WBHP
| Broadcast area | Madison County, Alabama |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1230 kHz |
| Branding | The Big Talker 800/1230 |
| Programming | |
| Format | News/Talk |
| Network | Fox News Radio |
| Affiliations | Premiere Networks |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
|
| WDRM, WHOS, WQRV, WTAK-FM | |
| History | |
| Founded | May 1931 |
First air date | April 22, 1932 (as WBHS) May 23, 1937 (as WBHP) |
Last air date | 1935 (as WBHS) |
Former call signs | WBHS (1931–1935)[1] |
Former frequencies | 1200 AM (1932–1941) |
Call sign meaning | Wilton "Buster" H. Pollard (former owner)[2] |
| Technical information[3] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| Facility ID | 44025 |
| Class | C |
| Power | 1,000 watts (unlimited) |
Transmitter coordinates | 34°43′09″N 86°35′42″W / 34.71917°N 86.59500°W |
| Translator(s) | 102.5 W273CX (Huntsville) |
| Repeater(s) | 102.1 WDRM-HD2 (Decatur) |
| Links | |
Public license information | |
| Webcast | Listen Live |
| Website | wbhpam.iheart.com |
WBHP (1230 kHz, "The Big Talker") is a commercial radio station in Huntsville, Alabama, and serves Madison County.[4] The station is owned by San Antonio-based iHeartMedia and airs a news/talk format. WBHP programming is simulcast on AM 800 WHOS in nearby Decatur, FM translator W237CX at 102.5 MHz and on 102.1 WDRM-HD2 (HD Radio). Its studios are located in Madison, Alabama, and its AM transmitter is located southwest of downtown Huntsville.
Programming
[edit]Weekdays on WBHP and WHOM begin with Alabama's Morning News with J.T. Nyse, based at co-owned WERC-FM Mobile. The rest of the weekday schedule is made up of nationally syndicated talk shows, mostly from co-owned Premiere Networks: The Glenn Beck Radio Program, The Sean Hannity Show, The Michael Berry Show, The Jesse Kelly Show, Our American Stories with Lee Habeeb and Coast to Coast AM with George Noory.
Weekends feature shows on money, health, technology, travel and religion. Weekend syndicated programs include Rudy Maxa World Travel, The Weekend with Michael Brown, Armstrong & Getty, Rich DeMuro on Tech, The Ben Ferguson Show and Sunday Night with Bill Cunningham. Most hours begin with an update from Fox News Radio.
In addition to its regularly scheduled talk programming, the station is an affiliate of the Auburn Tigers football radio network.[5] It also carries Auburn Tigers men's basketball.[6]
History
[edit]The station was issued a construction permit in May 1931. It signed on the air on April 22, 1932. It broadcast on 1200 kilocycles and was the first radio station in Huntsville.[7] It was a service of The Hutchens Company, a hardware firm. The original call sign was WBHS, which stood for "World's Best Hardware Store." The studios were in the Russel Erskine Hotel in downtown Huntsville. WBHS later moved to a building on Governor’s Drive.
During the Great Depression, the station ran into financial problems and went off the air in 1935. The FCC reassigned the frequency and the new station returned to the air on May 23, 1937, with the call letters WBHP.[8]
WBHP had been through several owners until its acquisition by iHeartMedia, Inc. (formally Clear Channel Communications), its current licensee. The current call letters stem from longtime previous owner Wilton "Buster" Harvey Pollard.[2]
In 1941, due to the AM band being expanded, WBHP moved from 1200 AM to its present-day 1230 AM frequency.
From its early days until the November 1997 switch to an all-news format, WBHP broadcast country music.[9][10] In the 1960s the country music station put its format aside for one hour each Sunday afternoon to air classical music. The program was called “The German Hour” and catered to Wernher von Braun’s German rocket scientists and their families. More than 1500 German scientists, engineers and technicians were brought to Huntsville to work on developing rockets as part of Operation Paperclip.
In 2018, WBHP launched an FM translator on 102.5 to simulcast the station.
On October 3, 2024, a delivery truck clipped a guy wire and toppled the transmission tower at 2101 Governors Drive, taking the AM signal off the air.
Former programming
[edit]WBHP and sister station WHOS were the flagship stations for the 1999-2000 final season of the Huntsville Channel Cats and for the short-lived Huntsville Tornado for the 2000-2001 hockey season.[11] Both teams played their home games at the Von Braun Center and competed in the Central Hockey League.
Awards and honors
[edit]As a country music-formatted station, WBHP on-air personality Dana Webb was nominated for and won a Country Music Association Award as "Small Market Broadcast Personality of the Year" in 1986.[12]
References
[edit]- ^ "Huntsville Rewound". Retrieved 2024-06-29.
- ^ a b Nelson, Bob (2008-10-18). "Call Letter Origins". The Broadcast Archive. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
- ^ "Facility Technical Data for WBHP". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ^ "Station Information Profile". Arbitron.
- ^ "Football Affiliates". The Auburn University Official Athletic Site. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
- ^ "Basketball Affiliates". The Auburn University Official Athletic Site. Retrieved December 4, 2008.
- ^ "Huntsville Rewound™ (AL/USA) Rocket City USA". www.huntsvillerewound.com. Retrieved 2022-10-04.
- ^ Broadcasting Yearbook 1977 page C-5
- ^ Smallwood, Dean. "AM stations switch to all news format". The Huntsville Times. p. G6.
- ^ "Member Facts - Ernie Ashworth". Grand Ole Opry official website. Archived from the original on 2007-10-17. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
- ^ Ponder, Darrell (October 5, 2000). "City's 'new' CHL club hits ice for exhibition". The Huntsville Times. p. C3.
- ^ "Broadcast Awards Database: Dana Webb". Country Music Association. Retrieved January 4, 2009.
External links
[edit]- WBHP official website
- Facility details for Facility ID 44025 (WBHP) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WBHP in Nielsen Audio's AM station database