WNTR’s 107.9 FM signal has a long Indianapolis radio history

WNTR is an Indianapolis commercial radio station broadcasting at 107.9 FM. The station is identified as 107.9 The Mix and carries an adult contemporary format under the ownership of Cumulus Media. Its studios are on North Meridian Street, while its transmitter tower is located on the city’s northwest side.

The frequency has been part of Indianapolis broadcasting for more than six decades. Indiana Broadcasting Company received a construction permit for a new station at 107.9 FM on July 21, 1960. The station began broadcasting on Oct. 22, 1961, under the call letters WISH-FM. It operated alongside WISH radio and WISH-TV, channel 8, as part of the same group of stations.

That arrangement changed in late 1963. Corinthian Broadcasting, which owned the WISH outlets, chose to concentrate on its television operations and sold the radio stations to Star Stations, a group led by Don Burden. After the sale, the AM and FM stations adopted the WIFE call letters.

The two WIFE outlets did not follow the same programming path. WIFE-AM became a major Top 40 station during the 1960s and into the 1970s. The FM station, by contrast, used an automated beautiful-music format. That difference reflects the distinct roles the AM and FM bands often held within the same local broadcasting operation, with separate outlets serving different listening habits.

The Star Stations era also ended amid regulatory trouble. The Federal Communications Commission cited the ownership group for serious violations, including matters involving its Indianapolis stations. In 1975, the agency ruled against renewing licenses for all Star Stations. The group pursued appeals, but the source account indicates that those efforts were ultimately exhausted.

WNTR’s current identity therefore sits atop several earlier chapters in the history of 107.9 FM. The frequency began as WISH-FM, became part of the WIFE operation after the 1963 sale, and later continued under a different station identity and format. Its present adult contemporary service, branded 107.9 The Mix, is the latest form described in this station history.

For Indianapolis listeners, the station’s story is also a record of how local radio ownership, call signs and programming changed over time. The same frequency has moved through multiple corporate arrangements and formats while remaining tied to the city’s broadcast landscape.

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Further links listed by the Wikipedia page (not independently checked): - https://radioinsight.com/headlines/174511/cumulus-sells-six-to-emf-swaps-with-entercom-in-new-york-indianapolis/ - https://radioinsight.com/headlines/187243/wntr-ends-over-a-month-of-christmas-music-with-ac-shift/ - https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52394256/wtpi-to-sign-on-monday/ - https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52499440/ - https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52499498/ - https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52499368/ Image rights Photograph description: 24 June 2021 - Indianapolis, IN - US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh speaks to LGBTQ Community Leaders at Baby's restaurant in Indianapolis, Indiana. Official Department of Labor Photograph*** Photographs taken by the federal government are generally part of the public domain and may beused, copied and distributed without permission. Unless otherwise noted, photos posted here may be used without th Creator: US Department of Labor. License: CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0). Original image page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AL-21-06-24-A-003_(51268376616).jpg. The image was resized for display; no other changes were made.