WIBC (FM)

Offices of WIBC

93.1 FM in Indianapolis first signed on as WIBC-FM on December 5, 1960.[1] It aired an automated classical music format.

On July 22, 1968, the station was re-launched as WNAP.[3] It was the first FM station in the Indianapolis market to broadcast a hybrid formatted mix of both AOR and Top 40 hits, better known as "Rock 40"—an ancestor of the CHR format, and was in direct competition with Top 40 leader 1310 WIFE. In 1970, WNAP began broadcasting in stereo. According to the documentary film Naptown Rock Radio Wars,[4] station and program managers from across the United States came to Indianapolis to listen to WNAP in order to figure out the unique style of "The Buzzard" so they could emulate its success at their own stations. The classic top of the hour station identification from this era featured the sound of two thunderbolts and the distinctive voice of WIBC's Chuck Riley, brother of WNAP's DJ Michael D. "Buster Bodine" Hanks, intoning the phrase, "The wrath of The Buzzard! WNAP, Indianapolis".[5] Later in the 1970s and early 1980s, the station was rebranded as "WNAP Stereo 93 FM, The Buzzard".

On March 4, 1986, suffering from a fall in ratings due to competition from WFBQ (Q-95), the format of 93.1 was changed to a rock-driven hot adult contemporary format, and the call letters became WEAG with branding as "Eagle 93." The format was later changed to classic hits with the call letters WKLR on August 14, 1987. On April 1, 1988, WKLR changed from classic hits to oldies

WNAP returned at 5:00 p.m. on September 9, 1994, when WKLR was changed back to a classic hits station with a strong focus on the "greatest hits of the 70s."[6] This incarnation of WNAP later moved in a more classic rock direction playing "classic rock that really rocks", with the syndicated Howard Stern Show carried in the morning in what was a futile attempt to compete with WFBQ's locally-dominant Bob and Tom Show. Despite on-air boasts that WNAP was going to "kick Q-95's ass", the classic rock format was a failure.

After weeks of stunting, WNAP changed to contemporary hits on March 28, 2000, at 6:00 a.m., with new call letters WNOU and the name "Radio Now."[7] Radio Now's first song was "The Rockafeller Skank" by Fatboy Slim. The station received some national notice in November 2004, when its morning show conducted the first interview with Indiana Pacers player Ron Artest following the Pacers–Pistons brawl.[8][9]

In 2006, WNOU launched an HD-2 subchannel, dubbed "Orbital 93.1", which offered a rhythmic contemporary format with emphasis on current and classic dance music. On October 9, 2007, Orbital was discontinued, being replaced with the Radio NOW format for one day after the format ended on 93.1, and before it moved to 100.9, serving as a buffer for the format.[10]

On October 8, 2007, at Noon, after playing "When You're Gone" by Avril Lavigne, 93.1 began stunting with Christmas music under new temporary call sign WEXM, being promoted as "The 93 Days of Christmas." The Christmas format was a place holder as part of the transition to moving the talk programming from 1070 AM to 93.1 FM. Initially planned to last 93 days, from October 8 to January 8, the change-over was moved up to December 26. The switch came after Emmis acquired local radio rights to the Indianapolis Colts football team. To prevent frequent preemption of programming and tedious shufflings of games on its stations, it was decided to move WIBC to the FM frequency immediately after Christmas, and make 1070 AM a sports station as "AM 1070 The Fan", with its call sign changing to WFNI. This time the "-FM" suffix was not required on 93.1's call sign because there would no longer be a WIBC on the AM band.

Upon the demise of "Radio Now", Radio One purchased the intellectual property of the station from Emmis Communications. Two days later, on October 10, the "Radio Now" branding, format and logo were installed on the new 100.9 WNOU (formerly WYJZ, now WNOW-FM).[11] Local Radio One management said that they would offer the displaced staffers of 93.1 WNOU the first chance of joining the new station's lineup, and would use the same imaging as the former WNOU at 93.1. Emmis also stated that they would release displaced RadioNow staffers from their "non-compete" contracts.[12]

The WNAP call letters are now used at a gospel-formatted AM station licensed in Norristown, Pennsylvania, serving the Philadelphia market.

As of 2017, WIBC broadcasts four daily local programs: "The Morning News with Tony Katz", "Chicks on the Right", "Tony Katz Today" and "The Hammer and Nigel Show."

Joe Staysniak appears from time to time. He had moved to the morning show in October 2008. He replaced Jake Query, who in turn replaced longtime WIBC fixture Jeff Pigeon (referred to as "Pidge" by the staff and listeners), who left the station October 1, 2007. Pigeon had been WIBC's morning host since taking over for Gary Todd in 1988, and prior to that had hosted the 7:00 p.m.-midnight shift when WIBC was still a full-service/music station. (Pigeon later resurfaced at oldies station WKLU.)

Staysniak previously co-hosted in the afternoon with Dave "the King" Wilson, whose show launched in the mid-1990s but ended in March 2009 due to budgetary cutbacks. At that time, Simpson's show moved from 6:00–8:00 p/m/ to 3:00–7:00 p.m.

WIBC previously had a media partnership with local ABC affiliate WRTV. On October 1, 2018, WISH-TV became the media partner, with WISH providing news reports as well as hourly weather updates on the top of the hour. In addition, a radio simulcast of WISH-TV's morning newscast, News 8 Daybreak, is heard from 5:00 to 6:00 a.m.[13]

WIBC was the AM flagship station of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, simulcasting the games with sister station WLHK. In addition, WIBC was the flagship for the NBA's Indiana Pacers and the WNBA's Indiana Fever, and for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network, carrying the Indianapolis 500 since the network's creation in 1952, and the NASCAR Brickyard 400 since that race's 1994 debut. WIBC also aired Indiana University football.

Most of WIBC (AM)'s sports properties remained at 1070 WFNI when WIBC moved to FM (with WLHK remaining the FM outlet for the Colts and for IndyCar). However, on June 22, 2010, the Pacers announced an extension of their broadcast agreement with Emmis Communications which included their games moving to FM and back to WIBC, beginning in the 2010–11 season.

Beginning with the 2011–12 basketball season, WIBC replaced WLHK as the Indianapolis broadcast home of Indiana University basketball. In case of a conflict, Pacers games move to WFNI for the night. Additionally, WIBC airs Butler University basketball, IndyCar races, and high school championship events that are bumped from WFNI due to conflicts.

On April 13, 2015, WIBC announced the station was dropping Rush Limbaugh. Charlie Morgan, an executive for Emmis, indicated that the decision to drop Limbaugh was about the "long-term direction of the station", but also acknowledged that there was a "business element to the decision".[14] Limbaugh's weekday show moved to 1260 WNDE, which is owned by iHeartMedia, the parent company of Limbaugh's syndicator Premiere Networks. WIBC continues to carry syndicated talk shows from Dana Loesch, Chad Benson, George Noory (Coast to Coast AM), Kim Komando, and Bill Cunningham.