2011, 102.5 broke away from the 96.5 simulcast and now plays country music. Peach 96.5 FM still carries the classic hits format as well as online.
On September 19, 2011, WPCH shifted their format from classic hits to adult contemporary, keeping the "Peach 96.5" branding.
On February 23, 2013, at 12 midnight, WPCH changed their format back to country, branded as "New Country 96.5".
On June 1, 2015, at 6 AM, WPCH rebranded back to the "96.5 The Bull" branding. The new callsign WIHB-FM was adopted at the same time.
References
External links
WIHB-FM official website*
IHB-FM
Country radio stations in the United States
Jones County, Georgia
Radio stations established in 1995
IHeartMedia radio stations
{{GeorgiaUS-radio-station-stub