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WIXO (105.7 FM, "105.7 The X") is a radio station in
Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...
. It is owned by
Cumulus Media Cumulus Media, Inc. is a broadcasting company of the United States and is the second largest owner and operator of AM and FM radio stations in the United States ahead of Audacy and behind iHeartMedia iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdi ...
, which also owns several other radio stations in the market. Cumulus purchased WIXO and its sister stations from
Townsquare Media Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
. Originally on 99.9
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 ...
before 2006, it moved to 105.7, a much higher-power license that reaches a large portion of Central Illinois. The name is based on several factors, one being the frequency (105.7) and the other being the fact that it recently relocated from 99.9 having been under the name 99X, and the "X" in the name had become an inherent part of the station. The "X" in the previous name had come from the call letters WIXO. The station features an
active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...
music format. Also, on the original frequency, the slogan 99X Rocks! had been used and appeared on the station logo, and the phrase became commonly used as the station name. Thus, the new frequency uses the phrase "105.7 The X Rocks!", which can also be seen on the new logo.


105.7 before WIXO


WWTO and WWCT

The original 105.7 was operating as
Drake-Chenault Drake-Chenault Enterprises (originally American Independent Radio Inc.) was a radio syndication company that specialized in automation on FM radio stations. The company was founded in the late-1960s by radio programmer and deejay Bill Drake ...
programmed WWTO in the early 1970s."WWTO(FM) 105.7 Peoria, Illinois"
by Doug Quick. Retrieved November 19, 2006. In 1976, the station changed its callsign to WWCT and made its debut as an
album rock Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM broadcasting, FM radio format created in the United States in the late 1960s that focuses on the full repertoire of Rock music, rock albums and is currently associated ...
station. Calling itself simply "106" or "WWCT" early on, by the 1990s it was using the nickname "''Rock 106''". Some of their well-known positioning statements included "Rockin' With The Best" and "The Home Of Rock n Roll." Much of their time was spent downtown on both Jefferson St. and 1111 Main St. They moved uptown in 1997 to War Memorial Dr. near Northwoods Mall. In late 1998 Bruce Foster sold the station to Kelly Communications. Kelly took over immediately with an LMA and brought in satellite programming in lieu of local jocks. A ''
Peoria Journal Star The ''Journal Star'' is the major daily newspaper for Peoria, Illinois, and surrounding area. First owned locally, then employee-owned, it is currently owned by Gannett. History The oldest ancestor of the ''Journal Star'', the ''Peoria Daily Tra ...
'' article talking about the station's DJs located in Dallas became fodder for competitor WGLO. In the summer of 1999, Kelly Communications decided to offer a lower price than what was originally negotiated in the sale, and Foster decided to back out of the deal. In what amounts to a legendary story, a group of jocks from the old WWCT days went to the transmitter site on a Friday afternoon and took back control of the station with the words "We're back, and we're pissed off!" Through the weekend a great number of former jocks, local leaders, and even competing radio station personnel took part in an anything-goes broadcast from the transmitter site in rural
Tazewell County, Illinois Tazewell County () is located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 131,343. Its county seat and largest city is Pekin. It is pronounced with a short "a", to rhyme with "razz" rather than "raze." ...
. In 2000 WWCT was acquired by AAA Entertainment Radio Group, moved towards an
active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...
format, and was named "Rock 105.7" towards the end of the format on 105.7 in 2003.


WXMP

AAA replaced WWCT with "Mix 105.7" and the callsign WXMP, and marketed the station as a Bloomington-Normal station for some time despite the station being licensed to Peoria. AAA Entertainment exited the Peoria market in September 2006 during a shakeup in Peoria radio ownership, selling 101.1 at
Glasford, Illinois Glasford is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 866 at the 2020 census. Glasford is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Glasford or Glasco as it was called in 1868, was named f ...
to Independence Media Holdings, who moved the WXMP callsign and format there, and selling 105.7 to
Regent Communications Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...
, owners of 99.9 WIXO at
Bartonville, Illinois Bartonville is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,945 at the 2020 census. Bartonville is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Bartonville is loc ...
.


WIXO

WIXO debuted as the first station on the 99.9 frequency for
Bartonville, Illinois Bartonville is a village in Peoria County, Illinois, United States. The population was 5,945 at the 2020 census. Bartonville is a suburb of Peoria and is part of the Peoria, Illinois Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Bartonville is loc ...
in February 1997, and was known as "99X, Peoria's Modern Rock Alternative". It featured the
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
format. Original DJ's included Ian Chase, Jeff Williams, Stephanie Aaron, and Jay Wolfe. The move from 99.9 to 105.7 allowed WIXO to be heard in an area around three times larger than it originally could.
WWCT WWCT (99.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station licensed to Bartonville, Illinois. Through most of its history, the WWCT callsign was associated with Peoria's 105.7 frequency allocation; the call sign and related format was moved to 96.5 ( ...
, which was originally at 105.7 itself, moved from 96.5 to 99.9.


See also

*
WWCT WWCT (99.9 FM broadcasting, FM) is a radio station licensed to Bartonville, Illinois. Through most of its history, the WWCT callsign was associated with Peoria's 105.7 frequency allocation; the call sign and related format was moved to 96.5 ( ...
— former 105.7 and current 99.9


References


External links

*
JD the DJ: Airchecks
— includes rare airchecks from New Orleans' WIXO. {{Cumulus Media Active rock radio stations in the United States Cumulus Media radio stations IXO