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Media in Peoria, Illinois

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This is a listing of the broadcasters and published media targeted at Peoria, Illinois. TV information includes cities where Peoria TV has been dominant, including Bloomington/Normal full-power TV, and LaSalle/Peru TV before cable TV.

Radio

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Start dates are for the frequency/station license, not for callsign or programming that may have moved from license to license.

FM

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Freq Call City Owner Start ERP (W) Nickname Format RDS HD
88.5 WBNH Peoria Central Illinois Radio Fellowship 1989 48,000 WBNH Christian Yes No
89.9 WCBU Peoria Bradley University January 1970[1] 26,000 Peoria Public Radio Public/news/talk Yes 2
90.7 WAZU Peoria Sirius Syncope June 2010 500 90.7 WAZU Hip Hop Yes No
91.5 WCIC Pekin Northwestern Media[2] November 2, 1983[1] 47,000 91.5 WCIC Christian AC Yes[a&t] No
92.3 WZPW Peoria Cumulus 1992 19,000 Z 92-3 CHR/Rhythmic Yes[a&t] No
93.3 WPBG Peoria Midwest Communications April 1947[3][4] 41,000 93.3 The Drive Classic Hits Yes[a&t] 4
94.3 WPMJ Chillicothe Covenant Network May 16, 1977[1] 6,000 94.3 WPMJ Christian talk No No
94.7 W234AO El Paso Spirit Education Foundation November 2006 25 [t]88.1 WSOG Christian talk No No
94.9 WAAG Galesburg John T. Pritchard (Galesburg Broadcasting) December 15, 1966[1] 50,000 FM 95 Country Yes[a&t] No
95.5 WGLO Pekin Cumulus November 18, 1971[1] 7,000 95-5 'GLO Classic rock Yes[a&t] No
95.9 W240DM Peoria Midwest Communications May 15, 2017 250 [t]93.3 WPBG-HD3 (Freedom 95.9) Conservative Talk Yes No
96.5 WHPI Farmington Mike Rea (Advanced Media Partners) 1997 4,000 98-5 Kiss FM CHR/Pop No No
97.3 WFYR Elmwood Cumulus 1993 24,000 97.3 River Country Country Yes[a&t] No
97.7 (Part 15) Peoria Bradley University ? ? WRBU The Edge College radio No No
97.7 W249CZ Peoria WPEO (CP) 250 [t]1020 WPEO (CP) Yes No
98.5 WPIA Eureka Mike Rea (Advanced Media Partners) 1989 6,000 98-5 Kiss FM CHR/Pop Yes No
99.1 W256CH Pekin Seventh-day Adventists (Illinois) (CP) 19 [t]103.3 WLSE (CP) No No
99.9 WWCT Bartonville Mike Rea (Advanced Media Partners) 1997 2,000 Peoria's CT 99-9 AAA Yes No
100.3 W262BY Peoria Midwest Communications 2011 140 [t]93.3 WPBG-HD4 (1470 WMBD) News/Talk No No
100.5 WRVY-FM Henry Virden Broadcasting Corporation July 1990 3,000 100.5 WRVY Country No No
100.7 W264AZ Dahinda Seventh-day Adventists (Illinois) 2007 38 [t]102.9 WWKJ-LP Christian No No
101.1 WZPN Glasford Mike Rea (Advanced Media Partners) 1999 3,000 101.1 ESPN Peoria Sports No No
101.5 WBNQ Bloomington Cumulus ? 50,000 101-5 WBNQ CHR/Pop Yes[a&t] No
102.3 WKZF Morton Midwest Communications November 28, 1976[1] 4,000 KZ 102.3 Rhythmic Classic Hits Yes[a&t] No
102.7 W274BM Peoria Midwest Communications 2012 10 [t]93.3 WPBG-HD2 (102.7 SuperHits) Oldies Yes[a&t] No
102.9 WWKJ-LP Peoria Seventh-day Adventists (Peoria Christian Radio) 2004 100 (off air) (off air) No No
103.1 WXEC-LP Eureka Eureka College March 25, 2024 71 EC 103.1 Alternative rock No No
103.3 WLSE Canton Seventh-day Adventists (Canton SDA Church) December 20, 2013[5] 5,700 ? Christian No No
103.5 W278AE Peoria Bradley University 1997 50 [t]89.9 WCBU-HD2 Classical Music Yes No
103.9 W280EJ Pekin WPEO (CP) 10 [t]1020 WPEO Christian Yes No
104.3 W282AO Canton Seventh-day Adventists (Illinois) 2007 38 [t]95.7 WVCL-LP Christian No No
104.3 W282BS Dunlap Seventh-day Adventists (Illinois) 2012 13 [t]102.9 WWKJ-LP Christian No No
104.9 WXCL Pekin Midwest Communications 1973[1] 6,000 104.9 The Wolf Country Yes[a&t] No
105.7 WIXO Peoria Cumulus May 14, 1972[1] 33,000 105.7 The X Rocks Active Rock Yes[a&t] No
106.3 WPNV-LP Peoria Black Business Alliance (Peoria Chapter) December 1, 2014[6] 40 WPNV Urban AC No No
106.9 WSWT Peoria Midwest Communications 1964[1] 50,000 Mix 106.9 Adult Contemporary Yes[a&t] No
107.5 W298BH Peoria Larry Nelson (American Education Foundation) (CP) 225 [t]1350 WOAM (CP) Yes No
107.9 WPZA Canton Wayne W. Whalen (WPW) October 7, 1968[1] 25,000 107.9 Christian[7] Yes No
  • ^[a&t] displays artist and title on Radio Data System
  • ^[t] FM translator: repeats another station's program

AM

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Freq Call City Owner Start Day Power
(W)		 Night
Power		 Nickname Format Stereo HD
1020 WPEO Peoria WPEO 1946[3][8] 1,000 0 WPEO Christian talk No No
1140 WVEL Pekin Cumulus April 21, 1946[1][8] 5,000 0 WVEL Christian No No
1290 WIRL Peoria Midwest Communications 1947[3] 5,000 5,000 Freedom 95.9 Conservative Talk No No
1350 WOAM Peoria Larry Nelson (American Education Foundation) February 8, 1960[1][9] 1,000 1,000 ? Adult standards[7] No No
1470 WMBD (AM) Peoria Midwest Communications February 14, 1927[8] 5,000 5,000 1470 WMBD News/Talk No No
1560 WBYS Canton Wayne W. Whalen (WPW) October 5, 1947[1] 250 18 WBYS News/Talk No No

Television

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Virt.
Ch.		 Call City Owner Operator Start Digital
Ch.		 DTV Nickname Programming
19.1 WHOI Peoria Sinclair Sinclair October 1953[10] 24 720p TBD Peoria TBD
19.2 ? 720p Comet TV Comet
19.3 ? 480i Charge 19.3 Charge Network
25.1 WEEK-TV Peoria Gray Gray February 1, 1953[8] 25 1080i WEEK 25 NBC
25.2 August 1, 2016 720p Heart Of Illinois ABC ABC
25.3 August 1, 2016 720p Peoria-Bloomington CW CW+
25.4 ? 480i Ion 25.4 Ion Television
31.1 WMBD-TV Peoria Nexstar Nexstar January 1, 1958[8] 26 1080i CBS
31.2 September 26, 2011 480i Bounce 31.2 Bounce TV
31.3 ? 480i Laff 31.3 Laff
31.4 ? 480i Escape 31.4 Court TV Mystery
43.1 WYZZ-TV Bloomington Cunningham Nexstar October 18, 1982[1] 28 720p Fox
43.2 ? 480i This TV
43.3 ? 480i getTV 43 getTV
47.1 WTVP Peoria IVPTC IVPTC June 23, 1971[1] 35 1080i PBS
47.2 ? 1080i Kids PBS Kids
47.3 ? 480i World Channel 47 PBS World
47.4 ? 480i Create TV Create
47.5 ? 480i WTVP Remote WTVP Remote
59.1 WTVK Pekin Four Seasons Four Seasons ? [tvt]18 720p infomercials Infomercials
59.2 ? 480i Grio 59.2 Grio

Defunct

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Radio

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  • 1580 WWXL (AM) Peoria (1947–?) — sister to 94.1 WWXL-FM; in 1948, was on the air on 1580, with a construction permit for 1590;[3] gone by 1959[8]
  • 88.5 WECU Peoria (1990s) — on air around 1989;[1] time-shared frequency with WBNH Pekin; eventually went off air, allowing WBNH to go full-time
  • 93.3 WEEK-FM Peoria (c. 1948) — sister to 1350 WEEK (AM); not yet on air at start of 1948;[3] already gone by 1959;[8] frequency later used by WMBD-FM (93.3 WPBG); callsign later used by 98.5 Eureka
  • 94.1 WWXL-FM Peoria (c. 1948) — sister to 1580 WWXL (AM); not yet on air at start of 1948;[3] already gone by 1959;[8] now unusable: adjacent 94.3 later allocated to Chillicothe (now WPMJ)
  • 95.7 WIRL-FM Peoria (c. 1948) — not yet on air at start of 1948;[3] already gone by 1959;[8] now unusable: 95.3 Pekin allocation moved to adjacent 95.5 in 1980s with WGLO
  • 96.5 WMMJ-FM Peoria (c. 1948) — construction permit as of 1948;[3] already gone by 1959;[8] 96.5 allocated to nearby Farmington in 1990s (now WHPI)
  • 100.9 WBOD Canton (c. 1989) — not yet on air in 1989;[1] likely never launched: adjacent 101.1 allocated to nearby Glasford in 1990s (now WZPN)

Low-power FM

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  • 103.1 WEUR-LP Eureka (c. 2001) — Likely never on air: Construction permit requested in August 2000 and issued 2001-06-27 to Eureka College; permit expired 2002-12-27 without license.[11]
  • 106.3 Eureka (c. 2014) — Likely never on air: Construction permit requested in November 2013 and issued in January 2014 to Faith Baptist Temple in Eureka;[12] permit cancelled July 27, 2015 without license or callsign.[12][13]

Peoria area low-power TV

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  • 16 W16AZ Lacon (c. 1994) — construction permit for Kelly Communications; expired in 1996 without being licensed[14]
  • 67 W67CW Peoria (1995–2005?) — M.C. Productions, 1101 S. "Mathew" St. and 1923 W. Lincoln Ave.,[15] 61605. Construction permit granted 1993-09-28; licensed 1995-06-29; application to move to channel 65 dismissed 1997-10-09; renewal on channel 67 on 1997-12-01; license expired 2005-12-01; deleted 2007-10-15.[16]

Bloomington TV

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  • 15 WBLN Bloomington (1955?–1959?) — sold by Cecil W. Roberts to Worth S. Rough's WBLN TV Inc. on 13 July 1955;[1] off the air but still holding permit in 1959;[8] empty channel allocation moved to Champaign in 1967 for WICD; callsign reused by channel 43 from 1982 start until it became WYZZ-TV

Peoria TV in LaSalle-Peru

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Until cable TV was common in the late 1970s, LaSalle/Peru received primarily Peoria television using television translators.

By March 1965, LaSalle, Spring Valley, and Peru already had CATV systems owned by The Television Transmission Company.[17]

  • 35 WEEQ LaSalle (1957–1970s?) — LaSalle's only full-power allocation, channel 35, started as WEEQ, a co-owned satellite of WEEK-TV Peoria (which was on 43 Peoria then on 25 Peoria);[8][18] it was on the air as early as November 1957.[18] Channel allocation used by WWTO since 1 December 1986.[1]
  • 71 W71AE (1964–1979?) — This carried co-owned 31 WMBD-TV Peoria. License granted 15 November 1962;[19] A picture of the 485-foot (148 m) Rohn tower and its 16-bay antenna is shown in a Rohn advertisement in the 1 July 1963 issue of Broadcasting.[20] Started around 1964.[18] Renewed November 1971.[21] WMBD-TV still shown as having "1 trans." in 1975 Yearbook.[page needed] Guessed as deleted in 1979 in W9WI translator listing.[22]
  • 78 W78AC (1963–1964?) — This carried 19 WTVH Peoria (now WHOI) in the early 1960s. Listed in September 1962 TV Guide.[18] License granted 18 February 1963.[23] It was no longer in TV Guide by the end of 1964.[18]

Print

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  • The Community Word — monthly community newspaper that covers neighborhoods and local politics[24]
  • Numero — monthly entertainment guide
  • Peoria Journal Star — daily newspaper
  • Peoria Magazines group — includes Peoria Progress Plays, Art & Society, InterBusiness Issues, and the Peoria Woman

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Broadcasting & Cable Yearbook. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications. 1989. Archived from the original on 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-08-31. Illinois radio on pages B-87–B-99: B-88 Bloomington & Canton; B-90 Chillicothe; B-92 Galesburg; B-95 Morton & Normal; B-96 Pekin & Peoria. Illinois TV on pages C-21–C-23.
  2. ^ "Form 314 Application for Consent to Assignment of Broadcast Station Construction Permit or License (File No. BALED-20190805AAT)". Public Inspection Files. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. 2019-08-23. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Broadcasting Yearbook Number. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications. 1948. Archived from the original on 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2010-08-30. Illinois AM on pages 94 & 98; Illinois FM on page 294. Page 326 shows 4 additional FM construction permits already in progress for Peoria.
  4. ^ What is now 93.3 was on 92.5 until the 1960s.
  5. ^ "Application Search Details File Number: BLED-20131107ABL". Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  6. ^ "Application Search Details File Number: BLL-20141124ASV". Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2015-02-07.
  7. ^ a b Tarter, Steve (2011-01-02). "On the Air: Roaming along with WOAM once again". Peoria Journal Star. Peoria, Illinois. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Broadcasting Yearbook Number. Washington, D.C.: Broadcasting Publications. 1959. Archived from the original on 2009-11-27. Retrieved 2010-08-30. Illinois radio on pages B-142–B-146. Page B-23 shows Bloomington TV; page B-25 shows LaSalle and Peoria TV as well as unused Galesburg and Pekin allotments.
  9. ^ On 1350 kHz, 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook shows year 1947 for WEEK (AM); but 1989 Yearbook shows year 1960 for WXCL (AM). Reference does not mention whether 1947 station was deleted and replaced rather than transferred.
  10. ^ Channel 19 signed on in October 1953: 1959 Yearbook gives October 12. 1989 Yearbook gives October 20.
  11. ^ "Application Search Details; File Number: BNPL-20000831ADZ". CDBS Public Access. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  12. ^ a b "Application Search Details; File Number: BNPL-20131114BIQ". CDBS Public Access. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  13. ^ "Station Search Details (Facility Id 196478)". CDBS Public Access. Washington, D.C.: Federal Communications Commission. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
  14. ^ FCC Application Search Results for facility ID 52283. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  15. ^ "DW67CW TV - Channel 67, Peoria, IL". Webotics. Retrieved 2011-01-10.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ FCC Application Search Results for facility ID 39510. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  17. ^ "Community Antenna Franchise Activities" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1965-03-01. p. 97. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  18. ^ a b c d e Quick, Doug (2010-09-18). "Other Television History". Archived from the original on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  19. ^ "For the Record, Actions of Nov. 15" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1962-11-26. pp. 88–89. Retrieved 2020-01-04.
  20. ^ "For towers of all kinds call ROHN" (PDF), Broadcasting, p. 65, 1963-07-01, retrieved 2020-01-04
  21. ^ "For the Record, Renewal of licenses, all stations" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1971-08-16. pp. 40–42. Retrieved 2020-01-04. Broadcast Bureau granted renewal of licenses for the following UHF sand VHF translators ... W49AA Springfield and W71AE LaSalle, both Illinois
  22. ^ Smith, D. "Defunct translators above channel 69". Retrieved 2011-01-10. "Now" is my best guess as to what happened to the translator in question. Many of these are probably wrong. W71AE ... Del 1979
  23. ^ "For the Record, Actions of Feb. 18" (PDF). Broadcasting. 1963-02-25. Retrieved 2020-01-04. W78AC, Metromedia Inc., Peru, LaSalle, Ottawa, and Streater [sic], all Illinois, and change type trans.
  24. ^ The Community Word
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