WIBA-FM
 | |
| Broadcast area | Madison, Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 101.5 MHz FM (HD Radio) |
| Branding | "101-5 'IBA-FM" |
| Programming | |
| Format | HD1: Classic rock HD2: Roots of Rock |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WIBA (AM), WMAD, WTSO, WXXM, WZEE | |
| History | |
First air date | October 31, 1969 |
Call sign meaning | "WIsconsin" and "BAdger Broadcasting" (from sister station WIBA-AM) |
| Technical information | |
| Facility ID | 17385 |
| Class | B |
| ERP | 12,000 watts |
| HAAT | 309 meters |
Transmitter coordinates | 43° 03' 21.00" N 89° 32' 6.00 " W |
| Links | |
| Webcast | WIBA-FM live stream Roots of Rock live stream |
| Website | WIBAfm.com |
WIBA-FM (101.5 MHz) is a radio station licensed to Sauk City, Wisconsin and serving Madison and South Central Wisconsin. The station is owned and operated by Clear Channel Communications and broadcasts a classic rock music format.
Station History
Originally licensed to the city of Madison, Wisconsin (the station's city of license would be moved to Sauk City in the 2010s), WIBA-FM commenced broadcasting on October 31, 1969, simulcasting the signal of its AM sister station, WIBA (1310 kHz). During the 1970s, WIBA-FM would move to a freeform/contemporary rock-and-roll format, featuring local artists through such programs as Television, WIBA-FM's simulcast of the WMTV late-night weekend music program.[1] By the 1990s, WIBA-FM would gravitate to its classic rock format.
WIBA-FM's current programming includes the Premiere Networks-syndicated Bob & Tom Show, heard weekdays 6AM-10AM, and Nights with Alice Cooper in the 7PM-12AM weeknight slot (WIBA-FM was one of Cooper's first affiliates). WIBA-FM also serves as Madison's FM home of Green Bay Packers football and Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball, in a simulcast with its sister station, WIBA-AM.
HD Radio
WIBA-FM transmits a multiplexed HD Radio signal. The station's HD2 sidechannel launched in the mid-2000s and originally aired an all-comedy format, until converting to a commercial-free alternative rock format in 2007, chiefly employing announcers and alt-rock playlists from Clear Channel's national format lab but employing the former "Mad Radio" branding that previously used on two other Clear Channel Madison stations (at 92.1 FM and 96.3 FM). In Fall 2013, "Mad Radio" would be replaced by a simulcast of "Socially Sound Radio," an IHeartRadio Top 40/pop channel that emphasizes songs and artists that generate interest among social media platforms. Socially Sound would be dropped from IHeartRadio in Summer 2014, at which time 101.5-HD2 began airing another IHeart channel, "Roots of Rock," which highlights songs and artists from the progressive/album rock era of the 1960s and 1970s. (Sister station WMAD-HD2 also began airing Roots of Rock at that same time, replacing IHeart's Global Citizen Radio.) WIBA-FM briefly had an HD3 subchannel in 2012; that channel simulcast the news/talk programming of WIBA-AM.
References
External links
- WIBA-FM website
- Facility details for Facility ID WIBA ({{{2}}}) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- {{{2}}} in Nielsen Audio's FM station database