WRBT (94.9 FM, "Bob 94.9") is a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

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 ...

broadcasting in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

. The station is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and broadcasts with a

power Power may refer to: Common meanings * Power (physics), meaning "rate of doing work" ** Engine power, the power put out by an engine ** Electric power, a type of energy * Power (social and political), the ability to influence people or events Math ...

of 25

kilowatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of 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 quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named in honor of ...

from a transmitter site in

Enola, Pennsylvania Enola is a census-designated place (CDP) located along the Susquehanna River in East Pennsboro Township, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 6,111 at the 2010 census. Norfolk Southern operates Enola Yard, a large ...

. WRBT broadcasts in the

HD Radio HD Radio (HDR) is a trademark for in-band on-channel (IBOC) digital radio broadcast technology. HD radio generally simulcast, simulcasts an existing analog radio station in digital format with less noise and with additional text information. HD R ...

format.https://hdradio.com/station_guides/widget.php?id=65 HD Radio Guide for Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

History

The station signed on the air on September 30, 1962, then owned by the Market Square

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

, hence the original call letters WMSP. It was run as a volunteer radio station, parishioners volunteered to do air shifts, broadcasting a

Classical Music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

format. The station was sold in 1988 to Barnstable Broadcasting, who changed the format to

adult contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

first, then an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

format, KOOL 94.9. In 1995, Barnstable switched formats and call letters with its 99.3 signal, turning the 94.9 signal into WYMJ Magic 94.9. The generic mix format never did well and Barnstable put all of its Harrisburg market stations for sale in late 1996. In December 1996, the sale was consummated with Dame Media the call letters were changed to WRBT and Dame launched the country format that is heard on the radio today. Brad Chambers (from

KPLX KPLX (99.5 FM, "99.5 The Wolf") is a commercial radio station broadcasting a gold-based country radio format. It is licensed to Fort Worth, Texas, and serves the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. KPLX is owned by Cumulus Media, with studios and ...

in Dallas) was hired as the program director. Bob 94.9 was well received in the community. Through hard work and many promotions, remote broadcasts and other local involvement, it took over the "top country spot" from ( Cat Country 106.7). The original staff with the station was as follows: * Mornings: Todd Jeffers, Nancy Ryan, Allen Willis (Nancy & Buzz 1999-2001) * Mid-days: Shelly Easton (at Cat Country 96 in Allentown, Pa) * Afternoons: Brad Chambers, PD (now working in Los Angeles) * Evenings: Wes & Ang (Wes is John Beaston on the morning show on Wink 104, and Ang is currently the morning show co-host at the Beach 96.5 in

Corpus Christi, TX Corpus Christi ( ; ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, Texas, Nueces County with portions extending into Aransas County, T ...

) * Overnights: "After Midnite" With Blair Garner (show still on the station)

On-air personalities

*Nancy Ryan *Newman *Holly Love *Jeff Hurley *Bob Hauer

References

#1979 Broadcasting Year book, page C-186

External links

WRBT official website
* {{IHeartMedia RBT Country radio stations in the United States Bob FM stations Radio stations established in 1962 1962 establishments in Pennsylvania IHeartMedia radio stations